Harry Potter and Religious Imagery
Mar. 25th, 2016 05:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bookishwenchA bit of meta, and I could be entirely off base on this.
It's no secret that the ending of DH has strong Christ parallels in it, which is far from uncommon in literature. I could probably name several dozen or more books, plays, myths, etc., that use Christ imagery or the concept of self-sacrifice for the good of others in the same way. But I think I picked up on something a few years ago, and while I thought about posting it, I don't believe I ever wrote it up. Specifically, I think Rowling actually uses the Stations of the Cross during the whole section leading up to Harry's, if you squint. Again, I could be wrong. Some of them are out of order. But they show up in the Anglican faith, which I'm assuming Rowling would have been surrounded by growing up, and some of them seem a bit too close to be accidental. For the heck of it, I'm going to break this down here in parallel structure, labeling it with the station, then the possibly pertinent section from HP, then a bit of discussion. Page numbers are from the first U.S. edition of Deathly Hallows.
1. Jesus is condemned to death.
"'So the boy... the boy must die,' asked Snape quite calmly.
'And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential.'" (686)
At this point in the story, Harry is essentially condemned to death, not so much by Dumbledore or Snape, as by the connection between himself and Voldemort. He has to die so that good can win, through no fault of his own, taking on the evil someone else has done. I could even digress into the idea that Harry's scar/Horcrux might be seen as some sort of equivalent to the concept of original sin and the "mark" it is supposed to leave, which is certainly not negated by the idea the scar occurs as the result of someone else's crime. So I do see a parallel here.
2. Jesus takes up his cross.
"Harry understood at last that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to walk calmly into Death's welcoming arms. Along the way, he was to dispose of Voldemort's remaining links to life, so that when at last he flung himself across Voldemort's path, and did not raise a wand to defend himself, the end would be clean..." (691)
Obviously, there is no literally physical thing that Harry is carrying here. What he does is more the figurative meaning that taking up a cross is sometimes used for in modern parlance: the acceptance of a metaphorical burden. The concept of the importance of not defending himself is also heavily stressed. This is sheep to the slaughter imagery. He knows he's going to die, and despite the fact he doesn't want to die, he begins the long walk to death, another image straight out of the Via Dolorosa.
3. Jesus falls the first time.
I was half-expecting Harry to trip at this point, but it ends up being a case of "wait for it." It's out of order, but it's there. Actually, the next several are in different order than the traditional stations, but again, with one exception, they're there.
4. Jesus meets his mother.
"Lily's smile was widest of all. She pushed her long hair backs as she drew close to him, her green eyes, so like his, searched his face hungrily, as though she would never be able to look at him enough.
'You've been so brave.'
He could not speak. His eyes feasted on her, and he thought that he would like to stand and look at her forever, and that would be enough." (699)
Harry meets his mother, and his father, and his Godfather, and his father's friend who has been like an uncle to him. The presence of family gives strength here as well as consolation. The concept of Lily's name being linked to Marian imagery is certainly possible as well as Mary is often depicted with a lily.
5. Simon helps carry the cross.
I'm seeing two connected images of this.
"The Neville nearly walked into him. He was one half of a pair that was carrying a body in from the grounds. Harry glanced down and felt another dull blow to the stomach: Colin Creevey, though underage, must have sneaked back just as Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had done. He was tiny in death." (694)
Neville isn't carrying something physically for Harry, but he is carrying something that, though "tiny" is heavy enough to require two people: an innocent victim. The parallel with Simon here isn't perfect, but it's there. The other image is more metaphorical, and significantly, it involves Neville again.
"Dumbledore had died knowing that three people still knew about the Horcruxes; now Neville would take Harry's place." (696)
Again, there is no physical burden Harry is carrying, so the image is somewhat imperfect, but he is carrying the mental burden of defeating Voldemort, more specifically, getting rid of Nagini. So Harry shares the burden with Neville, lets him carry that part of it. Like Colin's body or a cross, it's too much for one person to bear without help. The pain is shared with an innocent.
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
Okay, I've looked, and I'm just not finding this one, though arguably the Invisibility Cloak might be a connection here that I'm just not making. Anyone?
