Harry Potter and the Oedipal Drama

Do you know why literary critics still cling to old-school Freudian psychoanalytical theory when it’s long past being of any interest to modern psychology? Because it’s fun to see how many times you can use the word ‘penis’ in scholarly writing, that’s why.

I read Freudian criticism of Harry Potter today. Which was not nearly as traumatizing as reading it for Alice in Wonderland, but I digress.

One of Freud’s most applicable theories to the study of literature is his assertion that, through fiction, we explore fantasies that have no acceptable outlet in reality–that boring, stifling, unfulfilling sphere where the id can’t come out and play freely. Fiction writing provides the freedom we need to let out our hidden little wants and desires, but it also placates the ego by representing a/the world as we want it to be.

One point that the article “Harry Potter’s Oedipal Issues” brings up is that part of the fundamental appeal of the books is that it gives us a fantasy world that people can safely explore, one that doesn’t endanger ‘reality’. Like many classic children’s fantasy novels, there’s a distinct threshold that separates the two spheres, between the real and the fantasy world. Alice had her rabbit hole and her looking glass. Narnia had its wardrobe. Harry has his platform 9 3/4. The barrier represents a leaving behind of worldly concerns, so the focus is purely on internal development.

But considering more classically Freudian concerns, and interesting questions was raised. Are the deaths of Harry’s parents the fulfillment of an Oedipal fantasy? I can follow the Oedipus metaphor insomuch as Harry’s father gave his life to try to save Lily and Harry (the death of the father clears any obstacle to the primary relationship of the mother and son). But what, then, about Lily, who then sacrifices herself to save Harry? On one hand, it satisfies the need for proof of the mother’s love, but the traditional paradigm wants the death of the father and the possession of the mother. Maybe pure validation is all we really want after all.