Witches, Bitches, and the Patriarchy: Gender and Power in the Harry Potter Series

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Witches, Bitches, and the Patriarchy: Gender and Power in the Witches, Bitches, and the Patriarchy: Gender and Power in the

Harry Potter Series Harry Potter Series

Delaney Bullinger

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Witches, Bitches, and the Patriarchy:

Gender and Power in the

Harry Potter

Series

By Delaney Bullinger

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Linfield College

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Witches, Bitches, and the Patriarchy:

Gender and Power in the Harry Potter

Series

By Delaney Bullinger

Acknowledgments

I want to thank everyone who has been a part of my Linfield College experience,

especially those people who supported me through this incredible, challenging, and

rewarding process of writing a thesis. I am extremely grateful for the guidance of Barbara

Seidman and Kathy Kernberger—this paper would not have existed without both of you.

I want to thank my parents for supporting this crazy dream of writing a thesis on the

Harry Potter series, my faithful friends who read countless drafts, and of course J.K.

Rowling for making this all possible. Thank you all.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1

CHAPTER ONE—THE NUCLEAR FAMILY .............................................................................. 6

CHAPTER TWO—THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC ....................................................................... 20

CHAPTER THREE—HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY .......... 27

CHAPTER FOUR—THE DEATH EATERS AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX ............. 41

CHAPTER FIVE—HERMIONE .................................................................................................. 56

BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................... 69

Introduction

At the start of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling employs traditional gendered

thinking in her construction of character roles, but as the series continues, the gender

roles are complicated. In the three main communities of J.K. Rowling’s world – the

Ministry, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the societies of the Death

Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix – a struggle between the constructive, equalizing

force of white magic and the violent, dominating force of black magic influences the

gender roles operative in each. As a vehicle for the exercise of magic, the nuclear family

also influences wizarding society in similarly bipolar ways, perpetuating patriarchal ideas

while simultaneously encouraging the power of motherhood and maternal love. One sees

the patriarchal impact of the family paradigm on the novel’s central female character

Hermione Granger, who defies gender norms in her adeptness in white magic and her

heroic partnership with Harry himself, but who ultimately dwindles into a stereotypically

feminine role as Ron’s wife in the series epilogue.

My analysis will focus on Rowling’s fictions rather than her adaptations and I use

primarily gender and feminist critical lenses in a close textual reading. As a feminist

critic, I will examine how J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world in the Harry Potter series

handles the binary of black and white magic and the gender inclusiveness of both forms

of magic in their relative spheres. I focus on the novels themselves rather than on J.K.

Rowling’s intentionality and will not rely on much of the post-publication digital

interplay Rowling and others have conducted to prevent any digression on my part into

how fanbase bias may have influenced plot choices and character development. For that

reason, I limit my use of the informational site Pottermore.com to relevant historical

details and post-series character additions. My focus remains on the published volumes

themselves and what they demonstrate regarding the gender dynamics that unfold across

the series.

The struggle between white and black magic in Harry Potter is a Manichean one

in its intricacies of gender and power. Interestingly, descriptions of that cosmology often

engage highly gendered language that Rowling’s fictions undercut. Scholar John Coyle

states:

[Mani’s]

cosmogony describes three moments or phases—the original separated

existence of good (synonymous with spirit and light) from evil (identified with

matter and darkness); their current intermingled state; and the ultimate return of

good and evil to their separate realms. In the first moment, two co-eternal

principles exist in total separation from each other. One, all good, is God, the

Father of Greatness, Light itself dwelling in a realm of light made up of this

principle’s substance. The other principle, Darkness, is intrinsically evil and

disagreeable. Often called simply “Matter,” Darkness inhabits the realm of its

own dark substance. . . On three sides both realms stretch to infinity, but on their

fourth side they touch each other. From eternity the two principles have been

completely apart; but the second (or middle) moment begins when the evil

principle rises to his border with light, which it sees, desires and attacks. In the

ensuing war, particles of the divine light-substance are imprisoned in the darkness

(Coyle xiv).

Translated into the world of Harry Potter, this concept underlies the struggle between

white and black magic, between Dumbledore and his protégé Harry Potter vs. Voldemort,

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!Mani was a third century Persian prophet and the creator of Manichaeism.!

between love and hate. The “ensuing war” also emerges in each individual within Harry

Potter: as Sirius Black says in the film version of Order of the Phoenix, “We’ve all got

light and dark inside us. What really matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who

we really are.”

The Manichean struggles that take place throughout Harry Potter depict a

complicated presentation of gender roles. Because white magic in the series furthers

healing, helping, and human equality, the spheres where white magic reigns challenge

traditional gender roles. Even the nuclear family, while problematic in terms of its gender

hierarchies, offers evidence of the influence white magic has had. Though Lily Evans

dies before the events in the series begin, she still affects Harry’s development and

survival across the novels. Her undying love saves him from Voldemort several times,

and she is continuously referenced as an extremely powerful woman and witch

because

of the force of her maternal love. Conversely, dark magic is so tied to hierarchical power

structures and violence that it becomes tied to the patriarchy.

My first section discusses the nature and influence of the nuclear family—

typically the seat of male authority and patriarchy—across the Harry Potter series. I

compare the gender dynamics within the Dursleys, the Malfoys, and the Weasleys and

analyze how blood status influences those gender dynamics. I also discuss the effect the

patriarchy has on the nuclear family, and explore the role of white vs. black magic as it

allows some families to break past the power structures of patriarchy. Broken families

produce some of the most violent, hierarchical characters in the series—Severus Snape

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Dir. David Yates. Perf. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson,

Rupert Grint. Warner Bros., 2007. DVD.

Horace Slughorn describes Lily as “one of the brightest [he] ever taught. Vivacious, you know. Charming

girl” (Half-Blood Prince 70).

and Lord Voldemort among them, and Rowling juxtaposes the patriarchal rigidities

present in these broken families to the more egalitarian dynamics within nuclear families.

Some spheres show the Manichean struggle as leaning toward patriarchy even

within the world of white magic; however, my second section on the Ministry of Magic

addresses the male dominance in high-ranking positions of the Ministry, especially the

position of Minister of Magic. Among the wider implications of this gender imbalance on

wizarding society is the treatment and positioning of women in the Ministry, whose

power differs from that of Ministry men. The level of respect and value given to women

in the Ministry compared to their male counterparts also reflects patriarchal hierarchies.

Tellingly, key women in the Ministry like Dolores Umbridge both exploit and reinforce

patriarchal gender expectations. This gendered power imbalance within the Ministry

reflects the widespread patriarchy dominant in wizarding government and policy

generally, making it ripe for Voldemort’s infiltration as the series unfolds.

My third section discusses Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which

both subverts and reinforces patriarchal gender roles and stereotypes. Gender equality

operates on several fronts: the authority accorded to professors teaching subjects not

traditionally associated with their gender as well as notable students who break traditional

gender roles. It also discusses the gendered implications of several of Hogwarts’

positions, including the Headmaster/mistress position as well as the prefect position.

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore’s life’s history demonstrates an evolution from

patriarchal rigidities and subsequently influences his policies and attitudes toward gender

roles as Hogwarts’ longtime leader. Yet even Hogwarts itself becomes a site of

Manichean struggle when Dolores Umbridge temporarily displaces Dumbledore as Head.

The pitting of light and dark, white magic vs. black magic, emerges most

dramatically in the conflict between the societies of the Order of the Phoenix and the

Death Eaters. Here too Rowling complicates the gender dynamics, given the freedom

female characters have within both of these societies, even as they face limitations in

each. The Death Eaters include powerful female villainesses, including Bellatrix

Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy. Within the Order of the Phoenix, one finds Nymphadora

Tonks, Molly Weasley, and several other notable female characters with considerable

emotional power born of their relationships with others.

My fifth and final section examines Hermione Granger’s transforming gender

identity across the series and how her friendship with Ron and Harry impacts her gender

identity. I also explore the psychosexual evolution of Hermione, especially her

transforming relationship with Ron Weasley and the taming of her personality to suit

traditionally gendered expectations as the series progresses. I examine Hermione’s

relationship with Harry as an alternative to her stereotypically feminized and ill-fitting

match with Ron in the epilogue of the series.

The gender dynamics present within the Harry Potter series are complex and

dynamic, creating a world rife with possibilities for readers and for the characters

themselves. Rowling writes several female characters who embody the Manichean

struggle between the inclusive power of white magic and the hierarchical, dominating

force of black magic. Through these women, Rowling attempts to collapse the binary

between female and male traits and create a society free of polarizing gendered

stereotypes, and through such women as Molly Weasley, Minerva McGonagall, and

Hermione Granger, she succeeds.

Chapter One—The Nuclear Family

The nuclear family

plays a pervasive role in the Harry Potter series. Rowling

presents the nuclear family as an alternative model to the hierarchical power structures

existing in most of the wizarding world. She juxtaposes the holistic familial dynamics of

some families with the patriarchal rigidities present in others. The most damaged

characters come from broken families—Severus Snape and Lord Voldemort most

notably—and their adult prejudices reflect this emotional castration. The most prominent

nuclear families—the Dursleys, the Malfoys, and the Weasleys—map differing

approaches to the character of the wizarding world, including its polarized values of

exclusionary blood status versus the inclusiveness of motherly love. Each of these values

stereotypically aligns with masculinist versus feminized worldviews.

The type of love presented by each parent (especially the mother) is key to my

discussion. The Harry Potter series at its foundation celebrates motherly love. Lily Potter

sacrificed herself to save her son’s life and in doing so transferred literal protection to

Harry from the power of her love,

the greatest act of white magic within the texts. Love

becomes one of the foremost standards to which characters are held. It is the ultimate

source of sacrifice, of white magic, and so can transcend traditional gender roles and

patriarchal family structures, reconciling tradition and love.

In the series, characters are judged in part by their blood status: non-magical (or

Muggle), Muggle-born (or Mudblood), half-blood, or pureblood. These distinctions are

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The nuclear family is a family that includes a mother, father, and biological children (as opposed to an

extended family, with aunts, uncles, or grandparents in the same household as the nuclear family).

Dumbledore tells Harry: “Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot

understand, it is love. He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark.

Not a scar, no visible sign . . . to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone,

will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin” (Sorcerer’s Stone 299).

based on the amount of non-magical blood present in a family’s lineage. Blood status is

the wizarding equivalent of racial essentialism: the presence of Muggle blood in a lineage

equates to animalistic unintelligence, the sign of a lowborn family. Muggle-born persons,

then, are most scorned in wizarding society (with Muggles themselves so far below

wizards that they don’t warrant consideration). Half-bloods occupy the majority of

society (the term “half-blood” refers to any amount of Muggle blood in one’s lineage,

rather than half as the term suggests). Purebloods have no Muggle blood in their ancestry,

and traditionally occupy the highest social class. Gender dynamics within the nuclear

family are similarly tied to blood status—pureblood families follow the strictest

patriarchal hierarchies, while half-blood or Muggle-born families are more egalitarian.

The Dursleys are the first nuclear family readers are presented with in the Harry

Potter series. Comprised of Vernon, Petunia, their son Dudley and adoptive wizarding

son Harry, they are the only non-magical family highlighted in the series. Because of

their lack of wizarding blood, they exist in a society most similar to our own: a modern

patriarchal society with very strict gendered hierarchies. The Dursleys are “proud to say

they [are] perfectly normal, thank you very much” and are “the last people you’d expect

to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just [don’t] hold with such

nonsense” (Sorcerer’s Stone 1). Because of their existence in a non-magical—and

therefore patriarchal—society, the Dursleys are stereotypically gendered. Vernon Dursley

is a “big, beefy man with hardly any neck” and a “very large mustache” (1) and is the

director of a drill-making company. This job has violent connotations which escalates his

patriarchal, abusive personality in his home. At work, Vernon yells, shouts, [eyes] people

angrily (4), and translates this dictatorial nature to his home, locking Harry in his

bedroom (a cupboard under the stairs) and starving him for even the slightest mistakes.

When a house elf magically ruins the Dursley’s dinner party, Harry is blamed and

Vernon fits bars on his window and forbids him from ever attending school again.

Vernon refuses to accept Harry into his family because he displays subversive behavior,

which Vernon feels will reflect poorly on the family’s reputation.

Petunia Dursley also contributes to the Dursleys’ traditional gender stereotyping.

She is “thin and blonde” with “nearly twice the usual amount of neck” and is usually

depicted cleaning, cooking, or spying on her neighbors (Sorcerer’s Stone 1). Petunia is

the stereotypical blonde housewife: feminine, keeps house, and is rather nosy toward

neighbors. But though she seems the beautiful picture of domesticity, she is as poisonous

as Vernon. She treats Harry like a slave rather than a son, ordering him to cook and clean

and physically diminishing him by cutting his hair

and dyeing his second-hand clothes

gray in the hopes of stamping out his abnormality. This treatment is strikingly different

than their treatment of their biological son, Dudley. Their constant doting on him creates

a narcissistic bully who torments Harry, making Dudley the perfect son in the eyes of the

Dursleys. They are exceedingly concerned with their reputation, and uphold patriarchal

family hierarchies to hide their inadequacies. The Dursleys are not completely

irredeemable, however, as Dumbledore explains:

“[Petunia] may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, bitterly, yet

still she took you, and in doing so, she sealed the charm I placed upon you. . . .

