Harry Potter: historical fiction or more?

7/21/2019 Harry Potter: historical fiction or more?

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Harry Potter: historical fiction or more?

With an estimated 450 million books in print worldwide it is easy to say that J.K.

owlin!"s Harry Potter series is one of the most pop#lar book series e$er written. %espite the

ma!ic and heroism& the story seems to contain many elements that most people can relate to.

'hemes s#ch as lo$e& friendship& loyalty& and facin! ad$ersity ret#rn time and time a!ain in

tales and le!ends datin! as far back as (nti)#ity& and when takin! a closer look at owlin!"s

work we can draw many parallels between the story of Harry Potter and classical le!ends and

myths& not the least of which the famo#s tales of Kin! (rth#r. (ltho#!h some may e$en

consider the Harry Potter series an alle!ory of World War **& it does not belon! to the !enre of

historical fiction d#e to the e+tensi$e and more prominent foc#s on the (rth#rian le!end and

elements from ,reek myths and le!ends.

owlin!"s most ob$io#s inspiration for the Harry Potter series appears to be the le!end

of Kin! (rth#r. 'he first clear indication of this can be fo#nd in the $ery first chapter of the

series. -oth Harry and (rth#r !row #p witho#t their parents& hidden from their world to

remain safe. imilar to (rth#r& Harry will only find o#t who he tr#ly is m#ch later in life when

he meets Ha!rid who e+plains to Harry that his parents were m#rdered and that they too were

wi/ards& #st like him. 'his re$elation t#rns o#t to be the catalyst for Harry"s )#est to find his

parents" killer 1ord 2oldemort and take re$en!e as well as sa$e the wi/ardin! world from

e$il. 'his )#est is comparable to (rth#r"s defeat of the a+ons res#ltin! in the sal$ation of his

people and #ltimately bein! re!arded as a hero.

( second (rth#rian element that can be fo#nd in the Harry Potter series is the concept

of a prophecy. 3erlin knows that (rth#r will become kin! and sa$e the -ritish people from

the a+ons and predicts that he will be m#rdered by his own son. *n the Harry Potter series we

meet the character Professor 'relawney& who teaches %i$ination. -efore the birth of Harry&



she makes a prophecy to professor %#mbledore that: 'he one with the power to $an)#ish the

%ark 1ord approaches born to those who ha$e thrice defied him& born as the se$enth month

dies and the %ark 1ord will mark him as his e)#al& b#t he will ha$e power the %ark 1ord

knows not and either m#st die at the hand of the other for neither can li$e while the other

s#r$i$es6 7owlin!& 8rder of the Phoeni+& 94;. 3oreo$er& when 3erlin predicts to Kin!

(rth#r that his own son will m#rder him& (rth#r has all boys born on that day killed. 'his is

comparable to the actions that 1ord 2oldemort takes after hearin! abo#t the prophecy. He

identifies the person the prophecy was made abo#t as Harry& and th#s tries to kill him.

(nother strikin! (rth#rian element in the Harry Potter series is the character of

%#mbledore& who seems entirely based on the (rth#rian character 3erlin. imilar to 3erlin"s

!#idance of (rth#r& %#mbledore takes it #pon himself to mentor Harry and prepare him for

the battle he e$ent#ally m#st face a!ainst 1ord 2oldemort. 3erlin leads (rth#r to a lake

where he recei$es the le!endary sword named <+calib#r. %#mbledore does a similar thin! to

Harry b#y pro$idin! him with the sword of ,odric ,ryffindor& one of the fo#r fo#nders of the

ma!ical school Ho!warts 7owlin!& =hamber of ecrets& >5;. 'hro#!h the entire book

series& %#mbledore f#nctions as a mentor and personal !#ide to Harry& a so#rce of wisdom

that helps Harry to #ltimately f#lfil his )#est to find a way to end 2oldemort"s life.

@#rthermore& both 3erlin and %#mbledore form their own !ro#p of loyal people. 3erlin

forms his famo#s Kni!hts of the o#nd 'able& and %#mbledore initiates the !ro#p named the

8rder of the Phoeni+ which is comprised of the most loyal and skilled wi/ards. Harry himself

also rallies a !ro#p of yo#n!& loyal st#dents whom he wants to teach ways to defend

themsel$es from 1ord 2oldemort and his e$il helpers& which he calls %#mbledore"s (rmy.

