I’ve Been A Harry Potter Fan For 24 Years, But Rereading Is Completely Different Now That I’m A Mom

The Harry Potter series has often held a particular location in my heart, but now that I’m a mom, I see the story and its themes so differently. The initially book I ever study was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and my eight-year-old self was officially won more than by the literary globe. I caught up with the books as swiftly as I could, and each summer time, my sister and I took turns reading our copy of the newest release. Harry Potter is a staple of my childhood, and when I completed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at 13 years old, I produced it a tradition to reread 1 of the books each July.

Now, as an adult and parent, I have stepped away from my yearly study-by way of of the Harry Potter book series. Instead, I have been reading them, 1 just after an additional, to my 3 children. It has been a delight to watch them encounter each plot twist and to hear them ask the identical inquiries I bear in mind thinking of when I was their age. Seeing Harry Potter by way of a child’s eyes has reminded me of what it felt like to encounter these now-familiar stories for the initially time. However, in spite of obtaining reread these books numerous instances, I locate that my point of view has significantly changed.

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Rereading The Harry Potter Series As An Adult Is A Very Different Experience

There Are Aspects Of Harry Potter I Never Noticed As A Child

As a YA book series, there is no denying that Harry Potter is intended for younger readers. The adult characters are infuriatingly clueless, even though the children are overly mature and capable. This is a staple of the genre, but this classic formula is far extra prominent from an adult reader’s point of view. As a kid, I under no circumstances wondered why Harry did not ask an adult for enable or viewed as why characters like Minerva McGonagall could not resolve the mystery ahead of a group of children. Conversely, adults are extra probably to sigh in exasperation as the kids of Hogwarts are regularly placed in harm’s way.

This is, probably, what has fueled the argument that adult Harry Potter fans ought to have grown out of the series by now. Actor Miriam Margolyes left a lot of persons frustrated with her blunt comments on the topic, and it inspired a conversation about no matter if Harry’s story definitely is meant to be exclusively enjoyed by kids. Of course, there is no have to have for a definitive answer to this debate. People can appreciate what ever media they like, regardless of their age. However, in the case of Harry Potter, I could argue that J.K. Rowling’s story is stealthily aimed at mothers as properly.

As A Mom, The Harry Potter Books Feel Like A Love Letter From Parent To Child

What I Once Saw As Exclusively A Coming-Of-Age Adventure Now Feels Like A Nod To Mothers

On the surface, Harry Potter is most absolutely aimed at children and teens. However, when I reread the story as an adult, I can extra clearly see that Lily Potter is the continual foundation from starting to finish. Harry himself was absolutely nothing special—he wasn’t remarkably talented and possessed no extraordinary energy aside from the sacrificial really like of his mother. The “power of love” option all through Harry Potter has been criticized more than the years, and as a kid, I could not enable but agree that it was a cheesy answer to as well a lot of issues. Now that I’m a mom, on the other hand, this opinion has changed.

I now locate that at the incredibly center of Harry Potter stands 1 resounding question—just how effective is a mother’s really like? Could it shape destiny, destroy evil, and guard the soul? Could it guard her youngster even just after she is gone? I’ve wondered if comparable inquiries inspired J.K. Rowling to choose up her pen to start with. Looking at my personal children, I can not enable but really feel that my primal really like for them is the closest to actual magic I have ever knowledgeable, and it really is precisely this believed that has produced Harry’s story click into location for me in a way it under no circumstances had ahead of.

James &amp Lily Potter (&amp Other Adults) Serve As The Foundation Of Harry Potter’s Themes

Harry’s Story Is The Adventure, But The Adults Of Harry Potter Carry The Deeper Themes

The effective themes of Harry Potter do not finish with Lily Potter. Mothers play an essential function all through the story. Molly Weasley, who accepts Harry as 1 of her kids, became a sort of conduit of Lily’s really like, enabling the orphan to encounter this magic in spite of obtaining no memory of his personal mother. Narcissa Malfoy, who was despicable in each other way, was somewhat redeemed simply because of her really like for Draco, and this ends up getting pivotal in Harry’s ending. Then, there is Merope Gaunt, whose inability to fight for her newborn son resulted in the most evil wizard of all time.

The story of Merope Gaunt segues into an additional prominent theme of Harry Potter. Questions of morality sit at its core as properly, and even though Lily Potter is presented as flawless, the other adults of the series float inside a grey region. This is specially observed in James Potter’s story. Harry begins out revering his father’s memory but becomes conflicted when he realizes that James had accomplished some horrible points even though he was at college. This hyperlinks to the other males of the franchise—Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, and Sirius Black—who all help the prominent themes of moral ambiguity that are far extra evident to adult readers.

Harry Potter’s Complex Themes Have Allowed It To Stand The Test Of Time

There Is So Much In Harry Potter For Readers To Connect With As They Grow Up

It may well be correct that Harry Potter is intended for younger audiences, but it has continued to resonate with adults, indicating that there is a thing about this story that connects with readers of all experiences. When I was a kid, I associated deeply to Harry. I study Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when I was an angsty preteen, and I had under no circumstances felt so observed by a protagonist ahead of. These days, Harry’s crankiest year at Hogwarts is my least preferred, but my 13-year-old son effortlessly connects with this version of the character.

Now, I connect most to the mothers of Harry’s story, specially the imperfect but properly-intended Molly Weasley. However, an additional adult reader may well see their struggle to ascertain the higher very good in a character like Dumbledore or could possibly connect with James Potter’s story of redemption. Or, probably rereading Harry Potter as an adult is merely a opportunity to return to the magic of childhood or a time to appear deeper into the thrilling plot twists. Regardless of the explanation, the truth that Harry Potter has remained so preferred and relevant more than the years proves there is a thing right here for absolutely everyone, no matter their age.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a multimedia franchise about an orphaned boy who enrolls at Hogwarts School of Wizardry, exactly where he learns the truth about himself, his loved ones, and the terrible evil that haunts the magical globe. Adapted from the novels, Harry Potter is an eight-episode film saga that follows the journey of Harry Potter and his mates, Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley, as they navigate the difficult globe of expanding up, college life, and magic. Starting from year 1 and moving to their seventh year, the films chronicle the students’ time at Hogwarts even though unfurling a sinister plot that centers about the unsuspecting Harry. With the return of the dark wizard, Voldemort, the students and professors at Hogwarts will fight to carry on as the globe about them may well transform forever. Harry Potter has expanded beyond the globe of its films and novels with many video games, a spin-off film series titled Fantastic Beasts, and even attractions at Universal Studios.

Cast

Daniel Radcliffe , Emma Watson , Rupert Grint , Tom Felton , Alan Rickman , Matthew Lewis , Bonnie Wright , Evanna Lynch , Maggie Smith , Michael Gambon , Richard Harris , Ralph Fiennes , Helena Bonham Carter , Alfred Enoch , Harry Melling , Gary Oldman , Robert Pattinson , Warwick Davis , Oliver Phelps , James Phelps , David Bradley , David Thewlis , Katie Leung , Jason Isaacs , Imelda Staunton , David Tennant , Jamie Campbell Bower , Timothy Spall , Robbie Coltrane , Eddie Redmayne , Jude Law , Katherine Waterston , Ezra Miller , Dan Fogler , Alison Sudol , Johnny Depp , Mads Mikkelsen

Character(s)

Harry Potter , Hermione Granger , Ron Weasley , Dumbledore , Minerva McGonagall , Rubeus Hagrid , Dobby the House Elf , Draco Malfoy , Sirius Black , Ginny Weasley , Voldemort

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