Suffocating Love as a Theme in the Harry Potter Universe
Written for saeva, for the hp_essays essay-a-thon.
Suffocating Love as a Theme in the Harry Potter Universe
Love is a force to be reckoned with, especially within the Harry Potter books. It was his mother’s love that saved Harry Potter as a baby and continued to protect him throughout his childhood; it was the force of love that kept Voldemort from possessing Harry in the Department of Mysteries; and it is love that is “the power the Dark Lord knows not” - the power that will presumably have some role to play in Voldemort’s eventual defeat. Love, perhaps more than any other force, is considered Good - and in fact, love usually is a powerful force for the good. But even love, like all else in this world of gray and shadows, can be misguided. Rowling portrays love as the ultimate in good - but she does not neglect to portray as well its shadow, love misused. The misuse of love, in fact, is a theme that is threaded throughout the series, and plays an essential role as the foil for love as a positive force.
What exactly is love misused? It isn’t difficult to imagine the many ways in which a person’s love for one individual might lead them to commit some moral wrong-doing towards someone else, but that isn’t the direct shadow of ‘good’ love. No, the direct shadow of ‘good’ love is love that causes harm towards the object of the love - the sort of love that is often known as suffocating love. The theme of suffocating love as a shadow of ‘good’ love is one that is an integral part of the Harry Potter series, and its presence throughout the books reveals and shapes much of the plot and characters.
The first book begins with Voldemort’s defeat through Lily Potter’s love for her son. With this, the stage is set for love as a powerful force for the good - though the reader is not yet even aware that it is love that saved Harry. But in that same first chapter is Dumbledore’s decision to leave Harry with the Dursleys, and thus the stage is set as well for the contrasting theme of love misused.
The Dursleys do not love Harry. In fact, they might be said to hate him. They neglect him and maltreat him. The abuse - mental abuse and neglect - that they shower upon him so readily has a significant detrimental effect upon him. And yet….
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley love Dudley. They are determined to give him the best of everything, to give him everything his heart desires, to think the best of him in every situation. In effect, they smother him with their love. Dudley does not feel smothered, perhaps - or at least, he may only be starting to feel that way by OotP - but the effect has been just as harmful. Dudley has grown up to be a spoiled, immature, uneducated teenager who cannot understand how to live as a member of society, who cannot really understand the concept of self-restraint. It is uncertain exactly what plans JKR has for Dudley, but at the moment, Dudley doesn’t seem to have much chance for a happy future. Selfishness is more effective at negating the possibility of meaningful relationships (friendship, romantic love) than perhaps anything else, and selfishness and self-centeredness is something that Dudley has in spades, no thanks to his parents.
In fact, in contrasting Harry and Dudley - one who grew up abused and neglected, the other who was smothered with love - it becomes apparent that Harry may be the one who was better off, overall. Of course, it is essential to remember that Harry did receive love as a baby (babies who are neglected and unloved almost without exception exhibit a “failure to thrive” and exhibit severe developmental delays, and may even die) and that Harry has been receiving love in various forms since reentering the wizarding world - but still, the smothering love of the Dursleys for Dudley clearly shows the detrimental effects of love’s shadow.
Another major aspect of the theme of Love in the Harry Potter books is the Weasley family. First Ron, then the entire Weasley family becomes Harry’s substitute family, offering him not just lodgings, but a home and love, however uncertain Harry may be of their feelings towards him. Molly Weasley has a great deal of love for all her children, and extends that to Harry; Harry does not think of her as his mother, but she does represent a sort of mother-figure to him, and when he is not being a rebellious teenager, he does appreciate that, very much. And yet Mrs. Weasley is also guilty (to a much lesser extent than the Dursleys, of course, but still guilty) of smothering her children in love. Of course, her actions are very understandable, and though a surprising number of fans seem to dislike her, her character is certainly meant to be viewed sympathetically. (Rowling has mentioned the Weasleys fondly in numerous interviews.) And indeed, Mrs. Weasley is viewed sympathetically by the majority of readers. After all, her husband and children are all in real danger of being injured or killed at any moment - and don’t forget, her two brothers have already been killed in the last war, so the concept of family members dying is all too real a possibility to her. It is no wonder that Mrs. Weasley does her best to try to protect her family and keep them close. But trying to hard to keep your children safe and close - especially once they have started to grow up - can have a smothering effect. Mrs. Weasley continues to treat even her adult children - or almost children - as younger and less responsible than they really are. This tendency is especially evident when it comes to matters pertaining to Voldemort. She doesn’t seem to want to face the fact that her children are involved in the War, whatever she might wish to say about the matter, and there is a little to what she can do to protect them. She does not wish to accept that trying to protect them by leaving them in the dark - when they are already so very inextricably involved in the War - can be more harmful than helpful.