7. Jesus falls the second time.
Again, wait for it.
8. Jesus meets the mourning women.
"Someone else was moving not far away, stooping over another prone figure on the ground. He was feet away from her when he realized it was Ginny.
'It's all right,' Ginny was saying. 'It's okay. We're going to get you inside.'
'But I want to go home," whispered the girl. 'I don't want to fight anymore.'
'I know,' said Ginny, and her voice broke. 'It's going to be all right.' (696-697)
Rowling specifically makes both speakers here female. They aren't mourning Harry but the whole situation that has occurred, and Harry's reaction is he wants to reach out to them, he wants to go home too, he wants to tell them he's there, but he can't because he has to go on to his death. Instead, Ginny looks "around as he passed" (697), sensing him there, but that's all.
9. Jesus falls the third time.
Wait for it.
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments.
"Nobody spoke. They seemed as scared as Harry, whose heart was now throwing itself against his ribs as though determined to escape the body he was about to cast aside. His hands were sweating as he pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it beneath his robes, with his wand." (703)
Another combination of the literal and the metaphorical, Harry removes his Cloak, leaving him exposed to view. To this point, he has remained mostly hidden, but there isn't any more of that. He is purposely defenseless. Add to this the idea that is about "to cast aside" (703) his body, and you have another sort of stripping going on, this time not of clothing but of human life.
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross.
"Voldemort had raised his wand. His head was still tilted to one side, like a curious child, wondering what would happen if he proceeded. Harry looked back into his red eyes, and wanted it to happen now, quickly, while he could still stand, before he lost control, before he betrayed fear--
He saw the mouth move and a flash of green light, and everything was gone."
This is quite a bit different. Part of the Stations of the Cross is the idea that Jesus's death was slow and painful. Harry's death is fast and according to Sirius's assurances, painless. However, there is still the moment when he is just this side of panic, wanting it to be over as the enemy raises his weapon to kill him. It's the closest parallel.
12. Jesus dies on the cross.
"'Then... I'm dead too?'" (707)
In a chapter literally titled "King's Cross," Harry goes on to some sort of waiting room for the afterlife, greeted by Dumbledore and sharing space with what remains of the Horcrux. Dumbledore essentially says Harry has a choice about dying or not, though the answer to Harry's question is "'On the whole, dear boy, I think not'" (707). For all intents and purposes, though, he is dead, which is a victory rather than a defeat here.
13. Jesus is taken down from the cross.
We have two separate images again here, each slightly telling.
"Hands, softer than he had been expecting, touched Harry's face, pulled back an eyelid, crept beneath his shirt, down to his chest and felt his heart. He could hear the woman's fast breathing, her long hair tickled his face. He knew that she could feel the steady pounding of life against his ribs.
'Is Draco alive? Is he in the castle?'
The whisper was barely audible ; her lips were an inch from his ear, her head bent so lot that her long hair shielded his face from the onlookers.
'Yes," he whispered back.
He felt the hand on his chest contract; her nails pierced him." (726)
Usually, the image of Jesus being taken down from the cross involves his mother cradling his body, the moment captured in the Pieta. There is a mother here, but not his own, though still concerned over the death of her son. She checks him for signs of life, but in this case she finds them as technically Harry's resurrection has already occurred. The clause "her nails pierced him" (726), though, certainly has symbolic imagery present from the crucifixion (leaving aside that the torture curse Crucio comes from the same root word as crucifixion as well).
The other image is a direct Pieta.
"Harry could feel Hagrid's arms trembling with the force of his heaving sobs; great tears splashed down upon him as Hagrid cradled Harry in his arms..." (727).
Hagrid carried Harry when he was a baby, acted as family to him on many occasions, delivered his invitation into the world he had been born into (somewhat similar to Mary asking Jesus to turn water into wine as the start of His ministry). Now he (believes he) carries Harry's dead body back to the school. If this isn't a nearly identical image of Michelangelo's masterpiece, I don't know what is.
