The Subversion of Gender roles in the Harry Potter Series

Abstract

The enormously successful Harry Potter books depict a supernatural civilization that is vastly different from the one that the reader is familiar with. Nevertheless, it soon appears that the world of Harry Potter has some of the same socioeconomic issues as traditional gender roles. The goal of this article is to show how traditional gender norms are portrayed in the novels by first demonstrating how these gender roles drive the magical society to privilege men while repressing women. In the magical society, which favours men as leaders, emphasises men as superior through its educational system, and considers women as feeble beings who ought to be safeguarded by men, women are shown to be irrational. The central women characters gradually break these stereotypical notions and emerge as powerful as their male counterparts. This article shall vividly capture this transformation of the women characters. In a way, this series can also be treated as a depiction of women’s journey from suppression to progress.