We see the negative effects of smothering love in another significant (and pivotal) instance. Dumbledore, as the head of the Order of the Phoenix and the leader of the war effort, must make decisions based on their long-term results and the good of the many. If his words to Harry Potter in the Order of the Phoenix may be taken at face value, and are actually genuine (and there is no good reason to believe they are not) then Dumbledore’s love for Harry, which developed over the course of the many years that Dumbledore has been looking out for him, in some ways became smothering. Like Mrs. Weasley, he wanted to protect Harry by keeping him in happy ignorance - but because of the greater significance of the information involved, this had an especially detrimental effect. It greatly harmed Harry’s relationship with and trust in Dumbledore, at a time when it is especially important that Harry trust him; it caused Harry to lose one of the only people he truly loved; and it sent Harry into a depression whose effects have yet to be seen.
Love in the Harry Potter books is shown as a powerful force. Dumbledore calls it “a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature.” It is almost entirely a positive force, responsible for a great deal of Good; it stands in direct opposition to the hatred that is the defining element of Voldemort and his Deatheaters. Yet even Love, like all good things in this world, has a negative aspect as well, and Rowling does this negative aspect of Love justice by portraying the harmful effects of smothering love in several key areas of the overall storyline.
***
Comments are welcome. :) And a question for you all as well: What do you think Harry will have to do/choose/feel in order to conquer Voldemort in relation to this theme? In the fanfics you've read, what are some of the best emotion/love related ways that Harry defeats Voldemort?
Suffocating Love as a Theme in the Harry Potter Universe
Love is a force to be reckoned with, especially within the Harry Potter books. It was his mother’s love that saved Harry Potter as a baby and continued to protect him throughout his childhood; it was the force of love that kept Voldemort from possessing Harry in the Department of Mysteries; and it is love that is “the power the Dark Lord knows not” - the power that will presumably have some role to play in Voldemort’s eventual defeat. Love, perhaps more than any other force, is considered Good - and in fact, love usually is a powerful force for the good. But even love, like all else in this world of gray and shadows, can be misguided. Rowling portrays love as the ultimate in good - but she does not neglect to portray as well its shadow, love misused. The misuse of love, in fact, is a theme that is threaded throughout the series, and plays an essential role as the foil for love as a positive force.
What exactly is love misused? It isn’t difficult to imagine the many ways in which a person’s love for one individual might lead them to commit some moral wrong-doing towards someone else, but that isn’t the direct shadow of ‘good’ love. No, the direct shadow of ‘good’ love is love that causes harm towards the object of the love - the sort of love that is often known as suffocating love. The theme of suffocating love as a shadow of ‘good’ love is one that is an integral part of the Harry Potter series, and its presence throughout the books reveals and shapes much of the plot and characters.
The first book begins with Voldemort’s defeat through Lily Potter’s love for her son. With this, the stage is set for love as a powerful force for the good - though the reader is not yet even aware that it is love that saved Harry. But in that same first chapter is Dumbledore’s decision to leave Harry with the Dursleys, and thus the stage is set as well for the contrasting theme of love misused.
The Dursleys do not love Harry. In fact, they might be said to hate him. They neglect him and maltreat him. The abuse - mental abuse and neglect - that they shower upon him so readily has a significant detrimental effect upon him. And yet….