14. Jesus is buried.
“’You see?’ said Voldemort, and Harry felt him striding backward and forward right beside the place where he lay. ‘Harry Potter is dead!’ Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him! . . . He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds,” said Voldemort, and there was relish in his voice for the lie, ‘killed while trying to save himself—‘” (730-731)
Obviously, Harry is not put literally into a tomb here since he’s already alive at this point. But again, there is a sort of metaphorical burying happening. Voldemort attempts to take the significance of Harry’s death away by pretending it was due to cowardice, that those who believed in Harry are “deluded” (730). It harkens a bit to the guards placed around the tomb to protect against fake stories of resurrection and later paying off the guards. But what’s really being entombed, or hidden, is Harry’s legacy, so to speak. If Voldemort takes away his dignity and honor by making him a coward, then he can claim a complete victory. Of course, that’s about to get a massive reversal…
15. Jesus rises from the dead.
“’HARRY!’ Hagrid shouted. ‘HARRY—WHERE’S HARRY?’” (733)
This happens when Harry uses the Cloak to slip away when no one’s looking. Doesn’t Hagrid sound a bit like Mary Magdalene wondering what’s happened to Jesus’s body? Or a whole lot?
“’Protego!’ roared Harry, and the Shield Charm expanded in the middle of the Hall, and Voldemort stared around for the source as Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak at last.
The yells of shock, cheer, the screams on every side of ‘Harry!’ ‘HE’S ALIVE!’ were stifled at once. The crowd was afraid, and silence fell abruptly…”
A parallel with not only the immediate reaction to what can only be called a resurrection, but then the followers become terrified and silent again, which is precisely what the disciples did, hiding. Then, of course, the massive duel, in which we find out the power of love wins over all, even death, which is precisely the point.
I have no idea whether Rowling did this intentionally or not, but my guess is yes. Heck, the final fight even happens at dawn on May 3, 1998, which is, of course, a Sunday. Doesn’t miss a trick, does she?
Oh, and the falling three times parallel?
“He was lifted into the air, and it took all his determination to remain limp, yet the pain he expected did not come. He was thrown once, twice, three times into the air…” (727)
Post-death, while pretending to be a corpse, Harry is thrown into the air and falls three times. It’s out of order, but it’s still there. I'll take it.
It's no secret that the ending of DH has strong Christ parallels in it, which is far from uncommon in literature. I could probably name several dozen or more books, plays, myths, etc., that use Christ imagery or the concept of self-sacrifice for the good of others in the same way. But I think I picked up on something a few years ago, and while I thought about posting it, I don't believe I ever wrote it up. Specifically, I think Rowling actually uses the Stations of the Cross during the whole section leading up to Harry's, if you squint. Again, I could be wrong. Some of them are out of order. But they show up in the Anglican faith, which I'm assuming Rowling would have been surrounded by growing up, and some of them seem a bit too close to be accidental. For the heck of it, I'm going to break this down here in parallel structure, labeling it with the station, then the possibly pertinent section from HP, then a bit of discussion. Page numbers are from the first U.S. edition of Deathly Hallows.
1. Jesus is condemned to death.
"'So the boy... the boy must die,' asked Snape quite calmly.
'And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential.'" (686)
At this point in the story, Harry is essentially condemned to death, not so much by Dumbledore or Snape, as by the connection between himself and Voldemort. He has to die so that good can win, through no fault of his own, taking on the evil someone else has done. I could even digress into the idea that Harry's scar/Horcrux might be seen as some sort of equivalent to the concept of original sin and the "mark" it is supposed to leave, which is certainly not negated by the idea the scar occurs as the result of someone else's crime. So I do see a parallel here.
2. Jesus takes up his cross.
"Harry understood at last that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to walk calmly into Death's welcoming arms. Along the way, he was to dispose of Voldemort's remaining links to life, so that when at last he flung himself across Voldemort's path, and did not raise a wand to defend himself, the end would be clean..." (691)
Obviously, there is no literally physical thing that Harry is carrying here. What he does is more the figurative meaning that taking up a cross is sometimes used for in modern parlance: the acceptance of a metaphorical burden. The concept of the importance of not defending himself is also heavily stressed. This is sheep to the slaughter imagery. He knows he's going to die, and despite the fact he doesn't want to die, he begins the long walk to death, another image straight out of the Via Dolorosa.