While you still call home the place where your mother’s blood dwells, there you

cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort . . . [Petunia] knows that allowing you

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Petunia ‘had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his

bangs, which she left “to hide that horrible scar”’ (Sorcerer’s Stone 24)

houseroom may well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years” (Order of the

Phoenix 836).

And Dudley, though raised with Vernon and Petunia’s worst qualities, rises past

patriarchal expectations and shakes Harry’s hand as an equal as Harry leaves the

Dursleys for the final time. Dudley’s grudging brotherly love for Harry and Petunia’s

adoption of Harry despite her deep-seated fear of magic evinces that the Dursleys are

capable of love and redemption, though patriarchal rigidities are the basis of their family

dynamic.

The Malfoy family presents a very different, yet still hierarchical, familial

representation. Lucius, Narcissa, and their son Draco are a pureblood family, supremely

concerned with tradition and their status within wizarding society. Lucius is “pale, [with

a] pointed face and. . . cold gray eyes” (Chamber of Secrets 50) with sleek, perfectly

styled blonde hair. An extremely wealthy man, Lucius is pictured climbing the social

ladder, meeting with the Minister of Magic to discuss policies,

attending high-profile

sporting events, or conferring with Albus Dumbledore as one of the twelve Governors of

Hogwarts. Though Lucius Malfoy is presumably a sociable businessman, most of his

time is spent serving Voldemort as a Death Eater. Lucius was a prominent Death Eater

during the First Wizarding War and remains suspect as an active member throughout the

series. He follows extremely traditional gender roles because of his blood status and his

role as a Death Eater. He occupies a traditionally gendered role both among the Death

Eaters, acting under the patriarchal authority of Voldemort, and within his family unit,

keeping his wife and child in line. Lucius, though he loves his wife and son, follows

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Malfoy’s been giving generously to all sorts of things for years . . . Gets him in with the right people . . .

then he can ask for favors . . . delay laws he doesn’t want passed . . . Oh, he’s very well connected, Lucius

Malfoy. . . .” (Order of the Phoenix 155).

patriarchal rigidities in displaying emotion, instead asserting his masculinity through his

family’s social superiority. Though Lucius thrives in stereotypically masculinized roles,

his subservience to Voldemort (who occupies an even more masculinized, patriarchal

space) leads to his emasculation. After he is caught and arrested in Order of the Phoenix,

Voldemort punishes Lucius—coopting Malfoy Manor and treating Lucius like a servant

and taking and subsequently breaking Lucius’ wand, the ultimate destruction of Lucius’

masculinity.

Narcissa Malfoy shares some of her husband’s values, including his snobbery, but

her adherence to traditional gender dynamics is, like Molly Weasley, compromised by

her maternal status. Like Lucius, Narcissa comes from a wealthy pureblood family and

does not work outside of the home. She is tall, slim, and “nice looking” with blue eyes,

long blonde hair, and a clear, cold voice

— a traditional beauty, in other words. Narcissa

spends most of her time shopping or cooking sweets for her son, actions that reveal more

love and devotion toward him than Lucius displays. Also like Molly, she is fiercely

protective of her son. When Harry threatens Draco in a clothing store in Half-Blood

Prince, Narcissa steps in: “I see that being Dumbledore’s favorite has given you a false

sense of security, Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won’t always be there to protect you. . .

I expect [you] will be reunited with dear Sirius before I am reunited with Lucius” (114).

When Lucius is sent to Azkaban after he is revealed as a Death Eater in Order of the

Phoenix, Narcissa is responsible for protecting her son and keeping the Malfoy legacy

alive. To protect Draco from Voldemort’s wrath, she takes a more active role in the

Death Eaters. During the Final Battle of the Second Wizarding War, Narcissa is given the

task of checking if Harry is alive after being hit with Voldemort’s killing curse:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Narcissa Malfoy.” Harry Potter Wiki. Wikimedia Foundation Inc., 7 May 2011. Web. 5 July 2015.

“Is Draco alive? Is he in the castle?”

The whisper was barely audible; her lips were an inch from his ear, bent

so low that her long hair shielded his face from the onlookers.

“Yes,” he breathed back. . .

“He is dead!” Narcissa Malfoy called to the watchers. . . Narcissa knew

that the only way she would be permitted to enter Hogwarts, and find her son, was

as part of the conquering army. She no longer cared whether Voldemort won.”

(Deathly Hallows 726).

Narcissa Malfoy lies directly to Voldemort, something very few people have the courage

to do, and fewer get away with. Yet Narcissa cares for her son more than for life itself,

which makes her willing to work on whichever side will bring him to safety. Though

infected with hierarchical bigotries and the alliances they forge, Narcissa’s motherly love

rises above them when her boy’s survival is at stake.

The Weasley family is, by far, the most complicated nuclear family in the series,

and also the most significant in the presentation of gender dynamics within the texts. The

Weasley family consists of Molly and Arthur Weasley and their children: Bill, Charlie,

Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny. The Weasleys are purebloods but their family

dynamics completely oppose the Malfoys’: they don’t enforce purity or tradition in their

family and instead display egalitarian parenting styles. They exist in the world of

purebloods as an example that past traditions don’t dictate the present, and though other

pureblood families view them harshly, they are important to the wider wizarding world.

Though the Weasley family is comprised of a majority of men, Molly Weasley is

the matriarch of the family. She is a “short, plump, kindly-faced woman” (Chamber of

Secrets 32) who helps Harry onto Platform 9¾ and introduces him to his first wizarding

friends, her children. Her children recognize Harry and are about to interrogate him when

Molly says, “the poor boy isn’t something you goggle at in a zoo” (Sorcerer’s Stone 97).

Though she doesn’t know Harry, Molly automatically treats him with kindness and

respect and protects him from emotional harm, the first of many motherly actions toward

Harry. Throughout the series, Molly becomes Harry’s surrogate mother, providing

Christmas presents when he expected to receive nothing,

always opening her home to

him to prevent him returning to the abusive Dursleys, and loving and bossing Harry as

much as her other children.

Molly Weasley is the perfect picture of domesticity: adept at household charms,

constantly cooking and cleaning, and presented in accordance with traditional domestic

hierarchies—she wears aprons and dresses and is sometimes described as “porky”

“dumpy.”

Despite this traditional presentation, Molly is not written as powerless but is

a dominating force in her household. She is loving and nurturing, but also the most

frightening disciplinarian in the family. When her children break rules, she is fierce in

chastising them, as in the Chamber of Secrets when Ron and Harry steal and wreck the

family’s flying car, and Mrs. Weasley sends a Howler:

A roar of sound filled the huge hall, shaking dust from the ceiling.

“—STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF

THEY’D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET AHOLD OF YOU, I

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

‘“I think I know who that one’s from . . .My mum. I told her you didn’t expect any presents and—oh, no,”

[Ron] groaned, “she’s made you a Weasley sweater.” Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-

knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of homemade fudge’ (Sorcerer’s Stone 200).

“So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?” (Goblet of Fire 204).

‘“Dumpy sort of woman?” [Vernon Dursley] growled finally. “Load of children with red hair?”’ (Goblet

of Fire 32).

DON’T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND

I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE—LETTER FROM

DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE

OF SHAME, WE DIDN’T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU

AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED—ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED –

YOUR FATHER’S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT’S ENTIRELY

YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE’LL

BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME” (Chamber of Secrets 87-88).

As well as being a fiercely maternal figure, Molly is an extremely gifted witch. She fights

in the Second Wizarding War in the Deathly Hallows and, in a duel with Bellatrix

Lestrange, Voldemort’s right-hand woman, Molly wins in a ferocious display of motherly

love to preserve the life of her only girl child, Ginny:

“NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!”

Mrs. Weasley threw off her cloak as she ran, freeing her arms . . . Harry

watched with terror and elation as [jets] of light flew from both wands, [and] the

floor around the witches’ feet became hot and cracked; both women were fighting

to kill . . . “You—will—never—touch—our—children—again!” screamed Mrs.

Weasley . . . Molly’s curse soared beneath Bellatrix’s outstretched arm and hit her

squarely in her chest, directly over her heart (Deathly Hallows 736).

As critic Sarah Winters states, “Motherly protection is validated by the text [when] the

mother exposes herself to the same danger threatening her child in order to protect that

child” (Winters 224). Importantly, this confrontation happens outside the home, as Molly

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the movie version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Molly ends the Howler with “Oh, and

Ginny dear, congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud” (Chamber of Secrets),

which humorously illustrates the dichotomy between Molly’s discipline and love.

is almost always pictured in the Burrow or at 12 Grimmauld Place in domestic roles.

Rowling moves Molly out of the gendered feminine space into a traditionally masculine

one without a loss of power, proving that Molly exerts authority both in stereotypical

presentations of maternal womanhood and through her wizarding abilities both inside and

outside of the home.

Molly, for all her warmth, falls prey to patriarchal biases, as in her troubling

interactions with young women. She is fiercely protective of her sons (and her pseudo-

sons like Harry), but sometimes perpetuates patriarchal ideas while doing so. When

journalist Rita Skeeter prints several articles with falsified claims about Harry Potter and

Hermione Granger, Molly condemns the lies about Harry, saying, “Rita Skeeter goes out

of her way to cause trouble!” (Goblet of Fire 617). But later, when Skeeter publishes an

article claiming that Hermione broke Harry’s heart by cheating on him with another man,

Molly believes it: she sends Hermione a pitifully small Easter egg compared to Ron’s and

Harry’s,

and speaks “stiffly” and with a “cold expression” to Hermione (618) until

Harry tells her, “Mrs. Weasley, you didn’t believe that rubbish Rita Skeeter wrote in

Witch Weekly, did you? Because Hermione’s not my girlfriend” (619). Molly’s mistrust

of Hermione demonstrates her maternal loyalties trumping her gender allegiance, which

unfairly privileges her male offspring. Molly engages in maternal privileging again when

Fleur Delacour is dating Bill Weasley. Fleur is an extremely beautiful witch who is

magically gifted (she was one of four participants in the Triwizard Tournament in Goblet

of Fire) and seemingly a very worthy candidate for Bill. However, Molly disagrees,

saying “‘Bill and Fleur…well…what have they really got in common? He’s a

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“Both Harry’s and Ron’s [Easter eggs] were the size of dragon eggs and full of homemade toffee.

Hermione’s, however, was smaller than a chicken egg” (Goblet of Fire 549).

Some of Molly’s resentment of Fleur may purely be British distrust of the French.

hardworking, down-to-earth sort of person, whereas she’s—’ ‘A cow,’ said Ginny,

nodding” (Half-Blood Prince 93). Later, after a werewolf disfigures Bill, Fleur confronts

Molly about her disapproval of their relationship and makes clear, “It would take more

zan a werewolf to stop Bill loving me!. . . .What do I care how he looks? All these scars

show is zat my husband is brave!” (Half-Blood Prince 622-3). Molly’s tendency to allow

her maternal prejudices to bias her view of young women unfairly positions these women

as rivals and devalues both women’s power. Molly becomes a caricature of the jealous

mother, and the young women become objects to be fought for rather than individuals.

While Fleur defends her choices and moves past the stereotype of the vapid, shallow

beauty queen, gendered hierarchies prevail, leaving readers with a distasteful

stereotypical depiction of Molly.

Despite Molly’s conventionalized gender lapses, the males in the Weasley family

also soften the nuclear family’s conventional gender binary. While Arthur Weasley is the

patriarch of the Weasley family, he is markedly different from Molly, lacking the

masculinized rigidities of patriarchal authority. He is introduced in Chamber of Secrets

“slumped in a kitchen chair with his glasses off and his eyes closed,” a “thin man, going

bald” and wearing “dusty and travel-worn” long green robes (38). His introduction is

almost the complete opposite of Molly’s: where she is commandeering and strong, he is

slumped and weary; where she is plump and vibrant, he is thin and flat. Physically, they

are as opposite as two people can be, and their parenting styles, especially disciplinary

practices, are similarly polarized. While Molly sends a Howler after learning of the theft

of their magical car, Arthur Weasley responds with child-like excitement:

“Your sons flew that car to Harry’s house and back last night!” shouted

Mrs. Weasley. “What have you got to say about that, eh?”

“Did you really?” said Mr. Weasley eagerly. “Did it go all right? I—I

mean,” he faltered as sparks flew from Mrs. Weasley’s eyes, “that—that was very

wrong, boys—very wrong indeed….” (Chamber of Secrets 39).

Mr. Weasley’s reaction illustrates the matriarchal power dynamics within the Weasley

family. Arthur follows his wife’s lead in decisions, nearly as afraid of her anger as her

children are. Yet, Arthur wields power in the family as well. When Molly and Arthur are

named to lead the Order of the Phoenix (See Chapter Four), members of the Order

presume Arthur will operate as the ruling patriarch and Molly as subordinate assistant.

For example, when Molly and Sirius Black argue over whether Harry should be given

dangerous information pertaining to the Order of the Phoenix, these presumptions clearly

surface:

“It’s not down to you to decide what’s good for Harry!” said Mrs.

Weasley sharply. “He’s not a member of the Order of the Phoenix! . . . He’s only

fifteen and—”

“—and he’s dealt with as much as most in the Order,” said Sirius, “and

more than some—”

“Arthur!” said Mrs. Weasley, rounding on her husband. “Arthur, back me

up!”