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley love Dudley. They are determined to give him the best of everything, to give him everything his heart desires, to think the best of him in every situation. In effect, they smother him with their love. Dudley does not feel smothered, perhaps - or at least, he may only be starting to feel that way by OotP - but the effect has been just as harmful. Dudley has grown up to be a spoiled, immature, uneducated teenager who cannot understand how to live as a member of society, who cannot really understand the concept of self-restraint. It is uncertain exactly what plans JKR has for Dudley, but at the moment, Dudley doesn’t seem to have much chance for a happy future. Selfishness is more effective at negating the possibility of meaningful relationships (friendship, romantic love) than perhaps anything else, and selfishness and self-centeredness is something that Dudley has in spades, no thanks to his parents.
In fact, in contrasting Harry and Dudley - one who grew up abused and neglected, the other who was smothered with love - it becomes apparent that Harry may be the one who was better off, overall. Of course, it is essential to remember that Harry did receive love as a baby (babies who are neglected and unloved almost without exception exhibit a “failure to thrive” and exhibit severe developmental delays, and may even die) and that Harry has been receiving love in various forms since reentering the wizarding world - but still, the smothering love of the Dursleys for Dudley clearly shows the detrimental effects of love’s shadow.
Another major aspect of the theme of Love in the Harry Potter books is the Weasley family. First Ron, then the entire Weasley family becomes Harry’s substitute family, offering him not just lodgings, but a home and love, however uncertain Harry may be of their feelings towards him. Molly Weasley has a great deal of love for all her children, and extends that to Harry; Harry does not think of her as his mother, but she does represent a sort of mother-figure to him, and when he is not being a rebellious teenager, he does appreciate that, very much. And yet Mrs. Weasley is also guilty (to a much lesser extent than the Dursleys, of course, but still guilty) of smothering her children in love. Of course, her actions are very understandable, and though a surprising number of fans seem to dislike her, her character is certainly meant to be viewed sympathetically. (Rowling has mentioned the Weasleys fondly in numerous interviews.) And indeed, Mrs. Weasley is viewed sympathetically by the majority of readers. After all, her husband and children are all in real danger of being injured or killed at any moment - and don’t forget, her two brothers have already been killed in the last war, so the concept of family members dying is all too real a possibility to her. It is no wonder that Mrs. Weasley does her best to try to protect her family and keep them close. But trying to hard to keep your children safe and close - especially once they have started to grow up - can have a smothering effect. Mrs. Weasley continues to treat even her adult children - or almost children - as younger and less responsible than they really are. This tendency is especially evident when it comes to matters pertaining to Voldemort. She doesn’t seem to want to face the fact that her children are involved in the War, whatever she might wish to say about the matter, and there is a little to what she can do to protect them. She does not wish to accept that trying to protect them by leaving them in the dark - when they are already so very inextricably involved in the War - can be more harmful than helpful.
We see the negative effects of smothering love in another significant (and pivotal) instance. Dumbledore, as the head of the Order of the Phoenix and the leader of the war effort, must make decisions based on their long-term results and the good of the many. If his words to Harry Potter in the Order of the Phoenix may be taken at face value, and are actually genuine (and there is no good reason to believe they are not) then Dumbledore’s love for Harry, which developed over the course of the many years that Dumbledore has been looking out for him, in some ways became smothering. Like Mrs. Weasley, he wanted to protect Harry by keeping him in happy ignorance - but because of the greater significance of the information involved, this had an especially detrimental effect. It greatly harmed Harry’s relationship with and trust in Dumbledore, at a time when it is especially important that Harry trust him; it caused Harry to lose one of the only people he truly loved; and it sent Harry into a depression whose effects have yet to be seen.
Love in the Harry Potter books is shown as a powerful force. Dumbledore calls it “a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than forces of nature.” It is almost entirely a positive force, responsible for a great deal of Good; it stands in direct opposition to the hatred that is the defining element of Voldemort and his Deatheaters. Yet even Love, like all good things in this world, has a negative aspect as well, and Rowling does this negative aspect of Love justice by portraying the harmful effects of smothering love in several key areas of the overall storyline.
***
Comments are welcome. :) And a question for you all as well: What do you think Harry will have to do/choose/feel in order to conquer Voldemort in relation to this theme? In the fanfics you've read, what are some of the best emotion/love related ways that Harry defeats Voldemort?