3. Jesus falls the first time.
I was half-expecting Harry to trip at this point, but it ends up being a case of "wait for it." It's out of order, but it's there. Actually, the next several are in different order than the traditional stations, but again, with one exception, they're there.
4. Jesus meets his mother.
"Lily's smile was widest of all. She pushed her long hair backs as she drew close to him, her green eyes, so like his, searched his face hungrily, as though she would never be able to look at him enough.
'You've been so brave.'
He could not speak. His eyes feasted on her, and he thought that he would like to stand and look at her forever, and that would be enough." (699)
Harry meets his mother, and his father, and his Godfather, and his father's friend who has been like an uncle to him. The presence of family gives strength here as well as consolation. The concept of Lily's name being linked to Marian imagery is certainly possible as well as Mary is often depicted with a lily.
5. Simon helps carry the cross.
I'm seeing two connected images of this.
"The Neville nearly walked into him. He was one half of a pair that was carrying a body in from the grounds. Harry glanced down and felt another dull blow to the stomach: Colin Creevey, though underage, must have sneaked back just as Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had done. He was tiny in death." (694)
Neville isn't carrying something physically for Harry, but he is carrying something that, though "tiny" is heavy enough to require two people: an innocent victim. The parallel with Simon here isn't perfect, but it's there. The other image is more metaphorical, and significantly, it involves Neville again.
"Dumbledore had died knowing that three people still knew about the Horcruxes; now Neville would take Harry's place." (696)
Again, there is no physical burden Harry is carrying, so the image is somewhat imperfect, but he is carrying the mental burden of defeating Voldemort, more specifically, getting rid of Nagini. So Harry shares the burden with Neville, lets him carry that part of it. Like Colin's body or a cross, it's too much for one person to bear without help. The pain is shared with an innocent.
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.
Okay, I've looked, and I'm just not finding this one, though arguably the Invisibility Cloak might be a connection here that I'm just not making. Anyone?
7. Jesus falls the second time.
Again, wait for it.
8. Jesus meets the mourning women.
"Someone else was moving not far away, stooping over another prone figure on the ground. He was feet away from her when he realized it was Ginny.
'It's all right,' Ginny was saying. 'It's okay. We're going to get you inside.'
'But I want to go home," whispered the girl. 'I don't want to fight anymore.'
'I know,' said Ginny, and her voice broke. 'It's going to be all right.' (696-697)
Rowling specifically makes both speakers here female. They aren't mourning Harry but the whole situation that has occurred, and Harry's reaction is he wants to reach out to them, he wants to go home too, he wants to tell them he's there, but he can't because he has to go on to his death. Instead, Ginny looks "around as he passed" (697), sensing him there, but that's all.
9. Jesus falls the third time.
Wait for it.
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments.
"Nobody spoke. They seemed as scared as Harry, whose heart was now throwing itself against his ribs as though determined to escape the body he was about to cast aside. His hands were sweating as he pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it beneath his robes, with his wand." (703)
Another combination of the literal and the metaphorical, Harry removes his Cloak, leaving him exposed to view. To this point, he has remained mostly hidden, but there isn't any more of that. He is purposely defenseless. Add to this the idea that is about "to cast aside" (703) his body, and you have another sort of stripping going on, this time not of clothing but of human life.
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross.
"Voldemort had raised his wand. His head was still tilted to one side, like a curious child, wondering what would happen if he proceeded. Harry looked back into his red eyes, and wanted it to happen now, quickly, while he could still stand, before he lost control, before he betrayed fear--
He saw the mouth move and a flash of green light, and everything was gone."
This is quite a bit different. Part of the Stations of the Cross is the idea that Jesus's death was slow and painful. Harry's death is fast and according to Sirius's assurances, painless. However, there is still the moment when he is just this side of panic, wanting it to be over as the enemy raises his weapon to kill him. It's the closest parallel.
