Let me start with this premise: There is a child in each of us. This child, whether ten or forty, if s/he reads Harry Potter will always be fascinated by the magical objects featured in the novels, whether as Concealers, Revealers, or Detectors.
But, have you ever stopped and thought for a while what these objects could represent in relation to the story and/or the characters? I have. We call these objects "Objective Correlatives" in literary criticism.
An objective correlative is a literary term referring to a symbolic article used to provide explicit, rather than implicit, access to such traditionally inexplicable concepts as emotion or colour. The term was popularized by T. S. Eliot in his essay "Hamlet and His Problems." Eliot, who is associated with the Formalist interpretation of literature, used the term exclusively to refer to his claimed artistic mechanism whereby emotion is evoked in the audience. (Miss H. Granger would know this.)
So, without further ado, I will discuss ten of my all-time favourite magical objects from Harry Potter's world and their respective meanings according to my reading:
The tie that binds a family is an indomitable force. The Weasley Clock is the concretization of domestic security and the strong family ties that bind the huge Weasley family together.
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The Invisibility Cloak. It is used to make the wearer invisible. There are a number of different types of invisibility cloaks. All are very rare and expensive, and they may be spun from pelts of the Demiguise, magical herbivores that are found in the Far East.
This special cloak represents the mortal humans' overpowering desire to cheat death. Ironic, because this cloak is actually a piece cut from the cloak of Death himself.
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The Deluminator. Also called "put outer," it is a device invented by Dumbledore that looks like a standard cigarette lighter. It is used to remove or absorb and later return the light from a light source to provide secrecy to the user.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows specifically, the Deluminator served to "rekindle" Ron's spirit and brought him back to Harry and Hermione when he abandoned the two and lost his way. So, I would have to say that this device symbolizes guidance for Ron, and secrecy for those who need it.
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Obviously, the mirror of desire speaks for itself. It is the concretization of our desire, which, oftentimes, we only see in our mind's eye. But this time, a real object, a mirror, reflects this before us.
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The Pensieve is a stone basin used to store and review memories. Covered in mystic runes, it contains memories that take physical form as a type of matter that is described as neither gas nor liquid. A witch or wizard can extract their own or another person’s memories, store them in the Pensieve, and review them later. It also relieves the mind when it becomes cluttered with information. Anyone can examine the memories in the Pensieve, which also allows viewers to fully immerse themselves in the memories stored within, much like a magical form of real world virtual reality.
Clever thing, the Pensieve. Even its name has a curious origin: the word "pensive," which means "deeply thoughtful." Again, this magical object represents our desire to capture and re-view events of the past, so that we may learn from it and understand the choices that we made in life.
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A Time Turner may be used for short-term time travel. Hermione receives a Time-Turner from McGonagall in Prisoner of Azkaban, so she could attend more classes than time would normally allow. Hermione is ordered to keep it a secret from everyone, including Harry and Ron, although they do notice the suspicious impossibility of her schedule, and several bizarre disappearances and reappearances.
My favourite magical object represents our far-fetched dream of turning back the hands of time so that we may undo our mistakes or change the course of events in our life.
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This map is a representation of the protagonist's love for adventure and knack for misadventures and mischief. Maps are supposed to give directions only, but this one leaves nothing to the imagination.
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The Elder Wand, known throughout history as the Deathstick and the Wand of Destiny, is an extremely powerful wand made of elder wood with a core of Thestral tail hair It is supposedly the most powerful wand in existence, and when used by its true master, he or she cannot be defeated in a duel; though according to Dumbledore, this is false, for he had beaten the Elder Wand in his epic battle with the legendary dark wizard, Grindelwald. It also appears, as the wand is somewhat sentient (as are all wands), that it will not allow itself to cause real harm to its true master. As stated by Mr. Ollivander the wandmaker, the wand will never fully work for the new user unless he or she directly disarms, stuns or kills (even in Muggle fashion) the previous master. Rowling has stated that the wand is brutal in its choice of master, and that, whilst most wands have some allegiance to their own masters, the Elder Wand only responds to power. If a master dies naturally without ever being defeated, the wand's power will die for any following owner, since it was never won from the former.