Mr. Weasley did not speak at once. He took off his glasses and cleaned

them slowly on his robes, not looking at his wife. Only when he had replaced

them carefully on his nose did he say, “Dumbledore knows the position has

changed, Molly. He accepts that Harry will have to be filled in to a certain extent

now that he is staying at headquarters—”

“Well,” said Mrs. Weasley, breathing deeply and looking around the table

for support that did not come, “well . . . I can see I’m going to be overruled. I’ll

just say this: Dumbledore must have had his reasons for not wanting Harry to

know too much, and speaking as someone who has got Harry’s best interests at

heart—”

“He’s not your son,” said Sirius quietly.

“Very well,” said Mrs. Weasley, her voice cracking. “Ginny—Ron—

Hermione—Fred—George—I want you out of this kitchen, now . . . I absolutely

forbid—”

“Molly, you can’t stop Fred and George . . . they’re legally adults now,”

said Mr. Weasley in the same tired voice. (Order of the Phoenix 88-91, edited for

length).

Sirius Black devalues Molly’s power as surrogate mother to Harry and Arthur overrides

her understandable desire to protect all of her sons from danger. Sirius and Arthur

dismiss Molly’s concerns as less important than the greater war—a heartbreaking

patriarchal usurpation of familial values. Molly is not exempt from this patriarchal view

of war, however, as her exclusion of Hermione and Ginny from the meeting illustrates.

Arthur seems very passive in this scene; he is “tired” and “weary” when disagreeing with

Molly, and refuses to look her in the eye when voicing dissent, suggesting he feels shame

at disagreeing with her, though he still does so.

Many of the great villains in the series come from broken families, asserting yet

again that the family is monumental to propagating white magic and egalitarianism in the

wizarding world. Severus Snape grew up in a neglectful family, wearing ill-fitting,

mismatched clothing and spending his days alone, wandering to escape his parents’

constant fighting.

15,16

Snape is a half-blood—his mother, Eileen Prince, attended

Hogwarts and married a Muggle man who disdains magic.

The lack of parental love

explains his resentment toward Harry—Lily Potter (the woman Snape has loved his

whole life) died to protect Harry, while Snape never found love in childhood nor from

Lily in adulthood. Snape made Lily his whole world, but if he grew up in a functional

household, he might have rationalized Lily’s friendship instead of becoming hard and

cruel. Lord Voldemort’s reign of terror may also have been averted if his childhood were

different. His mother, Merope Gaunt, was a pureblooded descendent of Salazar Slytherin

who fell in love with a Muggle boy, Tom Riddle. Once she was pregnant, Tom left her,

and Merope died after giving birth to Voldemort in an orphanage. Voldemort grew up

with deep hatred over his parents’ abandonment, and murders his father and

grandparents, “obliterating the last of the unworthy Riddle line and revenging himself

upon the father who never wanted him” (Half-Blood Prince 367). Voldemort’s

resentment toward his parents is reflected in his adult prejudices—he disdains Muggles

and takes joy in destroying families.

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“His black hair was overlong and his clothes were so mismatched that it looked deliberate: too short

jeans, a shabby, overlarge coat that might have belonged to a grown man, an odd smocklike shirt” (Deathly

Hallows 663).

“A hook-nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in a corner”

(Half-Blood Prince 591).

Lily Evans befriends a young Snape, once asking him, “Doesn’t your dad like magic?” Snape replies,

“He doesn’t like anything, much” (Deathly Hallows 667).

Aside from the obvious destruction of Harry’s family, Voldemort assigns Draco Malfoy a suicide

mission—killing Albus Dumbledore. As Snape explains, “The Dark Lord does not expect Draco to succeed

By contrasting the complex gender dynamics of healthy nuclear families with the

overriding patriarchal hierarchies present in broken families, Rowling imparts to young

readers the value of parental love. Love, especially maternal love, transcends Manichean

struggles and patriarchal hierarchies and fosters acceptance, subverts stereotypical gender

expectations, and promotes the egalitarian power of white magic.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is merely punishment . . . slow torture for Draco’s parents, while they watch him fail and pay the

price” (Deathly Hallows 682).

Chapter Two—The Ministry of Magic

Rowling’s Ministry of Magic, the seat of wizarding government and the presumed

stronghold of white magic, nonetheless reveals itself to be a realm heavily influenced by

patriarchal hierarchies which foster traditional gendered thinking and an uneasy status for

women therein. This connection with the patriarchy explains its susceptibility to

cooptation by Voldemort’s black magic and gendered binaries in The Deathly Hallows.

This section of my thesis discusses the origins of the Ministry, the legacy of male

domination therein, and its elevation of Dolores Umbridge who, despite holding a

powerful position within the Ministry, reinforces the patriarchy.

Before the creation of the Ministry of Magic, there existed the Wizengamot, a

medieval version of the Wizards’ Council that continues in the current Ministry of Magic

as the high court of law. The Wizengamot acts as a disciplinary body during trials under

the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. They are made up of around fifty

members, in part selected by the Minister of Magic. In the book, the Wizengamot plays a

minor but significant role in terms of gender representation within the Ministry. Among

the few characters mentioned from the Wizengamot,

the ratio of men to women in the

court is roughly equal. Nonetheless the high court appears only three times throughout

the series, making its impact on gender representation in the Ministry relatively small.

The Ministry of Magic, created in 1701, serves as the governing body of the

wizarding world, helmed by the Minister of Magic, who controls various departments:

magical law enforcement, games and sports, security, international magical control,

regulation and control of magical creatures. The Minister also issues directives to the

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amelia Bones, Bartemius Crouch Sr., Elphias Doge, Albus Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge, Ulick Gamp,

Griselda Marchbanks, Tiberius Ogden, and Dolores Umbridge. !

wider wizarding world. The title Minister itself is conventionally masculine, with no

corresponding title for women in English, so the position exudes patriarchal assumptions.

Only one female holder of the position is named: Millicent Bagnold.

She was succeeded

by Cornelius Fudge, the Minister most active across the Harry Potter series. The

dominance of men in the highest-ranking positions in the wizarding world reflects the

systemic patriarchal orientation of wizarding society because it relegates witches to

subordinate roles as functionaries marginal to decision-making and governmental policy.

The few women present in the Ministry’s upper echelons are either removed from power

throughout the course of the series, or, in the case of Dolores Umbridge, serve to further

rather than redress the Ministry’s patriarchal character.

Rufus Scrimgeour’s succession of Cornelius Fudge as Minister in Harry Potter

and the Half-Blood Prince perpetuates the position as male-dominated and underscores

the patriarchy’s hold on Rowling’s wizarding world. When the question of who will

succeed the current minister arises, only males earn mention: Albus Dumbledore,

Tom

Riddle (later to become Voldemort), and Harry Potter all merit consideration, while

Minerva McGonagall or Hermione Granger, acknowledged as the “cleverest witch of

[her] age” (Prisoner of Azkaban 346), are never mentioned. Young witches and adult

women of wizarding society thus begin to see the role of Minister as a man’s prerogative,

however intelligent or skilled any given female may be. This situation renders the

Minister as “father” controlling the “household” of wizarding society, or, more

ominously, dictator controlling the bureaucracy of the state.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!There have been several female Ministers of Magic listed on J.K. Rowling’s interactive informational

site, Pottermore.com, but fanbase bias may have influenced J.K. Rowling’s writings on that site, created

after the publication of the original seven novels.!

!Albus Dumbledore was offered the position at least three times in his life, and turned it down each time.

Unsurprisingly, then, the Ministry itself proves inherently patriarchal. The most

frequently mentioned Ministry workers in the series are men: Lucius Malfoy, Arthur

Weasley, and Alastor Moody, for example. These men remain ever-present in Harry

Potter’s life, play repeated roles in his coming-of-age story, and exert significant

influence in wizarding society as a whole. They command respect in the Ministry despite

deep character flaws, which greatly differs from the treatment of women in the Ministry.

Lucius Malfoy is arguably the most well-known dark wizard in the series (other than

Voldemort), given his history as a prominent Death Eater during the First Wizarding

War; his hierarchical mindset makes him a relentless proponent of enforcing blood purity

laws.

Yet Lucius remains a close personal friend of Cornelius Fudge (even after a

warning from Harry)

and his substantial financial contributions to the Ministry ensure

Malfoy’s status as one of the twelve governors of Hogwarts. Suspicions about Malfoy’s

involvement in dark magic remain willfully ignored by the Ministry until he is caught and

“exposed” in Order of the Phoenix. For contrast, Dolores Umbridge eventually earns

ignominy and humiliation, exposing the gendered double standard in operation: briefly

elevated higher than Lucius, she falls far further in the hierarchy.

There is no more powerful witch in the Ministry and no greater female villain in

the novels than Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, High

Inquisitor of Hogwarts and, briefly, Head of the Muggle-Born Registration Committee.

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Draco Malfoy, Lucius’ son, reflects his father’s view on blood purity, saying, “Father says to keep my

head down and let the heir of Slytherin get on with it. He says the school needs ridding of all the Mudblood

filth…” (Chamber of Secrets 224).

“Harry felt winded, as though he had just walked into something heavy. He had last seen [Lucius

Malfoy’s] cool gray eyes through slits in a Death Eater’s hood, and last heard that man’s voice jeering in a

dark graveyard while Lord Voldemort tortured him. He could not believe that Lucius Malfoy dared look

him in the face; he could not believe that he was here, in the Ministry of Magic, or that Cornelius Fudge

was talking to him, when Harry had told Fudge mere weeks ago that Malfoy was a Death Eater” (Order of

the Phoenix 154).

Umbridge earns the hatred of most characters and readers. Her first name means “sad or

doleful” and her surname “is just two letters away from umbrage, which [leads one to the

phrase] ‘taking umbrage’ or suspecting someone of shady dealings”

(Nilsen 63). From

her name to her clothes to her actions at Hogwarts, Umbridge invites scathing feminist

analysis for the uses to which she puts her authority, and Rowling satirizes her ruthlessly.

She is introduced in Order of the Phoenix as looking “just like a large, pale toad. . . rather

squat with a broad, flabby face,” very little neck, and “a very wide, slack mouth” (Order

of the Phoenix 146). This unpleasant description clashes with her physical presentation:

she speaks in a “fluttery, girlish, high-pitched voice” and bedecks herself in lace, pink,

and flowers. Her office at Hogwarts also displays sickly-sweet, stereotypically feminine

excess:

Her office had been draped in lacy covers and cloths. There were several vases

full of dried flowers, each residing on its own doily, and on one of the walls there

was a collection of ornamental plates, each decorated with a large Technicolored

kitten wearing a different bow around its neck (Order of the Phoenix 265).

She presents herself as hyper-feminine and despite her own obvious pursuit of power she

spouts regressive statements like “Progress for progress’s sake must be discouraged, for

our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering” (Order of the Phoenix 267). Yet

her actions in exercise of her power are stereotypically masculine. Her extreme cruelty,

her need for dominance, and her obsession with authority, all coated with faux delicacy,

reflect patriarchal extremes. As Rowling herself states, “[Umbridge] is one of those

people . . . who will always side with the established order. As far as she is concerned

authority cannot be wrong so she doesn’t question it, . . . whatever happened and

whoever took over at the Ministry, Umbridge would be there, she likes power.”

She

embodies a schizophrenic synthesis of exaggerated gender influences, her sugary-sweet

exterior hiding a will of steel determined to reverse any egalitarian impulses within the

wizarding world. Umbridge seems incredibly twisted because of her fraudulent gender

performativity since, aside from her feminine affect, she is not stereotypically sweet,

meek, polite, or gentle. She cruelly tortures Harry, for example, and delights in publicly

humiliating Sybil Trelawney.

Yet one cannot dismiss Umbridge’s status as one of the most energetic “bad girls”

of the series, and as such someone who does merit some feminist acknowledgement. Her

gleeful exercise of power does demonstrate a freedom of sorts that other women in the

series don’t attempt. And while Umbridge’s perversion of femininity destroys the

association of femininity with submissiveness, her femininity matched with her vicious

personality demonizes femininity and positions it as a tool for self-serving posturing.

Young readers may fail to recognize Umbridge’s parodic representation as only one

version of the feminine within the series as a whole.

For all her power, Umbridge represents regression, a tool of the patriarchy, rather

than an example of resistance against it. She is widely recognized as Fudge’s lackey and

is hated both within the Ministry and in the greater wizarding society. Her speech during

the opening ceremony at Hogwarts in The Order of the Phoenix illustrates her repressive

agenda:

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Edinburgh “Cub Reporter” Press Conference. ITV. Accio Quote! 16 July 2005. Web.

The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and

wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may

come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient

skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the

generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge

amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those

who have been called to the noble profession of teaching. . . .Without progress

there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress’s sake must

be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A

balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between

tradition and innovation. . . .Let us move forward, then . . . preserving what ought

to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we

find practices that ought to be prohibited. (212-214, emphasis added).

That last phrase clearly reflects Umbridge’s plan to control the students of Hogwarts

rather than nurture them. Her repressive agenda is not welcomed by students nor staff at

Hogwarts: after hearing this speech, Hermione says “ominously”: “It means the

Ministry’s interfering at Hogwarts” (214). Minerva McGonagall, meeting with Harry to

discuss his defiance toward Umbridge, warns, “Potter, use your common sense. . . .You

know where [Umbridge] comes from, you must know to whom she is reporting. . . you

need to be careful” (248-249). Eventually, though, Umbridge’s quest for dominance

dwindles as she pursues a personal vendetta against Harry. She reveals that she illegally

sent Dementors to attack Harry because “[Everyone in the Ministry was] bleating about

silencing” and “discrediting” him (Order of the Phoenix 747); later she is so engrossed in

punishing Harry for telling “lies” about Voldemort’s return, she naively falls for a trap

Hermione sets and is carried off into the Forbidden Forest by centaurs, her reign of terror

ended at Hogwarts.

