Chapter 2 mythological paradigm in j.K. Rowling's harry potter series

2.1. Mythologism of the Imaginary World Penetrating Different Elements of Fiction in the Harry Potter Series

Myphologism is a way of poetical usage of some mythic elements in the literary work. There is an approach called archetypal literary criticism that interprets the text focusing on recurring myths and archetypes in the narrative, symbols, images, and characters of the literary work. This critical theory owes its existence to Sir James George Frazer, Carl Gustav Jung, and Northrop Frye.

Following in the footsteps of the literary critics that used this approach we will try to trace this mythical aspect in different elements of fiction in the Harry Potter series.

Plot

Surveying the plot of Harry Potter novels requires mentioning Joseph Campbell's theory of monomyth.

In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell formulated the schemas of the Hero's Journey, a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through all of humanity's mythic traditions: 'A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man' [6].

Campbell drew his theory from the ancient allegories in dozens of cultures and codified into one rollicking human epic, a universal saga that he referred to as the monomyth.

According to our research, the plot of Harry Potter series fits neatly into the classic hero's journey. Moreover, the narrative structure underlying J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter heptalogy suggests that it follows the model of the monomyth or hero's journey not only as a basic pattern for the entire story line, but also for each individual volume [3].

Rowling applies the hero's journey without being formulaic, but she remains true to its original form of a cycle of separation, initiation and return.

To date, however, she has neither confirmed that she used Hero's Journey model as an inspiration, nor denied that she ever read The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

It's fair to say that although J.K. Rowling followed some basic novel guidelines she was quite creative at that. And we can claim Harry's Hero Journey to be more than just a quest, it's a struggle for identity.

Setting

The settling of the series is a delightful mixture of real and magical, the everyday and the magical, the matter-of-fact, and the mystical, whereas a typical fantasy story depicts a world that's separate from ours. For example, Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings takes place in a mythical place known as Middle Earth, Le Guin's Earthsea is a completely invented world that is distinct from our own, while Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia takes place in parallel worlds.

But Rowling's eclectic blend of fantasy and reality is like our own world with a magical element added to it: "it's like the real world in a very distorted mirror. We are not going off to a different planet, we are not going through time warps. It is a fantastic world that has to live shoulder to shoulder with the real world." [13].

The majority of the places Rowling sets her action into are hidden for the ordinary people. This comprises streets, ancient pubs, lonely country manors and secluded castles that remain invisible to the Muggle population. It is worth noticing that Rowling points out the ways in which you can reach certain places. You can get access to the places by tapping the right brick, by running through the solid wall, by stepping into some cabinet or fireplace, by apparition – it works as long as you believe in it and use the right technique.

The main narrative is set in the years 1991–1998. However, time can be transformed using some devices. Time-turners are used for time-travels, although it's just several hours that one can be sent back. A Pensieve is used to review one's memories. It allows viewer to fully immerse in them, much like in a virtual reality.

Finally, the most pertinent part of setting, the social environment is represented by two communities that interpenetrate as the story unravels: Muggles and Wizards.

The bottom line is, the world of Harry Potter is, undeniably, very flexible multi-layered fictional universe.

Characters

Most of the major characters portrayed by J.K. Rowling possess some kind of supernatural magical power which is a common of mythical tradition. Besides, there is a dozen of archetypes to be found in the series that we are going to survey in the chapter 'Archetypes Impersonated by the Principal Characters'.

Theme

One of the major themes of Harry Potter series is the battle between Good and Evil which is indeed, an archetypal one. It's the two primal forces trying to take the lead. And yet again the Good triumphs over Evil despite great odds where the future of the Wizarding world is at stake. This struggle is at its most climactic in the last four novels. Another important archetypal theme is Death.

Symbolism

A symbol is a person, object, image, word, or event that evokes a range of additional meanings. Harry Potter books bear a wide range of conventional and contextual symbols, which includes both world mythology and Christian symbolism.

Some of the mythic symbols are the Unhealable Wound, the Threshold, the Underworld, the Maze, the Castle etc.

Style

J.K. Rowling's style conveys her unique way of seeing the world. Her passion for details is an integral part of her writing and it contributes to the plausibility of her secondary world. In addition to it, one of the most prominent features of her style is specific usage of proper nouns with a self-explanatory etymology that holds a key to understanding certain messages.

Tone & Mood

The tone of narration varies during the series. It can be all shades from lighthearted or ironic tone to the aura of doom and depression.