The Riddles of Harry Potter Secret Passages and Interpretive Quests

by Wolosky, Shira

• ISBN13: 9780230109292
• ISBN10: 0230109292
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-12-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

The Harry Potter books take part in a rich literary tradition, including allegorical double meanings, mirror images among characters, psychological explorations of family dynamics, political and social critique, and complex moral questions. This book draws readers into deeper meanings of Harry Potter, arguing that the books launch and pursue interpretive quests in an ongoing effort to understand patterns and their attendant meanings, implications, and consequences.

Author Biography

Shira Wolosky is a Professor of English and American Literature at the Hebrew University. She is the author of Emily Dickinson: A Voice of War; Language Mysticism; The Art of Poetry; "Nineteenth Century American Poetry" in the Cambridge History of American Literature IV, and Poetry and Public Discourse in Nineteenth-Century America, among others.

Table of Contents

Note on References	p. xi
The Magic of Harry Potter	p. 1
Ordinary Worlds and Magic Ones	p. 3
Dursleys and Weasleys	p. 6
Word Riddles	p. 9
Magic Figures	p. 17
Double Meanings	p. 23
Inside and Outside	p. 23
The World at War	p. 34
The Other Ministry	p. 37
Horcruxes	p. 44
Well-Spotted: Plots and Reversals	p. 51
Reading Backwards	p. 53
Plotting Forwards	p. 57
Interpretive Quests	p. 63
The Turns of Time: Memory, Prediction, Prophecy	p. 75
Memory	p. 76
Prediction	p. 84
The Prophecy	p. 89
Seen and Unforeseen	p. 92
Mirror Images	p. 99
Reflecting Characters	p. 101
Father Figures	p. 107
The Secret Riddle	p. 113
Double Agent	p. 120
Moral Fables	p. 127
The Elder Wand	p. 127
Love or Power	p. 130
The Prophecy Again	p. 139
Possession	p. 141
Moral Choices	p. 144
The Invisibility Cloak	p. 149
Rebirth	p. 157
The Resurrection Stone	p. 157
Horcruxes or Hallows	p. 162
Rebirth	p. 165
Mothers	p. 170
Ordinary Magic	p. 176
Appendix: Discussion Topics	p. 185
Harry Potter and Fairy Tales	p. 185
Harry Potter and Psychological Interpretation	p. 186
Allegory and Literary Tradition	p. 187
History, Ideology, Cultural Studies	p. 188
Ethical Engagements	p. 190
Hermeneutics	p. 191
Notes	p. 195
Index	p. 221
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