Harry Potter's Oedipal Issues

Throw Away What You've Heard About Learning Styles, With Megan Sumeracki, PhD

“…Psychoanalysts were quick to note not only the obvious phallic imagery of all those snakes and wands (and even of the phoenix; Rosegrant, 2009), but also the Oedipal overtones of a story that revolved around a young boy whose mother protected him with her love even as his father was killed (Noel-Smith, 2001). Thus, they argued, we can all identify with this fantasy, even while satisfying the reality principle in our recognition that it is, after all, only a story (Noel-Smith, 2001).…”

“…Psychoanalysts were quick to note not only the obvious phallic imagery of all those snakes and wands (and even of the phoenix; Rosegrant, 2009), but also the Oedipal overtones of a story that revolved around a young boy whose mother protected him with her love even as his father was killed (Noel-Smith, 2001). Thus, they argued, we can all identify with this fantasy, even while satisfying the reality principle in our recognition that it is, after all, only a story (Noel-Smith, 2001). The series follows the traditional fairy tale formula for the unlikely hero, but casts old ideas into new forms as Boggarts take advantage of unconscious fears and Dementors break through the barriers of repression, haunting our consciousness with our most awful memories (Noctor, 2006).…”

“…The series follows the traditional fairy tale formula for the unlikely hero, but casts old ideas into new forms as Boggarts take advantage of unconscious fears and Dementors break through the barriers of repression, haunting our consciousness with our most awful memories (Noctor, 2006). In this reading, Tom Riddle/ Voldemort is cast as the embodiment of the "bad" parts of Harry and his parents (Noel-Smith, 2001) and as what Harry could have been had he not transcended narcissism (Rosegrant, 2009). In this symbolic world, Hogwarts itself has been argued to represent the therapeutic environment, and the potential relevance of this symbolic representation of the human condition has even resulted in Harry Potter-themed group therapy sessions (Noctor 2006).…”

Harry Potter and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual: Muggle Disorders in the Wizarding World

“…Psychologists began to notice the Harry Potter series as soon as it was clear it would be a cultural phenomenon. The first peer-reviewed psychology journal article on the series (Noel- Smith, 2001) was published shortly after Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (GoF). Since then, much of the psychological scholarship about Harry Potter has fallen into one of three categories: 1) empirical studies on the effects of reading the series (e.g.…”

“…Brown & Patterson, 2010) and 3) literary analysis, usually from a Jungian or Freudian perspective (e.g. Noel -Smith, 2001;Rosegrant, 2009).…”