41 Lily Crews – Maternal Magic: A Feminist Look at Maternal Figures in Harry Potter
Hailing from Plainfield, Indiana, Lily Crews (she/her) is a senior at IU East, majoring in Technical and Professional Writing. This essay is an analysis of maternal figures in the Harry Potter series, focusing on the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It was written for her Critical Practices course. Professor Alisa Clapp-Itnyre notes, “Very nice revisions on her final paper; additional details from the book really helped, as did the food article to apply to Harry Potter. A pleasure to read!”
Maternal Magic: A Feminist Look at Maternal Figures in Harry Potter
The Harry Potter series is a tale of an orphaned boy in a magical world. However, Harry Potter’s life is not always full of magic and mischief. His early life is dictated by the Dursleys, who adopted him following his mother’s death. Harry faces abuse and neglect from the Dursleys, even though they are tasked with taking care of him. It is not until Harry meets the Weasley family that he starts to truly understand what it means to be a part of a family. This storyline is initiated in the second book of the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Alexandra Hidalgo discusses the maternal characters and the importance of their roles in the Harry Potter series in her essay “Unstoppable Force: Maternal Power and Feminism” featured in the book Hermione Granger Saves the World: Essays on the Feminist Heroine of Hogwarts. In this essay, I will argue that The Chamber of Secrets portrays positive and negative representations of mother figures by analyzing Lily Potter, Petunia Dursley, and Molly Weasley.
Though Lily Potter is not alive during the plot of the Harry Potter series, she still plays a vital role in the story in many ways. Her importance as a sacrificial savior to Harry is shown at the start of The Chamber of Secrets, where the narrator explains that her sacrifice allowed Harry to survive Voldemort’s attack on his life. Harry has to live with this knowledge, and it comes out while confronting Tom Riddle. Harry uses Lily’s sacrifice as firepower against Riddle, saying, “But I know why you couldn’t kill me. Because my mother died to save me. My common Muggle-born mother” (Rowling 334). Even though very little is revealed about Lily’s personality or background, there is one reoccurring act that keeps coming back; Lily sacrificed herself to save her son. This is the only thing Harry knows about his mother at this point in the story. He knows that she is a woman of undying love and sacrifice, and her love is strong enough to keep Harry safe from deadly magic.
Unfortunately for Harry, this sacrifice leaves him without a mother and places him in the hands of his mother’s extended family, the Dursleys. Petunia Dursley must take on the role of Harry’s caregiver to honor the request of her late sister, Lily. Later in the series, we learn that she has always been distrustful, maybe even jealous of the magical world that her sister was a part of. After marrying her husband, who is also distrusting and hateful of wizards, her own hatred only amplifies, affecting her treatment of Harry. Petunia feeds into the abuse that Harry receives in the Dursley household. She passively allows and even encourages the abuse from her husband and son, while at times committing abuse herself. The first chapter is a prime example of this. The Dursleys are hosting a dinner party for work colleagues. This just so happens to fall on Harry’s twelfth birthday, which none of the family acknowledges. They instruct Harry to remain in his room, a small closet under the stairs, and remain out of sight (Rowling 5). The family does not want their colleagues to know of Harry’s existence and is scared of the social consequences if his existence in the home is revealed. Hidalgo mentions Petunia’s passiveness to the abuse, arguing that Petunia is, “neglectful, and while most of the cruelty Harry suffers growing up is not inflicted by her, she does nothing to stop her husband from abusing her nephew” (Hidalgo 67). She is a caricature of a doting mother, giving all of her praise and focus to her biological son, Dudley, while neglecting the basic needs of Harry in the process. She loves Dudley to the point of ignoring his flaws and projecting all of those flaws onto Harry. This is shown in the first two pages of the second book, where Dudley loudly burps after eating a large amount of food. Instead of commenting on her son’s behavior, Petunia offers Dudley another helping of bacon (Rowling 1, 2). When Dudley asks Harry to pass him the bacon, Harry tells him he forgot the magic word, please. This sends her husband, Vernon Dursley, into a rage because he thought Harry was discussing actual magic, which was banned in their household. Harry tries to diffuse the situation, explaining that he only meant the word please. This only increases Vernon’s rage, accusing Harry of threatening Dudley, and reminding Harry that while in his house, he must follow his rules (Rowling 2). Later on, Dudley is eating ice cream and watching Harry complete several labor-intensive chores. Harry comments to himself that he should not have risen to Dudley’s bait, knowing the consequences of doing so (Rowling 6). Petunia allows all of this to happen, being complacent during her husband’s emotional outburst. Her encouragement of her son only feeds into the abusive dynamic between the two children.
