THE NEXT GREAT ADVENTURE: REPRESENTATIONS OF DEATH IN J. K. ROWLING’S HARRY POTTER SERIES

Abstract

In line with previous studies about the importance of breaking with taboos surrounding death in children’s and YA literature, this article examines how this topic is treated in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Whereas other critical works have focused on Rowling’s excessive representations of violent deaths, I concentrate on the more benign portrayals of this reality that can also be found in her novels. I contend that the series ultimately renders and treats death as a complex issue. On one hand, Rowling embraces the pedagogy of death with her explicit didactic message that death is not evil per se and has to be accepted as a natural part of our existence, an idea which is central to the series. On the other hand, this study also looks into the ways in which deviates from the pedagogy of death, arguing that this does not necessarily detract from the series’ potential to promote a healthy view of this topic among readers. On the contrary, Rowling’s capacity to teach her audience lessons about death while, at the same time, acknowledging that these lessons may sometimes be at odds with how readers actually feel about the end of life makes for a complex, sensitive and humane rendering of this subject.