There is no good and evil,

there is only power, and those

too weak to see it.

Rowling, Harry Potter and The Philosopher′s Stone

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Guide to abbreviations of the book titles:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher′s Stone: Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Chamber

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Goblet

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Hallows

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Table of contents

1. Introduction 4

2. Christian motifs in the Harry Potter series 4

3. ′Good′ characters in the Harry Potter series 8

3.1. Ron Weasley 8

3.2. Hermione Granger 10

3.3. Dumbledore 11

4. ′Evil′ characters in the Harry Potter series 13

4.1. Draco Malfoy 13

4.2. Lord Voldemort 16

5. Is Harry Potter good or evil? 18

5.1. Overview of Harry′s mischief 18

5.2. Harry′s dark side 21

6. Conclusion 23

7. Bibliography 24

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1. Introduction

Harry Potter is a heptalogy of fantasy novels by the English author Joanne K. Rowling

about an adolescent boy named Harry Potter, first published in England in 1997. Harry

Potter attends the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a boarding school for

young wizards and witches. Up to his eleventh birthday his cruel relatives, the Dursleys,

have raised the orphaned Harry. On this day he learns that he is a wizard and has been

invited to attend Hogwarts. The story is mostly set on the school premises, with each of

the seven volumes describing a school year at Hogwarts and a year of Harry′s growing-

up. The main topic is Harry Potter′s fight against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort who

killed Harry′s parents when he was still an infant. Throughout the story the Dark Lord

Voldemort gains more and more power and tries to kill Harry several times. In Hallows

the climax is reached and the final battle between Harry and Lord Voldemort which will

decide the future of the wizarding world.

The fight of good versus evil is one of the oldest topics of mankind. Starting with the

original sin in the Garden of Eden this fight has dominated moral concepts of the

Christian world ever since.

This paper presents an analysis of how good and evil are portrayed and presented in the

Harry Potter series. First, there is a description of Christian motifs in the series and how

these motifs can be compared to certain characters in the books. Second, ′good′

characters such as Harry′s close friends Ron and Hermione, and Harry′s mentor,

Professor Dumbledore, are described and characterised as to why they are part of the

′good′. Third, the ′evil′ opponents Draco Malfoy and the evil Dark Lord Voldemort are

analysed as to how they exhibit ′evil′ behaviour. The last chapter deals with the question

of whether Harry Potter is ′good′ or ′evil′ as he does not always act as an exemplary

student.

2. Christian motifs in the Harry Potter series

The fight between the opposites good and evil is one of the oldest topics of mankind.

′Good′ usually refers to something innocent. Adam and Eve were living innocently in the

Garden of Eden when the seductive serpent tempted Eve to eat an apple from the Tree

of Knowledge: the Original Sin. The German translation ′Erbsünde′ suggests that, from

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this moment on, mankind has had to suffer from the consequences. It has inherited

Eve′s lapse and has to fight the evil powers in order to be allowed into Paradise again.

The serpent is an embodiment of evil, a mean and malicious creature. Satan is often

symbolised as a snake or a serpent. Looking at the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter′s

opponent Lord Voldemort has a large pet snake named Nagini.

Voldemort′s many ties to serpents (Slytherin House; the form hidden under

Quirell′s turban in Stone: the snake Nagini in Goblet [and Hallows]; the

nightmares in Phoenix) fit with evil snake symbols going back even before

Satan was described as a snake in the Bible.1

Voldemort is a Parselmouth, meaning that he is able to communicate with snakes. He

transferred some of his powers unintentionally to Harry the night Harry′s parents were

murdered. In Chamber "a basilisk controlled by Lord Voldemort slinks though Hogwarts,

almost killing Harry and his friends"2 but because Harry is now a Parselmouth too, he is

able to fight and kill the basilisk.

After Eve has committed the Original Sin she and Adam are expelled from Paradise.

"When God created the world, God proclaimed it good. Evil came into the world only as

the result of the fall, when people did not follow God′s good way."3 Now Adam and Eve

are not innocent anymore; evil has entered the world and man has to choose between

good and evil. "Good and evil are in conflict in the world."4 Living on Earth, Eve gives

birth to two sons: Cain and Abel. Surrounded by evil, Cain murders his brother and is

stigmatised by God: He gets the mark of Cain, so that everyone who sees Cain is

reminded of the power of God5.

Harry Potter has a mark, a scar, as well: When Voldemort tried to kill Harry in the first

place, he used the ′Killing Curse′. But the curse backfired, disembodied Voldemort and

left a lightning-bolt-shaped scar on Harry′s forehead. Now this scar links Harry to

Voldemort because it always starts to hurt when Harry gets close to Voldemort. Neither

1 Colbert, David. 2003. Magical Worlds of Harry Potter. London: Penguin Books. 250.

2 ibid, 34.

3 Dalton, Russell W. 2003. Faith Journey through Fantasy Lands. Minneapolis: Augsburg Books. 16.

4 ibid, 16.

5 Patenge, Horst. 2001. "Sein Name war bekannt bei allen Völkern ringsum (1 Kön 5, 11) Theologische

Exkursion nach Hogwarts". In: Spurensuche 12. Religion in der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur. Hrsg. Willi

Fährmann. Mülheim: Kath. Akademie DIE WOLFSBURG. 81.

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does Harry receive the mark because he did something evil nor does it place Voldemort

on a level with God, because he was the one who branded Harry with the scar.

There is also another scar mentioned in Stone: Albus Dumbledore′s scar shaped like a

map of the London Underground. However, this is a rather humorous kind of scar and

simply mentioned to make Harry feel better.

Peter Pettigrew or Wormtail (because he is able to transform himself into a rat) used to

be the secret keeper of the Potters. But he betrayed Harry′s parents to Voldemort so

that Voldemort knew where to find and kill them. Wormtail can be seen as a symbol of

Judas, Jesus′ disciple who betrayed Jesus to the Romans. In Goblet Peter Pettigrew is

the one luring Harry to the graveyard during the ′Triwizard Tournament′ where

Voldemort rises to power.

When Voldemort tried to kill Harry and his parents, Harry′s mother saved Harry by

sacrificing her life: an act of motherly love. Abanes quotes English professor Ken

Jacobsen: "The overarching theme of the novels is the power of love to conquer death, a

central theme of the New Testament to be sure."6

Abanes7 lists four symbols and their Christian uses, although he emphasises that "they

could be used within a Christian paradigm"8:

· ′Griffin′ (Hagrid′s pet Buckbeak) can be seen as a symbol of Christ′s

human/divine nature

· ′Unicorn′ (living in the Forbidden Forest in Chamber) as one of the purest

and most beautiful animals can be seen a symbol of Jesus Christ himself

· ′Phoenix′ (Dumbledore′s pet Fawkes) a symbol of Christ′s death and

resurrection

· ′Centaur′ (Firenze: teacher at Hogwarts from Phoenix onwards) a symbol of

Christ

6 Abanes, Richard. 2005. Harry Potter, Narnia and the Lord of the Rings. Eugene: Harvest House.

162­163.

7 ibid, 278.

8 ibid, 162.

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