In the Deathly Hallows, Umbridge holds the position of Head of the Muggle-Born

Registration Committee, working to expose and arrest Muggle-born persons. After her

expulsion from Hogwarts, Umbridge found new power in Voldemort’s coopted Ministry,

enforcing patriarchal blood purity laws. She also unknowingly possesses one of

Voldemort’s Horcruxes.

When Harry, Hermione or Ron wear a Horcrux, their negative

emotions are amplified, but on Umbridge it strengthens her already perversely

masculinized cruelty. After Harry takes her Horcrux and later restores the Ministry to its

original purpose, Umbridge is arrested and sent to Azkaban. Though she does not commit

the same horrors as Voldemort, Dolores Umbridge’s perversion of masculinized traits

coated in false femininity leaves her etched in readers’ minds as one of the most

fraudulently performative characters and the worst female villainess in the series.

The Ministry, though created to manage evil in the wizarding world, becomes

vulnerable to sabotage because of its antiquated patriarchal hierarchies, corrupt blood

purity laws causing gender polarizations and racializations, and infiltration by individuals

such as Umbridge, hungry for personal domination.

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As Umbridge is carried off, her wand is broken. Umbridge is the only female in the series whose wand

breaks. Wand-breaking implies emasculation with Lucius Malfoy and Hagrid, so it is fitting that the same

emasculation occurs within Umbridge’s masculinized power grab.

Items that contain part of a person’s soul, created through murder. They are the darkest magical objects

in the wizarding world.

Chapter Three—Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Because Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry functions as an extremely

influential sector of wizarding society, it plays a very significant role in the gender

dynamics within the Harry Potter series. From its inception, Hogwarts has been a

repository of learning related to white magic and an educational training ground for

young witches and wizards. It was founded by four legendary witches and wizards, men

and women equally represented: Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga

Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. This gender balance already sets Hogwarts apart from

the rest of the wizarding world. The school welcomed all types of students with

demonstrated magical ability:

Now each of these four founders

Formed their own House, for each

Did value different virtues

In the ones they had to teach.

By Gryffindor, the bravest were

Prized far beyond the rest;

For Ravenclaw, the cleverest

Would always be the best;

For Hufflepuff, hard workers were

Most worthy of admission;

And power-hungry Slytherin

Loved those of great ambition (Goblet of Fire 177).

Over time, however, the four founders’ distinctive criteria for selection deviated more

dramatically:

For instance, Slytherin

Took only pure-blood wizards

Of great cunning, just like him,

And only those of sharpest mind

Were taught by Ravenclaw

While the bravest and the boldest

Went to daring Gryffindor.

Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,

And taught them all she knew (Order of the Phoenix 205).

Salazar Slytherin’s insistence on accepting only pureblood wizards created strife among

the founders, and he eventually left the school in protest. The blood purity standards at

Hogwarts that he had insisted on keeping alive were eventually abandoned. Hogwarts’

modern day rejection of pureblood superiority thus established it as a pillar of

inclusiveness within the wizarding world, reflected in its current policies.

Run by a Headmaster (or Headmistress) and overseen by a Board of Governors

(led by the Ministry), Hogwarts delegates the main disciplinary role to its faculty

(especially the Heads of Houses) and the Prefects/Head Students. Both groups are

composed evenly of men and women: each House has two student leaders of each sex.

This administrative organization models gender equality for students. Within the faculty

itself, more female professors assume major roles than male professors, which may

reflect the fact that K-12 teaching has become a feminized profession in modern times.

Moreover, many professors operate outside traditional gender norms, providing a realistic

picture of the range of talents and temperaments across the gender spectrum. Madame

Hooch, the Quidditch Instructor, has “short, gray hair and yellow eyes like a hawk,” a

gender neutral description. In her role as Quidditch Instructor, Madame Hooch makes

clear a dedication to physical athletic development and skills-cultivation that holds all

students to a similar standard. Among males who challenge gender stereotypes is

Professor Flitwick, who teaches Charms, characterized as a “soft option”

(Half-Blood

Prince 174) despite its including “some of the most powerful and game-changing spells

in existence.”

Himself a “mixed blood” half-goblin, half-human wizard, Flitwick may

represent diminished masculinity physically as well as intellectually, but in fact he

transcends such gendered reductionism by being an accomplished Charms Master and

popular teacher who is widely valued for his abilities at Hogwarts.

Perhaps the professor who most defies gender stereotypes (as well as other

binaries) is Rubeus Hagrid, who, in his fusion of stereotypically masculine and feminine

qualities exemplifies queerness. He teaches a course that deals with “feeding,

maintaining, breeding, and proper treatment of various magical creatures.”

While this is

a relatively gender-neutral subject, Hagrid’s character and behavior reflects nurturance

abilities belied by preconceptions triggered by his size and sex. His affect is strikingly

maternal: when his dragon, Norbert, hatches from its egg, Hagrid declares, “Isn’t he

beautiful?. . . .Bless him, he knows his mummy!” When Norbert is taken to a proper

dragon-keeping facility, Hagrid packs him with a teddy bear and sobs as he is being taken

away, saying, “Bye-bye, Norbert! Mummy will never forget you!” (Sorcerer’s Stone 235,

240). These stereotypically feminine attributes emerge often: Hagrid weeps on multiple

occasions throughout the series, wears a flowery apron while cooking in his hut, and

carries a pink umbrella disguising the broken halves of his wand. In keeping with its

phallic implications, wand breaking is seen as emasculating, and Hagrid’s affinity for

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“I see Charms as a slightly lighter subject than Transfiguration which is very hard work. With Charms

there would be a little more leeway for a little more personal creativity—Transfiguration you have to get it

exactly right, Transfiguration is more scientific.” (Rowling, J.K. Interview by Stephen Fry. Harry Potter’s

Page. Mugglenet, 26 June 2003. Web.)

“Charms.” Harry Potter Wiki. Wikimedia Foundation Inc., 7 May 2011. Web.

“Care of Magical Creatures” Harry Potter Wiki. Wikimedia Foundation Inc., 8 May 2011. Web.

“girly” items like aprons and pink umbrellas and his emotionality often make him a

comedic character. But one can also regard Hagrid as queer in his natural indifference to

heteronormative alignment. At times he proves extremely masculine, displaying great

strength and physical presence, yet he also has fully developed emotions, stereotypically

seen as feminine qualities. Hagrid embodies the intersectionality of gender more overtly

than Dumbledore or the Golden Trio and becomes the series’ most beloved character in

the process.

Among the professors who best embody Hogwarts’ ideals of gender equality and

freedom of expression stands Minerva McGonagall, beloved by students and fans alike.

She teaches Transfiguration, a complex and dangerous skill transforming objects (such as

a rat into a goblet, as in Prisoner of Azkaban). As Head of House of Gryffindor, she

models courage and stalwartness in the face of threat. Though a strict disciplinarian and

fearsomely difficult teacher, McGonagall has a greater depth of compassion for her

students than any other Hogwarts instructor. When Harry first glimpses Minerva

McGonagall in Sorcerer’s Stone, he sees a “tall, black-haired witch in emerald green

robes” with a “very stern face” and his “first thought was that this was not someone to

cross” (113). Minerva’s imposing first impression proved true: during their first

Transfiguration class, she “gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down” (133)

about the dangers of improper Transfiguration and disregarding her instruction. Yet she

never receives ridicule as Professor Trelawney does, for example, or earns the hatred

visited on Professor Snape. Her compassionate side, though selectively shown, reveals

her capacity for nurturance. In Chamber of Secrets, for example, Minerva, “with a tear

glistening in her beady eye,” allows Harry and Ron to see Hermione after she has been

petrified by a basilisk, though it violates the rules (288). Though she has no children of

her own, Minerva provides the students of Hogwarts, especially those in her own House,

comfort when necessary, and she imposes structure throughout their training to make

them all the best witches and wizards they can be. True to her Greek goddess namesake,

Minerva proves fierce in protection of her charges; during the Final Battle at Hogwarts,

she shepherds a “herd of galloping desks” down the hall to fight the Death Eaters, her

hair free from her strict bun and a “gash on her cheek” (Deathly Hallows 644). She later

emits a scream of utter despair when Harry is presented “dead” to Hogwarts’ forces.

Also like the goddess for whom she is named, Minerva possesses a keen intellect

in service to considerable power. On top of being very skilled at Transfiguration and

being a registered Animagus,

McGonagall proves herself an extremely talented witch.

She fearlessly sends Death Eaters running away in fear when she attacks,

and “[moves]

faster than Harry could have believed: Her wand [slashing] through the air. . .

brandishing her wand at a torch on the wall” and transforming the flames into “a ring of

fire that filled the corridor and flew like a lasso” at Professor Snape in Deathly Hallows

(598). Albus Dumbledore greatly values her power and clearly considers her his equal

given his regular reliance on her advice. Minerva remains staunchly supportive of

Dumbledore, risking imprisonment in Azkaban for defending him against unjust arrest by

the Ministry in Half-Blood Prince. As well as being Acting Headmistress in

Dumbledore’s absence on many occasions, Minerva assumes Dumbledore’s role as

Headmistress after his death in Half-Blood Prince, having been prepared by him to lead

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A very difficult process of Transfiguration in which a person transforms herself into an animal at will and

for an extended period of time.

“Take that!” shouted Professor McGonagall, and Harry glimpsed the female Death Eater, Alecto,

sprinting away down the corridor with her arms over her head, her brother right behind her” (Half-Blood

Prince 599).!

Hogwarts. She thus receives more respect and wields more authority than any other

woman in the series.

Accordingly, McGonagall fiercely aligns herself with white magic in its

Manichean struggle with black magic, corresponding with her challenge to patriarchal

norms. When Dolores Umbridge is installed at Hogwarts, Minerva consistently resists the

Ministry’s patriarchal attempt to corrupt the school. She concedes the power the

hierarchy has bestowed on Umbridge as High Inquisitor and explicitly warns the students

of the danger she poses, saying in a “low and anxious and somehow much more human”

voice than usual, “Misbehavior in Dolores Umbridge’s class could cost you much more

than House points and a detention. . . .You know where she comes from, you must know

to whom she is reporting. . . .Tread carefully around Dolores Umbridge” (Order of the

Phoenix 248-249). But she refuses to submit to Umbridge’s browbeating. During a

meeting to discuss Harry’s future, McGonagall frankly announces her opinion of her

antagonist:

[Harry] has achieved high marks in all his Defense Against the Dark Arts

tests—”

“I’m terribly sorry to have to contradict you, Minerva, but as you will see

from my note, Harry has been achieving very poor results in his classes with

me—”

“I should have made my meaning plainer,” said Professor McGonagall,

turning at last to look Umbridge directly in the eyes. “He has achieved high marks

in all Defense Against the Dark Arts tests set by a competent teacher” (Order of

the Phoenix 664).

Minerva risks her job with such challenges to Umbridge’s plays for dominance and

demonstrates female strength that rejects the other’s faux femininity. Where Umbridge

uses saccharine manners to cloak hateful and dominating actions, Minerva

compassionately exercises her authority, secure in its legitimacy. Where Umbridge is

duplicitous, Minerva is steadfast and honest. Where Umbridge derives her power from

her usefulness to the patriarchal Ministry and to Fudge particularly, Minerva has earned

the role of right-hand advisor to Dumbledore. Though both exhibit female modes of

wielding power, Umbridge’s allegiance to the Ministry’s corrupting, regressive ideology

renders her a caricature of female power, while Minerva aligns herself with Hogwarts’

foundational egalitarian principles and Dumbledore’s collaborative leadership style.

Moreover, Umbridge’s selfishness collides with Minerva’s selflessness. When Umbridge

attempts to fire the Divination Professor, Sybill Trelawney, who she believes is a fraud,

she convenes the full Hogwarts community in the courtyard to humiliate the weaker

female. Though McGonagall regards both Divination

and Professor Trelawney

skeptically, she “marches straight up to [Sybill] and [pats] her firmly on the back while

withdrawing a large handkerchief from within her robes” saying, “There, there, Sybill . . .

Calm down . . . It’s not as bad as you think, now . . . You are not going to have to leave

Hogwarts” (595). While Umbridge sadistically exercises her power at the expense of

others, Minerva risks her own safety by publicly mitigating Umbridge’s extremism.

Apart from the faculty of Hogwarts, there are several students who influence the

gender dynamics in the books. Hermione Granger is the most well-known of these

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“Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very

little patience with it” (Prisoner of Azkaban 109).

“Sybill Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of

them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact

that I never speak ill of my colleagues—” (Prisoner of Azkaban 109).

students, blending stereotypically masculinized and feminized traits that highlight her

intelligence, bravery, and strength. Critic Debbie Rodrigues states:

[Hermione] subverts many common expectations of femininity and masculinity in

the classroom: she is not only unafraid to speak up in class, but is fiercely

independent and makes no excuses for her love of learning. . . .Although she tends

to be a stickler of rules and respects authority, she is not scared openly to oppose

and rebel against the despotic Umbridge’s narrow-minded teaching methods or

loudly voice her disdain for the dubious knowledge Professor Trelawney teaches

in her Divination class (Rodrigues 52).

