Fighters or Victims: Women at War as Depicted in Harry Potter Novels

https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v4i2.938

Authors

  • Shrouk Sultan Mansoura University
  • Basma Saleh Mansoura University
  • Asmaa ElSherbini Mansoura University

Keywords:

Harry Potter, Witches, Fighters, Victims

Abstract

Witches in Harry Potter novels play major roles that affect the course of events. Some of these witches are authority figures in institutions, while others can be housewives, aurors, ministry employees, or talented witches. This paper discusses several different witches who take part, intentionally or not, in the battle between good and evil in Harry Potter novels. Three of these witches will be tackled in terms of their roles as fighters, while three others will be tackled in terms of their degradation into victims. This analysis will be done through the investigation of the attitudes of the characters towards themselves and their positions, as well as the surrounding characters’ reception of the selected characters, and carefully reading the events of the seven Harry Potter novels. Because Harry Potter novels are widely-read, the depiction of female characters in these novels as either fighters or victims impact readers’ perception of women’s roles in their communities. Analyzing the female characters, this paper intends to help readers to realize if Harry Potter novels help to empower women or limit their potentials. Since women issues are an important part of our lives, and since Harry Potter novels are widely-read, finding out whether these novels empower women or limit their potentials is crucial to our understanding of the major impact that fiction can have on people’s lives.

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Author Biographies

Shrouk Sultan, Mansoura University

Shrouk Yasser Sultan is an assistant lecturer at the department of Foreign Languages at the Faculty of Education, Mansoura University, Egypt. She has been granted the Master's degree in English Literature-Novel. Her current field of study is Literary Theory, and she is interested in the feminist theory, in particular. 

Basma Saleh, Mansoura University

Dr. Basma Hosni Saleh is a lecturer of English Literature- Drama, at the department of English at the Faculty of Arts in Mansoura University, Egypt. 

Asmaa ElSherbini, Mansoura University

Prof. Asmaa Ahmed ElSherbini is an emeritus professor of English Literature-Drama, at the Department of English, at the Faculty of Arts, in Mansoura University, Egypt. 

Published

2022-06-04

How to Cite

Sultan, S., Saleh, B., & ElSherbini, A. (2022). Fighters or Victims: Women at War as Depicted in Harry Potter Novels. International Journal of Language and Literary Studies, 4(2), 229–242. https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlls.v4i2.938

Issue

Section

Articles