The struggle for power and man's tendency to self-destruct in the face of tremendous power is what the Elder Want symbolizes.
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The Resurrection Stone allows the holder to communicate with the dead. According to the fairy tale concerning the origin of the Deathly Hallows, using the Resurrection Stone drove its original owner, Cadmus Peverell, to commit suicide after seeing his deceased fiancée but being unable to be truly with her. By the time the stone was seen in Marvolo Gaunt's possession, it had been set into a ring that bore the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, which Gaunt believed to be the Peverell coat of arms. Both Dumbledore and Grindelwald desired the stone, but for different reasons. While Dumbledore wanted it to communicate with his dead family, Grindelwald intended to use it to create an army of Inferi. Voldemort turned the ring into a Horcrux, not knowing its magical nature.
Once again, our desire to conquer death is concretized by this magical object. The story of the Resurrection Stone also serves to remind all mortals that Death is irreversible.
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A Horcrux is an item that a wizard has put part of their soul into, which is done by killing a person. The most famous person to have a Horcrux is of course Lord Voldemort, who had seven. Horcruxes are very illegal and the only way Voldemort ever found out about them was when he was in Hogwarts and found the description of one in the restricted section of the Library. In the Deathly Hallows, horcruxes become extremely important.Man's capacity for evil and cruelty is symbolized by the horcruxes. The very idea that one could kill and break his soul into fragments is evil enough.
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There is a host of other magical objects in Harry Potter's world that can be viewed as Objective Correlative for some abstract ideas or emotions. Share your own list and interpretations.
* * * * * * * for you, Granger of Ravenclaw* * * * * * *
Silver Doe,
ReplyDeleteI am deeply honoured to have been offered by you the diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw and this post on magical artifacts.
My list of "objective correlatives" would include the Time-Turner, which happens to be on top of my fave list. For me, this magical device is symbolic of the fixed nature of time, hence the use of Time Turner is limited to short-term time travel. Even wizards and witches are powerless and at the mercy of Father time.
Then, there's the ancient Sorting Hat, which classifies neophytes into their Houses. This object represents tradition. It is the ultimate judge of character and it's decision is never to be questioned. Like tradition which it represents, it links the present to the past. And by sorting students, it preserves order at Hogwarts.
The Howler symbolizes righteous anger. It also sort of implies that rebuking or admonishing a young wizard or witch should be done only for the purpose of correcting their errors and must, therefore, self-destruct after the scolding is delivered to imply that the scolder must never keep a record of wrongs.
The wand, in general, serves to remind wizards and witches of the limits of their power. Thus, without this object, they are basically "unarmed." And the fact that the wand "chooses" them implies that it is not just a prop nor an equipment to be controlled by the owner, but an equal, an extension of their arms.
The Foe-Glass, a personal favourite of Mad-Eye Moody, represents mistrust and, in its extreme form, paranoia. Moody explains that the threat is greatest when the enemies' faces are most clearly seen in the glass. With a foe-glass present, one can easily be warned against incoming nemesis.
So, there you have it, my Five Magical Objects viewed as objective correlatives.
Your Yule Ball Companion,
H. Granger
Miss Granger:
ReplyDeleteImpressive.
I like the way you explained the Howler. I never realized the implication of the Howler's final act of destroying itself. Indeed, the Howler, like our disciplinarian parents, should never keep a record of our wrongdoings, lest they will never love us the way they do, no matter how disobedient we are sometimes.
The wand, too, is very cleverly expounded upon. I like the way you used the word "unarmed," and later explained that the wand is sort of an extension of their arms, thus they are armed.
Your kindred spirit,
Silver Doe
Silver Doe,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you read me so well?
Wondering,
H. Granger
Miss Granger,
ReplyDeleteSuffice it to say that we're both passionate about what we do, which is interpreting literature and, by extension, life. We both have the passion for life, which is why we don't only read literature...we experience it.
Your kindred,
Silver Doe