Among the students themselves, none is perhaps as gender neutral as Luna

Lovegood, first introduced in Order of the Phoenix, when Harry, Ron, Hermione and

Ginny choose the same compartment on the Hogwarts Express. She has “straggly, waist-

length, dirty-blond hair, very pale eyebrows, and protuberant eyes that [give] her a

permanently surprised look” and she gives off an “aura of distinct dottiness” (185). She is

extremely eccentric, both in physical presentation and in personality. She wears

“necklaces made out of butterbeer caps,” (Order of the Phoenix 185) and carries “green

onion[s],” “spotted toadstool[s]” and “cat litter” in her bag for no apparent reason (Half-

Blood Prince 424). Luna is wonderfully weird, a character who “has that unbelievably

rare quality of actually not giving a damn what anybody thinks of her” (Rowling,

“Women of Harry Potter!”). She is rarely described as pretty or beautiful, and characters

are more concerned with her eccentric personality than her physical presentation. The

male gaze is never applied to Luna, allowing her accomplishments and intelligence to

stand out. She also does not display stereotypically masculinized or feminized

characteristics; she is intuitive, philosophical, connected to the immaterial world, and

intelligent but reserved, all androgynous qualities. Because of her maturity and lack of

self-consciousness, Luna often says things like “Well, I’ve lost most of my possessions. .

. .People take them and hide them, you know. But as it’s the last night, I really do need

them back, so I’ve been putting up signs” (Order of the Phoenix 862). Rather than taking

offense at fellow students’ teasing, Luna serenely goes about her business, expecting her

items to return to her because she wholeheartedly trusts in the goodness of people. This

wonderful lack of inhibition makes Luna an integral part of the Hogwarts story, as she is

unencumbered by patriarchal gender expectations, providing a realistically androgynous

female character. Luna makes visible the gendered assumptions within Hogwarts and

provides an alternate view for readers.

Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger polarize the spectrum of female students

at Hogwarts. They are very different characters, but both are key to Hogwarts’ subversion

of patriarchal expectations. Luna relies on intuition and believes “crazy” theories,

whereas the cerebral Hermione relies on fact and logic, researching everything before

making judgments. Physically they differ as well. As previously mentioned, Luna’s

appearance combined with her “sing-song,” dreamy voice (Order of the Phoenix 186),

contrasts with Hermione’s “bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large

front teeth” (Sorcerer’s Stone 105). They disagree on almost everything, foregrounding

another binarism the series challenges: intuition vs. intellect. On one memorable

occasion, Luna mentions a fantastical (and probably nonexistent) creature, and Hermione

challenges her:

“[Fudge’s] got an army of heliopaths,” said Luna solemnly.

“No, he hasn’t,” snapped Hermione.

“Yes, he has,” said Luna.

“What are heliopaths?” asked Neville, looking blank.

“They’re spirits of fire,” said Luna, her protuberant eyes widening so that

she looked madder than ever. “Great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the

ground burning everything in front of—”

“They don’t exist, Neville.” Said Hermione tartly.

“Oh yes they do!” said Luna angrily.

“I’m sorry, but where’s the proof of that?” snapped Hermione.

“There are plenty of eyewitness accounts, just because you’re so narrow-

minded you need to have everything shoved under your nose before

you—” (Order of the Phoenix 345).

From the moment Luna speaks, Hermione is on the defensive, snapping and speaking

tartly to Luna. Luna is deeply offended by almost everything Hermione says (and vice

versa) because each challenges the fundamental worldview of the other.

Ginny Weasley falls in the middle of the spectrum of female pupils at Hogwarts.

As the sole girl child of the Weasley family, Ginny has to fight to find her own identity.

She grows up in a male-dominated household, yet constructs her own sense of femininity

at Hogwarts. Having had so many older male siblings, Ginny proves her mettle early on.

In Chamber of Secrets as an 11 year-old, she forcefully defends Harry to Draco Malfoy,

who is older, male, and more physically imposing, saying “Leave him alone! He didn’t

want [those free books of Lockhart’s!]” (61).

A few years later, when Ron

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Gilderoy Lockhart, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, is a celebrity in the wizarding

world, widely regarded as insufferably narcissistic.

unintentionally injures a female Quidditch player in Half-Blood Prince after failing to

block a goal, Ginny erupts: “You prat, Ron, look at the state of her!” Nor does she accept

rebuke that she has overstepped her authority, rebuking Harry (the Team Captain) in turn:

“Well, you seemed too busy to call [Ron on his behavior] and I thought someone

should—” (285-6). During the fight in the Department of Mysteries in Order of the

Phoenix, a Death Eater breaks Ginny’s ankle, yet she attempts to continue fighting

unassisted saying, “It’s only my ankle, I can do it myself!” (796). As well as being tough

and stubborn, Ginny is exceptionally good at charms with a black magic flair, like curses

and hexes,

and is an accomplished Quidditch player. While the qualities of physical

strength, stubbornness, and an affinity for dark magic have all been stereotypically

masculinized, one never feels Ginny consciously adopts these qualities or uses them for

personal dominance, as Umbridge does. In fact, it is because of these qualities that Ginny

is so strongly connected to white magic through her family, the Order of the Phoenix, and

Harry.

Ginny’s unique connection to black magic was facilitated when one of

Voldemort’s Horcruxes possesses her in Chamber of Secrets. For most of the year,

Ginny unknowingly summons a basilisk from Salazar Slytherin’s Chamber of Secrets to

petrify several students (including Hermione Granger). The Horcrux, manifesting as

Voldemort in his youth at Hogwarts, plays on her innermost fears and dark secrets,

gaslighting her until she feels she can trust no one, not even her own sanity:

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‘“How did you get away?” asked Harry in amazement, taking his wand from Ron. “Couple of Stunners, a

Disarming Charm, Neville brought off a really nice little Impediment Jinx. . . .But Ginny was best, she got

Malfoy—Bat-Bogey Hex—it was superb, his whole face was covered in the great flapping things”’ (Order

of the Phoenix 760).

Dear Tom, I think I’m losing my memory . . . There was another attack today and

I don’t know where I was. Tom what am I going to do? I think I’m going mad . . .

I think I’m the one attacking everyone, Tom! (Chamber of Secrets 310-311).

The Horcrux eventually lures Ginny into the Chamber of Secrets and nearly consumes

her soul before Harry destroys it. Though she does not destroy the Horcrux herself,

eleven year-old Ginny demonstrates incredible strength in surviving its black influence

for so long, something Harry, Ron and Hermione struggle to do together at seventeen in

Deathly Hallows.

Ginny is the only character in the series with more than one boyfriend in the

course of her Hogwarts years.

Her romantic life is generally accepted at Hogwarts, but

her brothers make stereotypic gendered assumptions about her lifestyle and shame her.

When Hermione casually mentions that Ginny and Michael Corner are dating in Order of

the Phoenix, Ron displays stereotypically masculinized protective instincts:

“They met at the Yule Ball and got together at the end of last year,”

Hermione said composedly.

“Which one was Michael Corner?” Ron demanded furiously.

“The dark one,” said Hermione.

“I didn’t like him,” said Ron at once.

“Big surprise,” said Hermione under her breath (348).

Sometimes, though, brotherly protection turns into something much more troubling: slut

shaming. Though Ginny is never pictured doing more than kissing her boyfriends, her

brothers make unfair assumptions about her lifestyle:

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Romanian Quidditch superstar Viktor Krum is briefly infatuated with Hermione in Harry Potter and the

Goblet of Fire, but Hermione, while intrigued at first, never shares anything more serious than a kiss with

Krum.

“But we’re not selling [love potions] to our sister,” [George] added,

becoming suddenly stern, “not when she’s already got about five boys on the go,

from what we’ve—”

“Whatever you hear from Ron is a big fat lie,” said Ginny calmly . . .

“Are you or are you not currently going out with a boy called Dean

Thomas?”

“Yes, I am,” said Ginny. “And last time I looked, he was definitely one

boy, not five”

“But you’re moving through boyfriends a bit fast, aren’t you?” [said Fred]

Ginny turned to look at him, her hands on her hips. There was such a Mrs.

Weasley-ish glare on her face that Harry was surprised Fred didn’t recoil.

“It’s none of your business.” (Half-Blood Prince 121).

As Cherland states, “Without using the word, [Fred] positions [Ginny] as “slut.”

But Ginny is quick to refuse this subject position. She stands her ground, points to the

unfairness of a sexual double standard, and declares herself free to act as she pleases”

(Cherland 277-8). Her dating attempts seem sincere, rather than a childish attempt to

make Harry jealous, and when their relationship progresses from platonic to romantic, it

feels natural, not forced like Hermione and Ron’s partnership. However, after Ginny and

Harry enter into a romantic relationship, Rowling essentially writes Ginny out of the

narrative.

Though Ginny and Harry forge an important bond in the Chamber of Secrets that

is carried through Harry’s possession in Order of the Phoenix, Ginny is not given equal

importance in the narrative of the series. Ginny is perfectly matched with Harry: both are

intelligent, popular, extremely skilled at Quidditch, incredibly brave and strong when

facing dark magic, and become uniquely connected through their shared experience of

being possessed by Lord Voldemort. Yet Ginny is always a secondary character. She is

never highlighted as Hermione, Ron and Harry are, though her contributions to the fight

against black magic are equally valid. Even more troubling, after she and Harry begin

dating, she virtually disappears from the narrative. Harry attempts to martyr himself by

breaking up with her at Dumbledore’s funeral to “protect” her from the coming war, but

passionately embraces her before embarking on the search for the Horcruxes in Deathly

Hallows.

While Harry is not intentionally taking advantage of Ginny, it is still troubling

that, for the rest of Deathly Hallows until the Final Battle, Ginny is absent from the

narrative (and even during the Final Battle, she plays only a small role). This transforms

Ginny from a complex character into a stereotypically feminized trope: the hero’s love

interest. Rowling does not take advantage of the potential for character growth within this

role, instead turning Ginny into an auxiliary character, “of value for a kiss (and kids) at

the end” and nothing more (Cordova 22).

Hogwarts, as the stronghold of white magic, is revolutionary in subverting

patriarchal stereotypes and hierarchies. It accomplishes this through gender

egalitarianism in its creation, the presence of diverse, gender role-breaking professors,

and multifaceted female students who challenge conventional assumptions. Though it is

not completely free of antiquated hierarchies, it is the space that most extremely subverts

gender norms and makes huge strides in providing equal education and opportunities for

all its students, regardless of gender or blood status.

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After kissing her at the Burrow, Harry says, “She’s not an idiot, she knows it can’t happen, she’s not

expecting us to—to end up married, or—” (Deathly Hallows 117).

Chapter Four—The Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix

The Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix are two societies in J.K. Rowling’s

wizarding world that display Manichean dualism at its most starkly confrontational. The

Death Eaters represent black magic by supporting Voldemort and reinforcing rigid

patriarchal presentations of gender. Conversely, the Order of the Phoenix represents

white magic and promotes freer gender presentations. The leadership structure within

each group illustrates these binaries even though both offer examples of full gender

presentation. The powerful villainesses Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy differ in

their adherence to the Death Eaters’ patriarchal hierarchies and illustrate the failings of

Voldemort’s dictatorship, whereas Nymphadora Tonks and Molly Weasley find power in

the communal strength of the egalitarian Order of the Phoenix.

The Death Eaters, organized by Voldemort to support and enact his goal of

heading a world at the mercy of black magic, embody patriarchal values at their most

destructive. They are Voldemort’s black magic army—they cultivate a world of fear ripe

for Voldemort’s conquest. They stand at the forefront of the infiltration of the Ministry in

Order of the Phoenix and Hogwarts’ corruption in Deathly Hallows. They spread

gendered hierarchies in their destructive wake, taking advantage of the already vulnerable

Ministry and hardening racialized binaries existing in blood purity laws. At Hogwarts,

they revive antiquated punishments, forcing students to torture each other when they

resist the new system.

Arguably the most powerful person in wizarding society, Voldemort aims to

become the greatest sorcerer in history through the use of fear and violence to dominate

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Neville is brutalized after refusing to “practice the Cruciatus Curse on people who’ve earned detentions”

and says the Death Eaters “torture us a bit if we’re mouthy” (Deathly Hallows 574).

both the material and immaterial realms. His earlier efforts so traumatized wizarding

society that his name has become taboo—he is referred to as “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-

Named,” “You-Know-Who,” or the “Dark Lord.”

Within his repertoire of terrorizing

tactics, Voldemort uses Unforgivable Curses (so powerful and violent they are outlawed

by the Ministry), and aims to wipe out white magic and become the dictator of the

wizarding world. In doing so, he rejects anything that could associate him with white

magic, like companionship, love, and friendship. Voldemort is heartless, cruel, and so

powerful he is almost indestructible—his only remaining weakness is his inability to

understand love, and as such underestimates its power.

Formidable as the leader of the Death Eaters, Voldemort becomes even more

dominant in wizarding society when he leads the takeover of the Ministry of Magic in

Deathly Hallows. He and his Death Eaters cast the Imperius Curse (a curse that allows

the caster to control the body of the cursed person) on various Ministry employees who

then pass laws that enable him and his followers to infiltrate and take over the Ministry.

This makes him the would-be patriarch of the wizarding world, with majority rule over

two-thirds of wizarding society. Voldemort promotes stagnancy and rejects anything that

could threaten his power—love, friendship, innovation—all tenets of a successful,

egalitarian society. With Voldemort achieving dominion over the wizarding world, all

sources of societal growth would be stamped out, including gender equalization. Gender

stereotypes and a patriarchal society would prevail, because patriarchy allows Voldemort

to occupy the highest position possible.

