The Book of Revelation provides much of the foundation of apocalyptic belief in the western Christian world. The text contains a myth about the end of days, which has created “a regime of truth that operates within a field of power relations and describes a particular moral behavior (Quniby, Anti-Apocalypse xv). The binary nature of the myth (good vs. evil, the saved vs. the damned) insists on the superiority of some groups over others. In Millennial Seduction, Lee Quinby describes how this hierarchical worldview influences a variety of ostensibly secular matters in the United States, including gender equality, race relations, the entertainment industry, news media, and so forth (8).I will argue that the Harry Potter series provides a significant social critique of Anglo-American apocalypticism by providing an alternative, non-binary apocalyptic paradigm.
Only time will tell if the Harry Potter series can, in fact, begin to change this and future generations’ destructive adherence to the Book of Revelation’s oppressive “insistence on absolute morality, theologically justified patriarchy, and pre-ordained history with an (always imminent) End-time” (Quinby, Millennial Seduction 16). Nonetheless, a critical literary analysis of the Harry Potter series and its connection to the Book of Revelation will show its potential to inspire such a change, and the mechanisms through which J.K. Rowling attempts to do so. I will also consult secondary sources that offer both religious and secular perspectives on the books and I will examine numerical data, such as sales figures, membership in Harry Potter Facebook groups and fan organizations, philanthropic contributions from both J.K. Rowling and fans and relevant polls and surveys, if available.
The narrative timeline in the Book of Revelation can be broken down into five essential structural elements: divine authority, receiver of a revelation, end of the world, judgment day, and New Jerusalem. Postmodern adaptations retain this traditional structure, but rewrite the myth “to use it as the most effective vehicle for…social critique” (Rosen xx). In this sense, the Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling, could be a poster-child for the postmodern apocalyptic literature genre. Rowling’s work follows the Book of Revelation’s structure, but preaches tolerance, rather than prejudice.
A closer examination of the text, however, reveals the astonishing degree to which she relies on the traditional story, and begs the question of whether she has fallen into her own trap. She attempts to use the traditional apocalyptic narrative to critique the traditional apocalyptic binary. In both, one side wins, and one side loses. Is she merely perpetuating traditional apocalypticism by celebrating the superiority of good, tolerant people, and condemning bad, prejudiced people?
The author admits that in her story, “undeniably, morals are drawn” (Grossman). But while Harry Potter may be a vehicle for promoting her own social agenda, J.K. Rowling avoids the binary structure of the original myth by allowing her characters to be morally ambiguous no matter which side of the war they’re on. She creates a spectrum of good and evil, instead of two separate and opposing groups. Although this isn’t a complete departure from a binary worldview, it is enough of a step in the right direction to allow the Harry Potter series to critique the damaging effects of apocalypticism in our society.
Prior to the release of the last book in 2007, the series had sold 121.5 million copies in the United States and 325 million copies worldwide (Rich). The last book sold 8.3 million copies on its first day in print (Rich). Harry Potter is a household name. With such a large audience, it’s not unreasonable to say the Harry Potter series is a major cultural phenomenon. But the series is more than an adventure story about a boy wizard. J.K. Rowling appropriated the structure of the Book of Revelation to challenge its black-and-white moral reasoning. While other postmodern apocalyptic stories have done the same, the overwhelming popularity of this series justifies an examination of its possible effects on society.
Bibliography
Rosen, Elizabeth. Apocalyptic Transformation: Apocalypse and the Postmodern Imagination. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2008. Print.
Quinby, Lee. Anti-Apocalypse: Exercises in Genealogical Criticism. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1994. Print.
—. Millennial Seduction: A Skeptic Confronts Apocalyptic Culture. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999. Print.
Grossman, Lev. “J.K. Rowling Hogwarts And All.” Time Magazine 17 July 2005. Web. 13 Oct. 2010.
Rich, Motoko. “Record First-Day Sales for Last ‘Harry Potter’ Book.” The New York Times 22 July 2007. Web. 13 Oct. 2010.