@inally& both the le!end of (rth#r and the Harry Potter series contain a )#est to find

the !rail. =hrAtien de 'royes& who !reatly infl#enced the c#rrent $iew on the (rth#rian

le!end& wrote a te+t within the (rth#rian canon in the Bth cent#ry named Perce$al& le =onte



d# ,raal and it e+plicitly states =e est li contes del !raal6 7'royes& 5;. 'his te+t is the first to

incorporate the element of the ,rail into the (rth#rian myths and in the story it is prophesied

to ha$e ma!ical and mythical properties. 'he Harry Potter series also incl#des a few

prominent acco#nts of !rails that ha$e partic#lar si!nificance to the story. *n the fo#rth

instalment of the series& Harry has to participate in the 'riCwi/ard 'o#rnament. 'he 'riCwi/ard

=#p choses him to be one of the champions& and in the third ro#nd of the to#rnament& Harry

e$en has to find his way to the =#p thro#!h an enchanted ma/e. 'his =#p takes the shape of a

!rail and f#nctions not only as a pri/e& b#t also as ma!ical portal 7owlin!& 'he ,oblet of

@ire;. 3oreo$er& in the se$enth book& he is searchin! for H#fflep#ff"s =#p. H#fflep#ff was

also one of the fo#r fo#nders of Ho!warts& and 2oldemort t#rned it into one of his se$en

horcr#+es. Harry has to find it to be able to destroy it and th#s !et closer to destroyin! his

enemy 1ord 2oldemort 7owlin!& %eathly Hallows;. 'hese )#ests that Harry m#st f#lfil all

in$ol$e the search for a !rail. 'his is $ery similar to 'royes"s )#est for the holy !rail.

(nother mythical element in the Harry Potter series is the incorporation of mythical

and classical beasts. 8ne of the first real classical beasts the reader r#ns into is a =erber#s. *n

,reek mytholo!y& =erber#s is the ho#nd of hades& !#ardian of the #nderworld and the only

way to !et past him is to calm him down by playin! m#sic 7%aly& ;. We later find o#t that

Ha!rid !a$e the =erber#s to %#mbledore to !#ard the entrance to a d#n!eon where the

Philosopher"s tone was hidden& so @l#ffy 7as Ha!rid named it; in this case also !#ards the

#nderworld D the #nderworld of the d#n!eons. 3oreo$er& he e$en mentions that he bo#!ht

him off a ,reek chappie6 7owlin!& Philosopher"s tone& 09;.

(dditionally& owlin! creates a fairly prominent character that we find in se$eral of

the books in the form of a =enta#r. (ccordin! to %aly& centa#rs are creat#res half h#man and

half horse. EtheyF were e+pelled from their nati$e 'hessaly and took ref#!e on 3o#nt Pind#s6

7%aly& ;. 1ike the centa#rs in from ,reek myth& the centa#rs in the Harry Potter series were



sent to special !ro#nds all o$er the co#ntry by the 3inistry of 3a!ic& $irt#ally e+pellin! them

from their nati$e !ro#nds. 3ost of the centa#rs in the Harry Potter world are not on friendly

terms with h#mans& apart from one centa#r: @iren/e. @iren/e enco#nters Harry in the

@orbidden @orest d#rin! Harry"s first year at Ho!warts and helps him !et to safety from 1ord

2oldemort 7owlin!& Philosopher"s tone& GGCB;. @iren/e also !ets offered a position at

the school to teach di$ination d#rin! Harry"s fifth year. 'his is not recei$ed well by the

centa#r comm#nity& so they ban @iren/e from their !ro#nds 7owlin!& 8rder of the Phoeni+&

B;. *n ,reek mytholo!y one enco#nters the centa#r =hiron who is half h#man and half

horse& EandF represented ancient wisdom. He was the symbol of the wild horse& f#ll of

stren!th& tamed to be of enormo#s help to h#mans6 7%aly& >B;. 1ike @iren/e& he was re!arded

as the !ood centa#r who helped and befriended h#mans. *t is clear to see that the character

@iren/e is based off the myth of =hiron.