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Voldemort’s symbol is a skull eating a snake, known as the Dark Mark. The snake recalls the story of

Adam and Eve, when the Devil disguised as a snake tricks Eve into eating the forbidden fruit of the Tree of

the Knowledge of Good and Evil, yet another herald to the Manichean struggle in the series. The skull

conjures death imagery, further associating Voldemort with black magic and death.

The Death Eaters, aside from being led by the satanic antagonist to all

practitioners of white magic, demonstrate very unequal gender representation. Out of at

least twenty Death Eaters mentioned in the books, only three are women: Narcissa

Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Alecto Carrow. Of these three women, Narcissa Malfoy

is never confirmed as a Death Eater, though she is present at many meetings and both her

husband and her son are confirmed Death Eaters. Alecto Carrow, introduced only in the

sixth book, remains at Hogwarts through the rest of the series, though the narrative takes

place mostly outside of the school, which minimizes her impact. However, Bellatrix

Lestrange, an extremely powerful witch and influential in the Death Eaters, both fights

against and acts in accordance with gendered hierarchies present in Voldemort’s upper

echelon.

Bellatrix presents a very different alignment with black magic than Umbridge.

Where Umbridge seeks perfect bureaucratic dominance, Bellatrix longs for chaos, an

apocalyptic world where she and Voldemort are free to create mayhem and pain.

Umbridge is repressively self-controlled, but Bellatrix revels in chaos, heralding back to

the Greek Maenads.

Bellatrix has a deeper connection with Voldemort than any other

Death Eater. They complement each other—Voldemort is sadistic, obsessed with

immortality, staunchly upholds blood purity, and ruthlessly pursues dominion over the

entire wizarding world. Bellatrix proves equally sadistic, finds joy in torturing and

murdering Muggle-born citizens and remains fiercely devoted to Voldemort’s quest for

dominance. Unlike several other complementary pairs in the series who foster a deeper

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Followers of the god Dionysus, they are wild, insane women who ripped people apart limb from limb in

ecstatic fury.

sense of humanity through their bond, Bellatrix and Voldemort embrace the opposite—

cultivating deeper hatred and evil.

Bellatrix believes herself to be Voldemort’s “most faithful” and “loyal” servant

(Half-Blood Prince 29). After the First Wizarding War, Bellatrix was sent to Azkaban

after torturing two members of the Order of the Phoenix using the Cruciatus Curse (an

Unforgivable that inflicts excruciating pain). During her trial for this torture, Bellatrix sits

“in the chained chair as though it were a throne,” disturbingly beautiful with her “thick,

shining dark hair and heavily hooded eyes” (594). She displays unashamed regal pride in

her alignment with Voldemort: “Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! [Voldemort] will

rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We

alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!” (595-6). Her unerring devotion pays

off—ten years later, she breaks out of Azkaban, still wearing her “arrogant, disdainful

smile” (Order of the Phoenix 554). While aligning herself with the greatest patriarch in

the wizarding world, Bellatrix subordinates herself with traditional gender binaries, but

otherwise defies easy inclusion within feminine stereotypes.

Bellatrix Lestrange also holds a unique position among the female characters in

the Harry Potter series because of her erotic suggestiveness: she exudes raw power and

sensuality with her “heavily hooded eyes,” “dark, shining hair,” and self-assurance

bordering on arrogance. Rowling presents her in extensive physical detail: almost every

time she is mentioned, her chest continuously rises and falls,

she is breathless,

panting,

flushed,

and her mouth,

an erotic facial point, receives mention. Bellatrix’s

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The wizarding prison, very similar to Alcatraz.

Order of Phoenix 783, Half-Blood Prince 25

Deathly Hallows 10

Half-Blood Prince 21, Deathly Hallows 462, 471

sexualization, combined with her exotic features, creates a picture of a wild, wanton

woman whose passionate fixation on Voldemort suggests that she is in love with him.

Her longing becomes especially pronounced in the Deathly Hallows where she leans

“toward Voldemort, for mere words [cannot] demonstrate her longing for closeness” (9),

she gazes at him “imploringly” (10) with “tears of gratitude” (11) and she speaks to him

“as if to a lover” (724). Bellatrix’s perverse love for the most unlovable, evil person

imaginable demonstrates her deviance within the series. Her feminine energies serve evil

incarnate, she finds ecstatic pleasure in torture and death, and repudiates one of the

greatest sources of power for women within the series: maternal love. Yet Bellatrix does

not totally reject traditional gender presentation since she aligns herself very closely—

almost romantically—with the patriarchy via her bond with Voldemort. And he, in turn,

exploits her desire while severely reprimanding her for non-submission. According to

Rowling, Bellatrix acts as a female psychopath usually does, “needing to meet a male

counterpart to release that part of [herself]” (Rowling, “Women of Harry Potter!”).

Bellatrix could not have found her power without the support from Voldemort and her

utter devotion to him. She believes herself to be his “most faithful servant,” (Order of the

Phoenix 811) evincing her willing subordination to him.

When Harry travels to the Department of Mysteries to rescue his godfather Sirius

in Order of the Phoenix, Bellatrix says, “The little baby woke up fwightened and fort

what it dweamed was twoo” in a “horrible mock-baby voice” (782) and takes pleasure in

telling Neville Longbottom about her joy in torturing his parents. In Deathly Hallows

when Bellatrix duels Molly Weasley, she “roars with laughter” at the prospect of fighting

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Half-Blood Prince 25, 29, Deathly Hallows 9, 10

Order of the Phoenix 544, Half-Blood Prince 28, 36, Deathly Hallows 11!

a seemingly pathetic witch, and again takes pleasure in taunting Molly about the death of

her son Fred, saying, “What will happen to your children when I’ve killed you? . . . When

Mummy’s gone the same way as Freddie?” (736). Bellatrix sees motherhood as

disempowering and thus goes out of her way to expose the bond between mother and

child as powerless before dark magic. Critic María Sánchez states that Bellatrix “cannot

feel/have/give this powerful motherly love” but instead replaces this love with her

obsession with Lord Voldemort, giving her “a freakish connotation as a woman” which

adds to her “insanity and sadism” (223). Bellatrix learns her mistake in presuming

motherhood equates to weakness, however. While motherhood creates profound

emotional vulnerability in women, it also fosters great strength, as Narcissa Malfoy, Lily

Potter, and especially Molly Weasley demonstrate.

Narcissa Malfoy bridges the binary between white and black magic—she is

disempowered by her patriarchal subordination in the Death Eaters but finds strength and

active empowerment through maternal protection of her son. She sits “rigid and

impassive” at Death Eater meetings and refuses to make eye contact with Voldemort,

distancing herself as much as possible from his patriarchal rigidities. Narcissa aligns

herself with the Death Eaters because of her strong pureblood heritage and devotion to

her husband, though she has none of Bellatrix’s passion for black magic. Narcissa’s

physical characteristics also distance her from other Death Eaters—while most are dark

and imposing in stature (for example, Bellatrix), Narcissa is blonde, slender and

unimposing—a beacon of light in the darkness.

On the other side of the Manichean binary structuring the series stands the Order

of the Phoenix, the white magic practicing group created by Albus Dumbledore to oppose

Voldemort and the Death Eaters. They are much more dynamic in both gender

representation and gender fluidity. Albus Dumbledore, the most revered person in the

Harry Potter series, did not come early to his allegiance with white magic and its

communitarian ethic. In his youth, Dumbledore flirted with the idea of wizarding

supremacy and befriended Gellert Grindelwald, who was to become the second greatest

Dark wizard of all time: as Rita Skeeter writes, “he would miss out on the top spot only

because You-Know-Who arrived, a generation later, to steal his crown” (Deathly

Hallows 355). Another adherent to pureblood ideology, Gellert Grindelwald believed

wizards far superior to Muggles, and pursued the three Deathly Hallows

in order to

become the Master of Death and force Muggles into subservience. At this point in his

moral evolution, Dumbledore also favored a hierarchical subordination of Muggles but

even here his orientation privileged white magic over dark: he never aligned with the

latter and naively believed conquest and good can coexist. In a letter to Grindelwald he

explained:

Your point about Wizard dominance being FOR THE MUGGLES’ OWN

GOOD—this, I think, is the crucial point. Yes, we have been given power and

yes, that power gives us the right to rule, but it also gives us responsibilities over

the ruled. We must stress this point, it will be the foundation stone upon which we

build. Where we are opposed, as we surely will be, this must be the basis of all

our counterarguments. We seize control FOR THE GREATER GOOD. And from

this it follows that where we meet resistance, we must use only the force that is

necessary and no more. (Deathly Hallows 357)

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Three items that, if used together, would make one the Master of Death, the Deathly Hallows consist of

the Resurrection Stone, the Elder Wand, and the Cloak of Invisibility.

Dumbledore was brilliant, gifted, and selfishly longed for glory (Deathly Hallows 715),

as Voldemort would be in the next generation, but Dumbledore quickly realized that the

essence of white magic eschews domination. After his sister Ariana tragically died during

a duel between Grindelwald and Dumbledore, he overcame the seductive danger of black

magic and rejected it in favor of progress, love, and equality.

In later decades, Dumbledore organizes the Order of the Phoenix as a resistance

force to Voldemort, and creates a community-based leadership system to counteract the

dictatorial leadership of the Death Eaters. However, there are members who stand out as

leaders within the Order, one of whom is Molly Weasley. Molly runs the home base of

the Order, 12 Grimmauld Place. Once the home of Sirius Black, it was abandoned for

several years when Sirius was in Azkaban and his parents passed away. As an ancestrally

pureblood household, it is an ambiguous space filled with powerful dark magic

mementos. Molly leads the charge in “waging war on the house” (Order of Phoenix 117)

as well as cooking for its residents and any members passing through. She also organizes

the Order’s meetings, communicates with Dumbledore on mission progress, and makes

sure all members are accounted for. Molly’s leadership is met with begrudging

acceptance, since several male members of the Order find her overbearing and

controlling, especially Sirius,

Remus Lupin, and Harry himself.

Though leading a radical group like the Order of the Phoenix proves extremely

stressful, Molly does it while caring for her four youngest children as well as Harry and

Hermione until the school term starts. The stress finally overwhelms her one evening

when she is battling a boggart in 12 Grimmauld Place. Every time she cast the

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One scene where Sirius undermined Molly’s authority was discussed in Chapter One.

counterspell, the boggart displays another dead family member, and Remus Lupin steps

up to finally destroy it. Molly admits her maternal anxieties were used against her:

“I’m just s-s-so worried,” she said, tears spilling out of her eyes again. “Half the f-

f-family’s in the Order, it’ll b-b-be a miracle if we all come through this . . . and

P-P-Percy’s not talking to us. . . .What if something d-d-dreadful happens and we

had never m-m-made up? And what’s going to happen if Arthur and I get killed,

who’s g-g-going to look after Ron and Ginny. . . .D-d-don’t tell Arthur, I d-d-

don’t want him to know. . . .Being silly” (Order of the Phoenix 176-177).

Molly worries intensely about her children, but keeps her feelings in check as much as

she can. Though she occupies a domestic role within her family and the Order, Molly

isn’t “just the 1950s housewife, warm and cozy. . . there [is] some real steel there”

(Rowling, “Women of Harry Potter!”)

Nymphadora Tonks, one of the youngest members of the Order of the Phoenix, is

predictably rebellious regarding traditional hierarchy, even within this egalitarian

community. As a Metamorphmagus, she can “change [her] appearance at will” (Order of

the Phoenix 52). Rather than making herself unrealistically beautiful, Tonks

uses her

talent to create wild hair shades (her favorite being bubblegum pink) or to give herself a

variety of comedic noses for others’ enjoyment. Tonks also serves as a skilled Auror

the Ministry, although she is never shown there, an omission that lessens her association

in the reader’s mind with its patriarchal and bureaucratic practices. Conversely, because

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This preference for a gender-neutral name already distinguishes her from other female characters in the

books, and illustrates her rejection of traditional gender characteristics.

An “elite unit of highly trained, specialist officers within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in

the Ministry. They are trained to investigate crimes related to the Dark Arts, and apprehend or detain Dark

wizards and witches” (Harry Potter Wiki, “Aurors”).

Tonks is one of only two known female Aurors, her transgression of gender stereotypes

offers more proof that the Ministry is not completely in thrall to the patriarchy.

While Tonks proves very skilled at defensive spells, she “never quite got the hang

of . . . householdy spells” (53), defying another stereotype. Tonks values playfulness over

beauty, thrives in a traditionally male-dominated job over domestic bliss, and has

absolutely no grace,

making her a wonderfully realistic female character. After falling

in love with werewolf Remus Lupin, Tonks displays profound vulnerability: “last year

she had been inquisitive (to the point of being a little annoying at times), she had laughed

easily, she had made jokes. Now she seemed older and more purposeful,” abandoning her

fantastical bubblegum pink hair for a “mousy” color (157-158). Her newfound gravitas

comes from loving a werewolf, a species feared in wizarding society. After Bill is

attacked by a werewolf and Fleur defends her choice to marry him despite his

disfigurement, Tonks exclaims: “You see! . . . She still wants to marry him, even though

he’s been bitten! She doesn’t care. . . .But I don’t care either, I don’t care! . . .I’ve told

you a million times” (Order of the Phoenix 623-624). Tonks defends her right to love

whomever she chooses, risk social scorn, and accept danger as part of the responsibility

of membership in the Order. In Deathly Hallows, Tonks further embraces feminine

attributes when she gives birth to a son, Teddy, yet remains an active member of the

Order and plays a prominent role in the Final Battle, reinforcing yet again the power of

motherhood. That the Order values child-bearing women because of their maternal

abilities rather than despite them marks the difference between the Death Eaters and the

Order. Where the Death Eaters rely on strict patriarchal hierarchies to create order, the

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‘CRASH. “Tonks!” cried Mrs. Weasley exasperatedly, turning to look behind her. “I’m sorry!” wailed

Tonks, who was lying flat on the floor. “It’s that stupid umbrella stand, that’s the second time I’ve tripped

over [it]”’ (Order of the Phoenix 77).

