News Tip: Harry Potter Taps Into Fairy Tales, Fascination with Medieval History

Beneath the veneer of sorcery, scary effects and fancifully named characters, the Harry Potter series is appealing because the stories are tales about morality and choosing between "good" and "evil," says a Duke University scholar. The latest installment of the best-selling series by J.K. Rowling, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," is being released at midnight Friday, June 20.

If it follows the pattern of the previous volumes, it will feature earnest male characters who learn about themselves by facing evil and trying to do the right thing, said Thomas Robisheaux, an associate professor of history who teaches a course on magic and witchcraft. In this way, Rowling employs the structure of the classic fairy tale, said Robisheaux. And that explains, at least in part, their crossover success in appealing to both younger and older readers. Tales from "Little Red Riding Hood" to "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" have their origins in a story form popularized in Europe and the United States in the mid-1800s, he said. These stories, told by adults to children, take place in imaginary places and are meant to teach important moral concepts. In the process, ancient ideas and beliefs that were once feared, such as witchcraft, are transferred and tamed. "These stories, like fairy tales, take readers out of their normal, everyday world," Robisheaux said. "They take them to an often pleasing world and, once there, really important things are worked through for the hero." For Harry Potter, it's learning how to be a wizard and who he really is.

Harry's orphan status also fits right into the fairy tale tradition, Robisheaux said. In classic fairy tales, the parents are absent. This absence serves the important psychological role of allowing the children to grow up and learn about themselves through deeds and action. "It's ultimately a voyage of self-discovery," Robisheaux said. "Harry's learning who he is." Rowling also borrows heavily from historical elements to comment about relationships between the past and present.

Rowling's books, while apparently set in the present, dip into medieval history, Robisheaux said. While the details may be lost on an American audience, Rowling discusses alchemy and the whole range of occult arts -- including natural, or "good" magic, and divination -- so well known in the Renaissance. "She's tapping into some historical fragments and reworking them on an original framework," he said. "She takes the notion of ancient worlds, which are so appealing, and makes them acceptable." But Rowling would not have captured the imagination of millions of readers, though, if she lacked writing talent. Is "Harry Potter" great literature? No, acknowledges Robisheaux. "But Rowling does know how to write," he said. "It's an incredibly well-told tale. It's a classic story of a boy who is special but misunderstood. And it's the hero's tale. Everybody can identify with that."

Robisheaux can be reached for additional comment at (919) 684-5979 or by e-mail at trobish@duke.edu.