( final beast from the Harry Potter series that has its roots deep in ,reek mytholo!y is

the -asilisk. (s a symbol of the e$il 1ord 2oldemort and the Ho#se of lytherin& snakeClike

creat#res feat#re often in the series& b#t non so memorable as the !iant -asilisk that Harry

enco#nters in his second year at Ho!warts. 'he -asilisk #s#ally represents e$il and is a

symbol of death. =hristianity employed the symbol of the basilisk at times& and as with a

n#mber of other serpents& immediately cast it as a demon or representati$e of the de$il itself6

7basilisk6 Iew World <ncyclopedia;. owlin!"s choice of patron animal for the Ho#se of

lytherin 7which was also the Ho#se in which 1ord 2oldemort was sorted as a child; is not at

all coincidental. epresentin! the embodiment of e$il& snakes and snakeClike creat#res are

always tied to 1ord 2oldemort& whether it is the -asilisk& 2oldemort"s pet snake Ia!ini& or

e$en the snake lan!#a!e that both Harry and 2oldemort master and allows them to speak to

the -asilisk.



imilarly to owlin!"s inspiration for the fa#na in the Harry Potter #ni$erse& she also

#sed ,reek mytholo!y to !i$e hints to character back!ro#nds in the form of their names. (

!reat e+ample of this is the character 3erope ,a#nt. 3erope is 2oldemort"s mother and

d#rin! Harry"s si+th year at Ho!warts he is introd#ced to her by $isitin! -ob 8!den"s

memory. Harry learns that 3erope was a witch& and a descendant of the !reat wi/ard

lytherin. Her family& like lytherin& was $ery m#ch a!ainst the breedin! between ma!ic and

nonCma!ic people. Howe$er& 3erope fell in lo$e with a nonCma!ic person& 'om iddle. 'om

was not interested in 3erope& b#t bein! a witch& see bewitched him with a lo$e potion. 'hey

had a child 7who will later t#rn o#t to become 1ord 2oldemort; b#t she felt ashamed of her

lies& so she ceased !i$in! 'om the potion. 3erope then r#ns away and !oes into hidin!

7owlin!& 'he HalfCblood Prince;. 'his story is incredibly similar to one described in 8$id"s

@asti abo#t one of the se$en Pleiades 3erope: 'he se$enth& 3erope& was married to a

mortal man& to isyph#s& and she repents of it& and from shame at the deed she alone of the

sisters hides herself6 7@ra/er& p. 0B;. -oth the elements of fallin! in lo$e with the wron!

person and the shame that comes with it are $ery m#ch present in both.

(side from 3erope& there are two more characters whose names owlin! deri$ed

from le!end& namely that of (lb#s %#mbledore. (s the a$id Harry Potter reader may know&

%#mbledore"s second name is Perci$al. 'his once a!ain harks back to le!end of Kin! (rth#r.

(ccordin! to =rAtien de 'royes& Perci$al was one of the kni!hts of the ro#nd table& a chi$alric

order erected by Kin! (rth#r to protect the lands. (lb#s %#mbledore is one of the members of

the 8rder of the Phoeni+& a !ro#p of wi/ards who fi!ht the e$il 1ord 2oldemort.

1astly& the ori!ins of the character iri#s -lack can be fo#nd in ,reek mytholo!y. 'he

h#nter 8rion owns a do! names iri#s& which is incredibly loyal to 8rion. When the !oddess

(rtemis accidentally kills 8rion d#rin! the h#nt& she places 8rion in the ni!ht sky. Howe$er&

his do! iri#s becomes hysterical and will not stop lookin! for him. (rtemis then places



iri#s ne+t to 8rion in the hea$ens 7,ar/a;. %#rin! Harry"s third year at Ho!warts& he meets

iri#s. iri#s #sed to be Harry"s father"s best friend b#t was con$icted of betrayin! Harry"s

parents to 2oldemort& which res#lted in their deaths. Ionetheless& it soon becomes clear that

iri#s was wron!ly acc#sed and has always remained loyal to his old friend. Harry also learns

that iri#s is an anima!#s& which means that he can t#rn into an animal. iri#s -lack can at

will take the form of a do! 7owlin!& Prisoner of (/kaban;. 'his is a clear reference to the

loyal do! iri#s and his friend 8rion.