Order’s communitarian values elevate women’s power to equal that of men, allowing

them to flourish where the Death Eaters stagnate.

The Manichean struggle between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix

comes to a head in the Final Battle of Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows. For the first time in

the series, Voldemort attacks Hogwarts, its white magic haven is breached, and students

are dragged into the confrontation between the Death Eaters and the Order of the

Phoenix. A moral as well as physical battle takes place, and Voldemort and his

patriarchal binaries are defeated.

The first confrontation happens between two characters central to the faculty’s

seeming Manichean binaries: Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape. After Snape

deposes Minerva as Headmaster of Hogwarts in the beginning of Deathly Hallows, she is

forced to watch the slow replacement of true professors with Death Eaters, unable to stop

the corruption without risking danger to students in her own House. But when Harry

returns to the school heralding Voldemort’s imminent attack, Minerva acts:

Professor McGonagall moved faster than Harry could have believed: Her

wand slashed through the air . . . the descending flames [became] a ring of fire

that filled the corridor and flew like a lasso at Snape—

Then it was no longer fire, but a great black serpent that McGonagall

blasted to smoke, which re-formed and solidified in seconds to become a swarm

of pursuing daggers . . . [Snape] hurtled through a classroom door and . . . with a

tingle of horror, Harry saw in the distance a huge, batlike shape flying through the

darkness.

[Harry] heard McGonagall cry, “Coward! COWARD!” (Deathly Hallows

598-9, edited for length)

After Severus flees from battle, Minerva takes control of Hogwarts once again, calling

the faculty to action to fight the oncoming army. She plays a lead role in the attack and at

one point battles Voldemort himself.

Minerva fearlessly leads Hogwarts’ mobilization

and attack, again demonstrating her commitment to protecting Hogwarts’ white magic

stronghold at the risk of imprisonment or death.

Hogwarts students also play an important role in the battle, though gender

discrimination limits some characters’ impact. Hermione, while at the forefront of battles

throughout the rest of the series, plays a less significant role in the battle than she

deserves. While she does destroy a Horcrux, the series glosses over the action in passing

summary rather than dramatizing the act as had occurred with the other six Horcruxes. As

critic Melanie Cordova states:

The diary shows Voldemort’s rise to power and Harry’s bravery in saving Ginny;

the locket shows Ron dealing with his feelings of inadequacy and reunites the

heroes; the diadem shows how Vincent Crabbe’s violence backfires and kills him

. . . Nagini shows Neville Longbottom’s bravery in the face of evil; Harry’s death

shows his willingness to die for truth, love and fairness. Quite literally, the cup’s

destruction show nothing, as there is no scene at all (31).

Even more troubling is the framing of Hermione’s Horcrux destruction. Ron, looking

“delighted with himself,” says: “Hermione stabbed [the Horcrux]. Thought she should.

She hasn’t had the pleasure yet” (Deathly Hallows 623). Rather than looking delighted

with Hermione, Ron is pleased with himself for generously “permitting” her the

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Deathly Hallows 735

opportunity. Neither Ron nor Harry acknowledge Hermione’s skill in destroying the

Horcrux, and she doesn’t speak at all in the scene, imparting to readers not that Hermione

is a skilled witch but that Ron is the hero, a step backwards for strong female

representation in the series.

Ginny’s position in the Final Battle is also troubling. Despite having co-led the

student rebellion against the corrupt professors with Neville Longbottom, Ginny is pulled

out of Hogwarts at Easter and Molly forbids her from fighting in the Final Battle, saying,

“You’re underage! . . .I won’t permit it. The boys, yes, but you, you’ve got to go home!”

She also devalues Ginny’s role in Dumbledore’s Army by calling it just a “teenagers’

gang” (Deathly Hallows 604). Ginny ignores Molly’s command and fights alongside the

other students, but Molly’s exclusion of Ginny on the basis of age and gender goes

against everything Rowling had previously depicted. She undermines two of the most

intelligent, adept young women in the series in the Final Battle.

Older female characters, however, are empowered through the Final Battle. As

discussed in Chapter One, Molly defeats Bellatrix in a prodigious display of maternal

protection and magical skill. Tonks, though recently having a child, fights to protect her

husband, saying she “couldn’t stand not knowing [if he lived or died]” (624). Both

women invert the traditional depiction of men fighting to protect their housebound wives.

Predictably, the ultimate empowerment happens to the male Harry, whose life up to this

moment has been fighting Lord Voldemort’s rise to supremacy. Harry enters the

Forbidden Forest knowing he will sacrifice himself to Voldemort. Instead of dying,

though, he is transported to a ghostly King’s Cross Station, where Dumbledore confesses

he had desired to be “Master of Death” like Voldemort, that “Power was [his] weakness

and [his] temptation” (Deathly Hallows 713). He delivers the final lesson in his long

mentorship of Harry: “those who are best suited to power are those who have never

sought it” (Deathly Hallows 718) and thereby explains Harry’s victory. As critics Pugh

and Wallace state, “The test of Harry’s manhood becomes largely Christ-like in the need

for him to resist the temptation to power inherent in the Deathly Hallows and in his

willingness to surrender his own life for the greater good” (189). Harry, through the

selfless sacrifice of his life, proves himself a better man than both Albus and Voldemort.

Harry settles the Manichean struggle for good by destroying the Horcrux inside of him

and then killing Voldemort himself. Even when facing his ultimate nemesis, Harry offers

love rather than hate, offering Voldemort a chance for retribution: “Be a man . . . try for

some remorse” (741). Harry does not fall to Voldemort’s level and kill him out of hate,

though he has ample reason to do so; rather, he tries to give Voldemort his humanity back

through repentance, a chance to mitigate the eternal suffering Voldemort will face after

death. Alas, Voldemort refuses, devoted to hatred and evil until the end, while Harry has

reaffirmed the superior power of white magic and his own dignity.

The Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix embody the Manichean struggle

by highlighting the conflict between the racialized patriarchal hierarchies of black magic

and the communitarian values of equality, love, and acceptance of white magic. At the

Final Battle at Hogwarts, the two societies confront each other in an apocalyptic battle

where white magic triumphs over black magic. Drawing back to Mani’s cosmogony, the

Final Battle at Hogwarts represents the final phase of the Manichean struggle, when “the

evil principle and all its substance will be forced to withdraw into the dark realm, which

will once more be completely separated from the light. But the restored order will not be

exactly what it was at the beginning, for some light will remain entrapped in the darkness

forever” (Coyle xv). Voldemort’s patriarchy is abolished, and white magic reigns

supreme once again, yet two of the most powerful young female characters, Hermione

and Ginny, are excluded from active roles in the Final Battle, tarnishing white magic’s

victory with antiquated patriarchal gender assumptions.

Chapter Five—Hermione

Hermione Granger, the most beloved and most hotly debated character in the

Harry Potter series, stood as a childhood hero and mentor to me—she still remains

someone I aspire to be. I concluded there was no better choice than to talk about the

novels and the female characters that have been constantly a part of my life since I was

eleven years old. Hermione’s years at Hogwarts, including her interactions with Harry

and Ron and her relationships with female mentors, strongly influence her evolving

gender identity. Yet her eventual taming throughout the series, culminating in her role as

Ron’s wife, prompts me to explore a more fitting romantic partnership alternative in

Harry, whose balanced gender complexity more closely matches her own.

Hermione is first introduced in Sorcerer’s Stone when she enters Harry and Ron’s

compartment on the Hogwarts Express looking for another classmate’s pet toad. She is

already wearing her robes, has a “bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather

large front teeth” (Sorcerer’s Stone 105). She becomes extremely excited when Ron

appears to be about to perform a spell. After he fails, she says:

Are you sure that’s a real spell? . . . Well, it’s not very good, is it? I’ve tried a few

simple spells just for practice and it’s all worked for me. Nobody in my family’s

magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so

pleased, of course, I mean, it’s the very best school of witchcraft there is, I’ve

heard—I’ve learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be

enough—I’m Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you? (105-6).

This entrance describes Hermione perfectly—exuberant, polite but a little insulting, self-

confident, and extremely intelligent. Harry and Ron are, of course, a bit taken aback at

her seeming arrogance, and Ron says, “Whatever House I’m in, I hope she’s not in it”

(106) which is the general reaction from the students of Hogwarts.

Hermione remains a very unlikeable character in the beginning of the series. She

bosses people around, interferes in other people’s business, and proves to be, in Snape’s

words, an “insufferable know-it-all” (Prisoner of Azkaban 172). Hermione’s priorities

seem twisted—incredibly intelligent, she sees this intelligence as paramount—at the

expense of her friendships. After intercepting a duel between Harry, Draco and Ron and

accidentally discovering Fluffy, the three-headed guard dog, Hermione furiously yells at

Harry and Ron: “I hope you’re pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed—

or worse, expelled. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to bed” (Sorcerer’s Stone 162).

Hermione blends stereotypically masculinized and feminized traits: she is loud, nagging,

bossy, intelligent, and plain, and this amalgamation offends her traditionally oriented

peers. Ron voices everyone’s opinion when he snaps, “It’s no wonder no one can stand

her . . . she’s a nightmare, honestly” (172). Hermione, though confident, is deeply

wounded by this comment, and flees to a bathroom where, unfortunately, a troll is

released later that evening. Luckily, Ron and Harry rescue Hermione and knock out the

troll, and “from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend” (Sorcerer’s

Stone 179). This incident propagates troublesome commentary on male-female

friendships—Ron and Harry assume dominance and rescue a vulnerable female before

considering her worthy of friendship, and Hermione is uncharacteristically powerless

during the fight, though she has the requisite skills: it appears her feminine dependence

must make her “safe” before the young males can accept her in their circle. Despite the

negative implications of her initial friendship with Harry and Ron, Hermione retains most

of her previously abrasive traits, and her classmates eventually acclimate. She remains

top of her class and favorite of most of her professors in her first three years at

Hogwarts.

In Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione is permitted to have a Time Turner in

order to take every subject offered, confirming her as the “cleverest witch of [her] age”

(346). Together Harry, Ron and Hermione make the perfect team: “Harry tends to be the

one who has to shoulder the most of the burden—he is the true hero in that sense,

Hermione . . . is really the brain of the outfit, and Ron . . . is a very brave character”

(Rowling,

Accio Quote!). Hermione’s logic and intelligence match with Harry’s bravery

and inventiveness, and together with Ron’s steadfastness, they are able to defeat

Voldemort on several occasions. Hermione’s integral role in the trio as the “brain of the

outfit” challenges gender stereotypes in ways that have empowered millions of young

female readers, who receive daily messages that intelligence is not valued in women and

girls. Furthermore, Hermione is not relegated to the sidelines of the action or left behind

to do research or caretake while the men fight battles; rather, she is an active participant

in the course of the narrative.

Hermione’s blood status also revolutionizes her accomplishments at Hogwarts. As

Muggle-born (or Mudblood)—one of the least respected groups of people in the

wizarding world, she is singled out and humiliated several times within the series.

Despite the dangers Hermione faces because of her blood status, she takes pride in her

identity, saying “I’m hunted quite as much as any goblin or elf . . . I’m a Mudblood! . . .

Mudblood, and proud of it!” (Deathly Hallows 489). Rather than allowing her blood

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“Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They’re not throwing me

out after that” (Sorcerer’s Stone 270).

status to define her or make her weak, she reclaims her identity as Mudblood and finds

power through solidarity with others who lack pureblood status.

In her first three years at Hogwarts, Hermione proves to be one of the most

complex female characters in the Harry Potter series. She unapologetically develops her

gender identity separate from the patriarchal expectations of the wizarding world. It is

interesting, then, that the language used to describe some of Hermione’s behavior in the

first three books undercuts her authority, intelligence, and power. Critic Eliza Dresang

argues:

Rowling allows Hermione to lose sight of her own strength and revert to

stereotypic behavior [facilitated by] employing gender-related stereotypic words

to Hermione’s behavior again and again. Repeatedly Rowling has Hermione

“shriek,” “squeak,” “wail,” “squeal,” and “whimper,” verbs never applied to the

male characters in the book [and] for Hermione the bossy, assertive champion of

rights and problem solver, these words . . . seem unbelievable and completely out

of character (223).

While the use of stereotypically feminine descriptive words solely with Hermione is

troubling, I argue that the impact of these words is not entirely negative. Vulnerability,

which feminist critics tend to undervalue in female characters, is a valuable emotion for

all persons, as Rowling portrays throughout the series. Hermione cries many times, but so

do Hagrid, Molly, Draco,

and Harry himself.

Such vulnerability, evidence of a

developed emotional side, is not only a feminine trait in the series.