Petunia is also a parody of a stay-at-home mother. Hidalgo argues this as well, arguing, “Petunia, the most detached from feminism of any other female characters in the series, stays home, cooks, cleans obsessively, spies on her neighbors, is terrified of losing her social status, is subservient to her husband and dotes on Dudley to the point of asphyxiation” (Hidalgo 67). Petunia is doing what a stereotypical stay-at-home mother is supposed to do. However, her passiveness to her family’s abuse towards Harry and her exaggerated actions of femininity and motherhood mark a point of parody of that stereotype. As Hidalgo argues, “Either way, though Petunia, Rowling delivers a clear warning that mothers untouched by feminism are not only hurtful for themselves – she is perpetually anxious – but to their families” (Hidalgo 67). Petunia makes a mockery of Lily’s sacrifice with the way she treats Harry. Harry understands that his biological mother made the ultimate sacrifice out of her love for her son. However, the only true maternal figure he has had in his life thus far is Petunia and she barely treats him like a human, let alone a son. This leaves Harry without any maternal affection, and as such he has to look outside of his family to find a positive maternal figure.
Luckily for him, Molly Weasley is more than happy to take on that role. While Petunia Dursley is the caricature of a loving mother, Molly Weasley represents the role to the fullest. She is also a stay-at-home mom who cooks and cleans for her family, but in contrast to Petunia, she does it for the love of her family rather than the desire to maintain social standards. She accepts Harry into her home with open arms and with no questions asked. Harry mentions how Molly “fussed over the state of his socks and tried to force him to eat fourth helpings every meal” (Rowling 44). She even goes so far as to gift Harry a hand-knitted sweater for Christmas, long after he leaves the Weasley’s home to go back to school (Rowling 224). These small gestures start to shape Harry’s perspective of what it means to be part of a family, a vital point considering his experience with the Dursleys. Hidalgo explains how Molly’s actions mean so much to Harry with one sentence: “Moreover, being accepted by Molly means being part of her talented and loving family, thus fulfilling Harry’s dearest wish: to have a family” (Hidalgo 73). Molly becomes an integral part of Harry’s life as the series progresses. Harry begins to go to the Weasley home during school vacations instead of the Dursley’s, and Molly continues to treat him as her own son. Harry recognizes this inclusion in chapter six when Harry feels the guilt of causing issues to the Weasley family after all they did for him over the summer (Rowling 93). Here he begins to think about everything the family had done for him, and in doing so calls back to his experiences at the Dursley household. This brings a brief point of comparison to the foreground for the reader before quickly moving forward with the plot.
The introduction to Molly Weasley in The Chamber of Secrets is when she is marching across her yard to confront her sons after they stole the family car. She is described as a “short, plump, kind-faced woman,” despite the fact she is extremely furious with her sons, with the description continuing, “it was remarkable how much she looked like a saber-toothed tiger” (Rowling 34). She yells at her sons, venting her frustrations with the now famous line, “Beds empty! No note! Car gone “ (Rowling 34). However, her comments do not stem from malice, but out of concern for the safety of her children, as shown with the line “You could have died!” (Rowling 34). Even though her children broke several house rules, her main concern was their safety, and she was relieved when they returned home safe. Galardo C. and Smith argue that Molly’s role as disciplinarian is problematic because it enforces the concept of women being civilizers of men, considering that she has to keep her mostly male family in line (qt in Hidalgo 73). However, Hidalgo disagrees, stating that she also disciplines her daughter Ginny with the same zeal. Hildago argues that Molly, “is undermining the traditional view of fathers being the ones who children fear and who exercise control over their behavior” (Hidalgo 73). The final book of the series displays an altercation between Molly and Bellatrix, an evil wizard who attempts to kill Molly’s daughter, Ginny. When Molly realizes what Bellatrix was attempting, she immediately defends her daughter, yelling “NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!” before killing Bellatrix to defend her daughter’s life (Rowling 737). This is a callback to Lily’s sacrifice to defend Harry’s life and shows a point of comparison between the two mothers and their undying love for their children, and their desire to do anything to protect them.
Through a feminist lens, Molly seems to be the opposite of what some may view as a feminist. She is a stay-at-home mother who cooks and cleans for her family while her husband brings in the main source of income. Hidalgo argues that this describes a Martyr Mom, mentioning Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richard’s explanation for the term. They describe Martyr Moms as women who are “essentially ceding their own lives in the thankless service of others” (Hidalgo 72). However, Molly is the opposite of this. Hidalgo explains that Rowling uses Molly as a way to represent women who decide to fulfill the role of homemaker and mother for themselves, rather than at the expectations of a patriarchal society (Hidalgo 73). While second-wave feminism would condemn Molly for adhering to the typical societal standards of womanhood, third-wave feminism counters that thought. Molly does adhere to the stay-at-home mom stereotype. However, she does it because she chooses to do so. The fact that Molly has that choice and does choose to be a stay-at-home is empowering. She made that decision for herself; society did not make it for her. Yes, Molly’s life revolves around her home and family, but she does it in a way that is not neurotic or smothering, unlike Petunia. Hidalgo mentions this, explaining that Molly’s home is clean, but not obsessively so like Petunia’s. As Hidalgo mentions, even with seven children (eight if you add Harry), “she seems to find time to focus on all of them” (Hidalgo 73). This is another stark contrast to Petunia, who solely dotes on Dudley. Even though Harry is neither of these women’s biological children, only one of them makes the effort to make him feel like a part of their family.