ome may claim that the Harry Potter series belon!s in the Historical @iction !enre

beca#se of the clear parallels to World War **. *ndeed& the resemblances between Hitler and

1ord 2oldemort are there. -oth ha$e an incredible hatred for anythin! b#t p#reCblood6. 1ord

2oldemort feels that the ma!ical people are far s#perior than the nonCma!ical people& and

Hitler preferred the (rian race o$er all others. %i$idin! people into p#reCblood6 and mi+edC

blood6 !ro#ps is somethin! that both Hitler and 1ord 2oldemort do. owlin! herself says

that: there were parallels in the ideolo!y. * wanted Harry to lea$e o#r world and find e+actly

the same problems in the wi/ardin! world. o yo# ha$e the intent to impose a hierarchy& yo#

ha$e bi!otry& and this notion of p#rity& which is this !reat fallacy& b#t it crops #p all o$er the

world. People like to think themsel$es s#perior and that if they can pride themsel$es in

nothin! else they can pride themsel$es on percei$ed p#rity6 7J.K. owlin! at =arne!ie

Hall6;. 'his& combined with all the references to (rth#rian and ,reek mytholo!y leads to the

concl#sion that the Harry Potter series is not Historical fiction beca#se it has !ot so m#ch

more !oin! for it than #st a reference to a war.

*n concl#sion& the Harry Potter series incorporates a plethora of myths and le!ends

with interestin! parallels s#ch as the one between 3erope ,a#nt and ,reek mytholo!y& as

well as more o$ert ones s#ch as the resemblances between Harry and (rth#r. 3oreo$er& it

blends these myths and s#perh#man le!ends with a $ery h#man aspect: war. Whether that is



World War ** or simply the concept of war itself. 'herefore it can be said that owlin!"s

Harry Potter series does not belon! to the Historical @iction !enre. *t is so m#ch more than

that.

Works =ited



-asilisk.6 Iew World <ncyclopedia. Para!on Ho#se P#blishers& 0B4. Web. G 3ay 0B5.

%aly& Kathleen I. ,reek and oman 3ytholo!y ( to . <d. 3arian en!el. Iew Lork: @acts

on @ile& 004. Print.

@ra/er& ir James ,eor!e. 8$id"s @asti. =ambrid!e: Har$ard Mni$ersity Press& B959. Print.

,ar/a& %eanna. Harry Potter and the <nchantments of 1iterat#re.6 'he (1(I e$iew >:>

70BB;. Web. G 3ay 0B5.

J. K. owlin! at =arne!ie Hall.6 'heCleakyCca#ldron.or!. n.p. 0 8ctober& 00G. Web. B5

J#ne& 0B5.

owlin!& J.K. Harry Potter and the =hamber of ecrets. 1ondon: -loomsb#ry& 004. Print.

owlin!& J.K. Harry Potter and the %eathly Hallows. 1ondon: -loomsb#ry& 004. Print.

owlin!& J.K. Harry Potter and the ,oblet of @ire. 1ondon: -loomsb#ry& 004. Print.

owlin!& J.K. Harry Potter and the HalfCblood Prince. 1ondon: -loomsb#ry& 004. Print.

owlin!& J.K. Harry Potter and the 8rder of the Phoeni+. 1ondon: -loomsb#ry& 004. Print.

owlin!& J.K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher"s tone. 1ondon: -loomsb#ry& 004. Print.

owlin!& J.K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of (/kaban. 1ondon: -loomsb#ry& 004. Print.

iri#s.6 e!#l#s.6 -ehind the Iame. 3ike =ampbell& B995. Web. G 3ay 0B5.

'royes& =hrAtien de. =onte d# ,raal 7Perce$al;. <d. P. K#nstmann. 8ttawa& 009. ,oo!le

earch. Web. G 3ay 0B5.

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Harry Potter: historical fiction or more?