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“Malfoy was crying—actually crying—tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin” (Half-

Blood Prince 522).

“And the tears came before [Harry] could stop them . . . he let them fall, lips pressed hard together”

looking down at “the place where the last of Lily and James lay” (Deathly Hallows 328-9).

In Goblet of Fire, the introduction of students from wizarding schools Durmstrang

and Beauxbatons for the Triwizard Tournament introduces issues of physical presentation

and sexualization just as the characters enter puberty. With these new students comes the

possibility of romantic interaction, and Hogwarts students become very concerned with

physical appearance. After Hermione is hit with a curse causing her already overlarge

front teeth to grow alarmingly fast so that she resembles “a beaver” (299), Hermione

shrinks her teeth to average size rather than keeping her original imperfections. Her self-

conscious physical transformation continues at the Yule Ball, when she appears wearing

beautiful periwinkle blue robes, her hair “no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, and

twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head” (414). Her adoption of

traditionally feminized beauty standards for one evening does not reflect a radical change

in her personality especially since she returned to her former appearance the next day,

saying “it’s way too much bother to do every day” (433). However, the reactions from

her fellow students, most notably Ron Weasley, illustrate antiquated patriarchal

assumptions still present in wizarding society. Ron displays resentment and jealousy,

accusing Hermione of “fraternizing with the enemy” (421) by taking Quidditch superstar

Viktor Krum as her date.

Ron’s reaction is problematic for multiple reasons: he

presumes that Hermione changes her appearance to impress men; he feels he is entitled to

have her as his partner for the ball, insinuating she does not have freedom of choice; and

he accuses her of betrayal by accepting the invitation of a rival athlete, villainizing her

sexuality.

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“Just because it’s taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn’t mean no one else has spotted I’m a girl!”

(Goblet of Fire 400).

After Ron’s condemnation, Hermione guards against further commandeering of

her romantic choices. Gossip columnist Rita Skeeter soon publishes a defamatory article

saying “Miss Granger . . . has a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy.

Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum . . . Miss Granger has been toying with both

boys’ affections” (Goblet of Fire 512). Hermione retaliates against this attempt to shame

her by threatening to expose Skeeter as an unregistered Animagus unless she stops telling

“horrible lies about people” (728).

In the later Harry Potter books, Hermione develops very powerful female

relationships that influence her gender identity. Minerva McGonagall becomes her

mentor and one of Hermione’s staunchest supporters, calling her “a model student”

(Prisoner of Azkaban 395) and facilitating her getting a Time Turner. In turn, Hermione

emulates Minerva’s stalwartness, even adopting the same “steely glint in her eye”

(Chamber of Secrets 213). Hermione also forms a close friendship with Ginny, both

women confide in each other

and, when necessary, defend the other against patriarchal

assumptions from their male friends.

One of my biggest disappointments with Rowling’s achievements in the series

involves Ron and Hermione’s relationship. Ron undermines Hermione’s power or makes

sexist, hurtful comments toward her several times in the series. He only compliments

Hermione when he has an ulterior motive: for example in their fifth year he attempts to

guilt her into doing his homework: “We just haven’t got your brains or your memory or

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Ginny, when discussing her unrequited youthful crush on Harry in her first year at Hogwarts, says,

“Hermione told me to get on with life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you

(Harry), because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember? And she thought you

might take a bit more notice if I was a bit more—myself” (Half-Blood Prince 647).

For an example of this, see Chapter Four, when Hermione and Ron discuss Ginny’s relationship with

Michael Corner.

your concentration—you’re just cleverer than we are—is it nice to rub it in?” (Order of

the Phoenix 229). Ron accuses Hermione of mocking him with her intelligence and

shames her for questionable morality when her talents undermine him. Hermione’s

intelligence and self-worth challenge Ron’s masculinity, which is unacceptable to him.

When Hermione is invited to join Professor Slughorn’s exclusive club for the best and

brightest students at Hogwarts, Ron retaliates by mocking her intelligence and accusing

her of promiscuity, saying, “Slug Club . . . it’s pathetic . . . Why don’t you try hooking up

with McLaggen, then Slughorn can make you King and Queen Slug” (Half-Blood Prince

282). Ron uses the same slanderous tactics as Rita Skeeter to shame Hermione for her

romantic choices. Ironically, one of the only times Ron truly compliments Hermione

occurs when he is trying to sway her into dating him. Ron gives Harry a birthday present,

“Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches,” saying, “It’s pure gold . . . If only I’d had

this last year I’d have known exactly how to get rid of Lavender and I would’ve known

how to get going with [Hermione]” (Deathly Hallows 113). A few minutes later, Harry

sees Ron compliment her: “‘Nice,’ said Ron, as with one final flourish of her wand,

Hermione turned the leaves on the crabapple tree to gold. ‘You’ve really got an eye for

that sort of thing.’ . . . [Harry] had a funny notion that he would find a chapter on

compliments when he found time to peruse his copy of Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm

Witches” (119). Ron is interested in Hermione as a child is interested in a toy: wanting

the toy, claiming the toy, then asserting dominance to protect it from other children. This

removes Hermione’s autonomy, transforming her into an object to be claimed and

perpetuating the patriarchal purity myth that once a woman aligns with another man, she

is soiled and impure.

Once the trio is on the run from Voldemort, Ron imposes traditionally feminized

domestic expectations on her, relying on her to cook yet criticizing her skill, saying “it’s

disgusting. . . .My mother can make good food appear out of thin air” (Deathly Hallows

292-3). When she points out this sexist double-standard, he tries to excuse his comment

by saying she always cooks because she’s “supposed to be the best at magic!” (293).

While this is a plausible explanation, neither Harry nor Ron are ever pictured cooking

after this conversation, perpetuating the sexist stereotype.

Though Ron consistently shames Hermione for not adhering to patriarchal gender

stereotypes, in the epilogue of the series, she is married to him and has two children,

Rose and Hugo. Rowling has stated that this choice was wish fulfillment on her part,

and I argue that most of the epilogue continues that self-indulgence. Harry also receives

an overly stereotypic gender depiction in the epilogue, though not to the level of

Hermione. He works as an Auror for the Department of Mysteries, his childhood dream,

and is married to Ginny with three children, jovially resigned to domestic bliss. While he

lacks the wit and fire he had in his youth, his end seems generally well-matched to his

temperament and future dreams. Hermione’s modest future, in contrast, seems

unrealistically stereotyped given her childhood character. Hermione never expressed a

desire for motherhood in the texts, and Rowling’s inclusion of children fits more with her

idealized worldview of the nuclear family as the seat of goodness and love than with

Hermione’s original personality. Furthermore, the adult Hermione has become the

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I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment . . . for reasons that have very little

to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione and

Ron . . . I’m not sure you could have got over [the combative side] in an adult relationship, there was too

much fundamental incompatibility. . . In some ways Hermione and Harry are a better fit” (Rowling, J.K.

“Wonderland Interview.” Interview by Emma Watson. Mugglenet. Feb. 2014. Web.)

Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the Ministry.

This

seems a rather lowly position for the “cleverest witch of her age.” Given her early

intelligence and ambition, she could conceivable become Minister of Magic or

Headmistress of Hogwarts. Yet she occupies a mid-level position in the Ministry aligned

with bureaucratic oversight instead of pursuing her own assertion in Deathly Hallows to

the Minister of Magic that she wasn’t pursuing a career in the Ministry because she is

“hoping to do some good in the world!” (124). The Hermione viewed at the end of the

series falls far short of the energetic, intelligent stereotype-breaking young woman

introduced in the rest of the series.

Hermione deserves a life partner much more befitting her intelligence and gender

complexity—namely, Harry Potter. Harry is the archetypal hero—intelligent, strong,

brave, and skilled—but blends feminized characteristics with the archetypal “masculine”

ones, becoming a more developed and complex hero figure. Harry does not shy away

from “feminine” emotions, but embraces them. For example, after his longtime mentor

and friend Albus Dumbledore dies in Half-Blood Prince, Harry “could not prevent hot

tears spilling from his eyes” (644). Harry also seeks advice and friendship from a variety

of people, many of them women, defying the stereotype of the brave, solitary hero. Harry

would not have defeated Voldemort each year were it not for the guidance of Hermione

Granger, and he confides in Minerva McGonagall his suspicions about Umbridge and

Draco Malfoy in Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince. While Harry’s best friend

is Ron, Harry has “heterosocial relationships with Hermione, Luna, and Ginny [which]

set him apart from the traditionally heroic male with his male sidekick” (Wannamaker).

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rowling, J.K. “Dumbledore’s Army Reunites at Quidditch World Cup Final.” Pottermore. Warner

Brothers, 8 July 2014. Web.

Harry also seeks parental figures to guide him, though his biological parents are dead.

Molly Weasley and Minerva McGonagall act as surrogate mothers, while Albus

Dumbledore and Sirius Black provide him with father figures.

Hermione and Harry have a unique relationship that complements the gender

spectrum operating in each. Harry’s relationship with Hermione encompasses a range of

emotion, unlike Ron and Hermione’s relationship. Harry and Hermione have always been

open with each other about their deepest feelings. When Harry struggles to understand his

first crush Cho Chang, Hermione explains:

Well, obviously, she’s feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect

she’s feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry . . . Then

she’ll be feeling guilty, thinking it’s an insult to Cedric’s memory to be kissing

Harry . . . And she probably can’t work out what her feelings toward Harry are

anyway, because he was the one who was with Cedric when Cedric died, so that’s

all very mixed up and painful (Order of the Phoenix 459).

Harry provides the same level of emotional support when Hermione is hurt by Ron dating

Lavender in the movie version of Order of the Phoenix. Hermione is sobbing alone in a

chamber and asks, “How does it feel, Harry? When you see Dean with Ginny?” and

Harry responds, “It feels like [that].”

While not as eloquent as Hermione, Harry shares

his pain with her, something men stereotypically struggle with.

Harry and Hermione’s styles of intelligence also work well together. When Harry,

Ron and Hermione go through the obstacle course to reach the Sorcerer’s Stone, Ron is

almost immediately separated from the action, having been knocked unconscious in a

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Dir. David Yates. Perf. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson,

Rupert Grint. Warner Bros., 2007. DVD.

game of wizarding chess. Hermione accompanies Harry until the very end of the course,

solving the complicated logic problem that allows Harry to move on into the chamber and

retrieve the Stone. After Harry says Hermione is a better wizard than him, Hermione

responds: “Books! And cleverness! There are more important things—friendship and

bravery” (287).

While Hermione presents as more book-smart and logical, and Harry as

more magically gifted, faster and innovative, their partnership enhances the inherent

strengths of each while making them both more balanced. Harry and Hermione work

better as a team—in Deathly Hallows, after Ron abandons the search for the Horcruxes,

Harry and Hermione continue on the quest together. When the pair visits Bathilda

Bagshot, they are surprised when Nagini, disguised as Bathilda, attacks Harry. Hermione,

acting quickly to fend off the snake and get her and Harry to safety, accidentally breaks

Harry’s wand, but instead of allowing this to remove Harry’s power, lends him hers until

a replacement can be found. The trust and respect required for her to do this is immense,

and proves their unique bond. Even more tellingly, Hermione’s wand performs for Harry.

Since a wand is an extension of the witch or wizard to whom it belongs, Harry and

Hermione are compatible enough for one wand to perform for both.

While I don’t necessarily see Harry and Hermione as romantic soulmates, their

bond is undeniable. Both are incredibly intelligent in different contexts, and they share an

emotional openness and honesty that transcends gender barriers. Through his friendship

with Hermione, Harry gains emotional depth and selflessness, while Hermione becomes

braver, more confident in her abilities, and more openly vulnerable. That both are

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!While this quote is traditionally seen as a dismissal of Hermione’s power, critic Katrin Berndt argues that

“her diffidence serves to show Hermione initially underestimating her capacity for friendship and

bravery—a credible starting point for a young girl character who will grow into an extraordinary woman”

(Berndt 168).

reduced to stereotypic gender depictions in the epilogue is a great failing on Rowling’s

part.

While Rowling portrays a dynamic world with complex gender paradigms and

hierarchies, her fantasy world is thus not perfect. Because it gained worldwide acclaim,

the Harry Potter series was held to an incredibly high imaginative standard, one that no

author could truly meet. Though Rowling’s world has revolutionary female characters,

the epilogue, rather than continuing to challenge patriarchal hierarchies, regresses into

traditional stereotypes. Most disappointing in this regard is that Hermione, the most

promising female character in the series, is denied her full potential. However, Rowling

has continued the series beyond the original seven books through consultation with

scriptwriters on the movie adaptations, as well as through interviews, and, most

influentially, Pottermore. The interactive site Pottermore allows users to relive the seven

novels with added information on the history of the wizarding world and glimpses into

the most beloved characters’ futures. One can see it as a way for Rowling to correct her

mistakes, but by extension it creates an opportunity for readers to develop a worldview

that incorporates the many positive outcomes from the series. I view it as an

opportunity—for the generation for whom Harry Potter shaped their childhood,

Pottermore creates a space to transform a childhood passion into engaging, mature

discourse. Fans also continue the series through the fan fiction they write and post on the

web. On one fan fiction site (of which there are many), over 125,000 works exist on

Hermione Granger alone, many of them on her life after Hogwarts. Though the series

ended nearly ten years ago, new stories are published every day, proving that Rowling’s

Harry Potter series inspired creativity in a generation of young people and made a

staggering impact on the world.

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