There is an important reoccurring act from maternal figures throughout the book that reflects their attitudes towards Harry: food. There are multiple instances of a maternal character providing Harry with food, and the quality and quantity of the food reflect the character’s feelings toward Harry. For example, in the first chapter, Petunia Dursley gives Harry his own private meal before the family hosts a large dinner party; a party where Harry must hide in his room and remain unknown by the guests. The dinner party also happens to fall on Harry’s 12th birthday, which the Dursley family either forgets or ignores on purpose. Harry walks into the kitchen to see pork loin sizzling in the oven, and a grand pudding with whipped cream and sugared violets being prepared for the guests (Rowling 11). However, despite all the grand food Petunia gives Harry “two slices of bread and a lump of cheese” (Rowling 11). He barely gets a chance to finish his food before Petunia whisks the plate out from under him and pushes him into his room, out of sight of the guests (Rowling 11).
In contrast, Molly Weasley does everything in her power to make sure everyone in her home gets fed. There are multiple instances of this. After she disciplines her sons for stealing the car to rescue Harry in chapter three, she makes breakfast. George tells his mother how the Dursleys were starving Harry. She puts eight or nine sausages on Harry’s plate, followed by three fried eggs and buttered bread (Rowling 36). In chapter four, the narrator comments that Molly tries to give Harry four helpings every meal (Rowling 44). There are more instances of Molly offering food to Harry and her family, from toast in the morning to half a dozen bacon sandwiches (Rowling 44, 49). While Petunia nearly starved Harry, as George mentions in chapter three, Molly makes sure that he is fed well and often. This small gesture represents a much larger picture of maternal instinct. It displays how Petunia lacks any care for Harry, maternal or otherwise. Molly, on the other hand, has more than enough love to share with Harry, despite having such a large family to take care of. Not only does this simple act of affection show Harry what being a part of a family is supposed to be like, but it also tells Harry that he is not the burden the Petunia and the Dursleys make him out to be. The Dursleys did everything they could to isolate Harry from their lives, and as such isolate him from the family. In contrast, while staying with the Weasleys Harry is included in their day-to-day life, thus including him in their family. The dynamic of women, food, and family has been a long-studied topic. In “Feminist Food Studies: A Brief History,” Arlene V. Avakian and Barbara Haber outline the importance of this analysis through a sociocultural lens. They quote sociologist Marjorie DeVault’s argument of how food preparation is the work that defines family dynamics. Devault argues that through the work of feeding their family, “women quite literally produce family life from day to day” (qtd. in Avakian and Harber, 8, 9). Petunia does not hold Harry or his quality of life as important to her, and as such starves him. Molly does the opposite, ensuring that he is well-fed, showing her affection toward the boy.
The stark difference between Petunia and Molly’s actions toward Harry and their individual families displays the importance of positive maternal figures in family dynamics. Petunia sees Harry as an inconvenience, as something she has to put up with for the sake of her dead sister. She provides Harry with the bare minimum to ensure he survives, and nothing else. The Dursleys forget his 12th birthday to focus on a dinner party and instruct him to hide out of sight in his tiny room under the stairs during said party. Molly, on the other hand, does not want Harry to just survive, she wants him to thrive. She goes out of her way to guarantee that Harry feels welcome not only in her home but also in her family. Molly makes sure Harry is properly fed and clothed and even hand-knits him a Christmas sweater, just like for her biological children. While both of these women were not Harry’s biological mother, only Molly offered Harry the opportunity to be a part of a family. Through food, Petunia shows Harry his lack of worth in the Dursley family, while Molly shows Harry that he has value in the Weasley family.
The importance of maternal figures is shown very early on in the Harry Potter series. Harry is left an orphan following his mother’s death and is left in the hands of an abusive family. Petunia offers no representation of a motherly figure for Harry while doting on her biological child. Molly Weasley steps in as the maternal figure for Harry, doing everything she can to make sure he recognizes he is not a burden. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets provides readers with an introduction to the subtle yet complex look at the significance of maternal figures in the Harry Potter series.
Works Cited
Arlene Voski Avakian, Barbra Haber. “Feminist Food Studies: A Brief History.” Arlene Voski Avakian, Barbra Haber. From Betty Crocker to Feminist Food Studies : Critical Perspectives on Women and Food. University of Massachusetts Press, 2005.
Hidalgo, Alexandra. “Unstoppable Force: Maternal Power and Feminism.” Hidalgo, Alexandra. Hermione Granger Saves the World: Essays on the Feminist Heroine of Hogwarts. Ed. Christopher E. Bell. Jefferson: McFarland, 2021. 66-86.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic, 1997.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007.