12. Jesus dies on the cross.
"'Then... I'm dead too?'" (707)
In a chapter literally titled "King's Cross," Harry goes on to some sort of waiting room for the afterlife, greeted by Dumbledore and sharing space with what remains of the Horcrux. Dumbledore essentially says Harry has a choice about dying or not, though the answer to Harry's question is "'On the whole, dear boy, I think not'" (707). For all intents and purposes, though, he is dead, which is a victory rather than a defeat here.
13. Jesus is taken down from the cross.
We have two separate images again here, each slightly telling.
"Hands, softer than he had been expecting, touched Harry's face, pulled back an eyelid, crept beneath his shirt, down to his chest and felt his heart. He could hear the woman's fast breathing, her long hair tickled his face. He knew that she could feel the steady pounding of life against his ribs.
'Is Draco alive? Is he in the castle?'
The whisper was barely audible ; her lips were an inch from his ear, her head bent so lot that her long hair shielded his face from the onlookers.
'Yes," he whispered back.
He felt the hand on his chest contract; her nails pierced him." (726)
Usually, the image of Jesus being taken down from the cross involves his mother cradling his body, the moment captured in the Pieta. There is a mother here, but not his own, though still concerned over the death of her son. She checks him for signs of life, but in this case she finds them as technically Harry's resurrection has already occurred. The clause "her nails pierced him" (726), though, certainly has symbolic imagery present from the crucifixion (leaving aside that the torture curse Crucio comes from the same root word as crucifixion as well).
The other image is a direct Pieta.
"Harry could feel Hagrid's arms trembling with the force of his heaving sobs; great tears splashed down upon him as Hagrid cradled Harry in his arms..." (727).
Hagrid carried Harry when he was a baby, acted as family to him on many occasions, delivered his invitation into the world he had been born into (somewhat similar to Mary asking Jesus to turn water into wine as the start of His ministry). Now he (believes he) carries Harry's dead body back to the school. If this isn't a nearly identical image of Michelangelo's masterpiece, I don't know what is.
14. Jesus is buried.
“’You see?’ said Voldemort, and Harry felt him striding backward and forward right beside the place where he lay. ‘Harry Potter is dead!’ Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him! . . . He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds,” said Voldemort, and there was relish in his voice for the lie, ‘killed while trying to save himself—‘” (730-731)
Obviously, Harry is not put literally into a tomb here since he’s already alive at this point. But again, there is a sort of metaphorical burying happening. Voldemort attempts to take the significance of Harry’s death away by pretending it was due to cowardice, that those who believed in Harry are “deluded” (730). It harkens a bit to the guards placed around the tomb to protect against fake stories of resurrection and later paying off the guards. But what’s really being entombed, or hidden, is Harry’s legacy, so to speak. If Voldemort takes away his dignity and honor by making him a coward, then he can claim a complete victory. Of course, that’s about to get a massive reversal…
15. Jesus rises from the dead.
“’HARRY!’ Hagrid shouted. ‘HARRY—WHERE’S HARRY?’” (733)
This happens when Harry uses the Cloak to slip away when no one’s looking. Doesn’t Hagrid sound a bit like Mary Magdalene wondering what’s happened to Jesus’s body? Or a whole lot?
“’Protego!’ roared Harry, and the Shield Charm expanded in the middle of the Hall, and Voldemort stared around for the source as Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak at last.
The yells of shock, cheer, the screams on every side of ‘Harry!’ ‘HE’S ALIVE!’ were stifled at once. The crowd was afraid, and silence fell abruptly…”
A parallel with not only the immediate reaction to what can only be called a resurrection, but then the followers become terrified and silent again, which is precisely what the disciples did, hiding. Then, of course, the massive duel, in which we find out the power of love wins over all, even death, which is precisely the point.
I have no idea whether Rowling did this intentionally or not, but my guess is yes. Heck, the final fight even happens at dawn on May 3, 1998, which is, of course, a Sunday. Doesn’t miss a trick, does she?
Oh, and the falling three times parallel?
“He was lifted into the air, and it took all his determination to remain limp, yet the pain he expected did not come. He was thrown once, twice, three times into the air…” (727)
Post-death, while pretending to be a corpse, Harry is thrown into the air and falls three times. It’s out of order, but it’s still there. I'll take it.
