Harry's Dependence on and Search for, His Parents
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban depicts Harry’s struggle to keep his parents memory alive while searching for his parents. Harry is dependent on both Lily and James Potter, even though he was only one year old when his parents were killed. The novel’s central quest is Harry’s search for Lord Voldemort, but there is a secondary quest, which is Harry’s quest for his parents.
When Harry’s parents are killed, he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle who are not too fond of him. Harry cannot depend on the Dursleys for love and affection. In the first part of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the narrator says, “He’d lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years…” (29). Vernon and Petunia treat Harry like a servant, making him sleep under the stairs, while their son is treated like a king. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon keep knowledge about his parents from him. He was kept at a distant due to their fear and hatred of the magical world. He believes his parents were killed in a car accident until Hagrid breaks the news to him on his eleventh birthday. After Harry knows the truth about his parents, we see him yearning for them. The reader does not know much of what has happened to Harry in those first eleven years, but it can be inferred that he was desperate for parents but not for James and Lily specifically.
Harry is constantly being compared to his parents by the professors at Hogwarts and everyone who knew James and Lily. He is told that he has his mother’s eyes. At the end of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore says to Harry, “I expect you’ll tire of hearing it, but you do look extraordinarily like James. Except for the eyes… you have your mother’s eyes” (427). Harry is proud to look like his parents but does seem annoyed to be always told this. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it is clear Harry is tired of hearing how alike his eyes are to Lily’s. When Slughorn makes a comment about Harry having his mother’s eyes, Harry replies, “My mother’s eyes, yeah”, then the narrator says, “Harry had heard it so often he found it a bit wearing” (Half-Blood Prince 70). While Harry loves the connection to his parents, he seems to be tired of hearing it because it will not bring his parents back. He misses them so much and hearing how alike he is to them makes him remember that they are gone.
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry and Sirius are saved from the dementors, Harry believes it was his father who saved them. When Hermione tells him it is impossible, Harry still holds onto the hope that maybe it was his father who saved him. The reader sees throughout the novel Harry desperately holding onto the memory of his parents and the idea that they might come back.
Harry hears his mother’s voice whenever the dementors get too close to him. At first, this horrifies Harry, but then he seems conflicted. While working with Lupin on the patronus charm, Harry says, “Any second now, he might hear his mother again… but he shouldn’t think that, or he would hear her again, and he didn’t want to… or did he?” (Prisoner of Azkaban 238). Harry clings onto the sound, even if it is Lily’s screams right before she is killed. It is clear that Harry is dependent on Lily and James and is desperately trying to hold onto their memory.
We see Harry seeking out his parents in the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, when he finds the mirror of erised. The mirror shows the person’s deepest desires. Harry sees himself happy with his parents and other magical relatives. He begins to ignore his real friends in order to sit in front of the mirror. Dumbledore tells Harry the dangers of the mirror and rescues him. Harry holds onto whatever little pieces of his parents he can find. Even though he does not remember them, he is extremely dependent upon them.
Harry idealizes his parents and wants to preserve their memory. He does not want to believe that James may not have been the perfect person he always thought he was. In Algeo’s essay, “Harry Potter’s Four Fathers: The Quest for the Father in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”, he discusses Harry’s love for his father and need to protect him. He says, “…we know that Harry’s love for his father… is so strong that Harry will brook no unjust criticisms of him” (Algeo). He is discussing the part of the novel where Aunt Marge insults James. Harry cannot control his anger in this situation and accidentally blows her up. As Algeo says, Harry has an intense love for his parents that he protects them in any and all situations.
We also see Harry preserving James’ memory when Snape tells Harry the truth about James “saving” him. Harry becomes enraged at Snape’s accusations about his father. Harry loves being compared to his parents, but not in the way Snape does it. Snape compares Harry to James in a vindictive way, calling them both rule breakers and arrogant. At the end of the novel when Sirius mentions James, Harry is furious. The narrator says, “For the first time in his life, he wanted his want back in his hand, not to defend himself, but to attack… to kill” (Prisoner of Azkaban 339). Harry’s anger becomes out of control when he is defending his parents. Later in this scene Snape calls James arrogant and Harry runs forward to disarm him. It is clear that he is trying to preserve their memory and does not want to believe that they may not be the people he thought they were.
Damour’s essay, “Harry Potter and the Magical Looking Glass: Reading the Secret Life of the Preadolescent”, makes a reference to Freud’s term “the fantasy of the family romance” (Damour 15). This term refers to children’s belief that their parents are not biological but adoptive and their real parents are superior beings. This could be an explanation for why Harry tries so hard to preserve their memory. The Dursleys are such horrible people that Harry wants to believe that his parents are wonderful. He has a “belief in having superior but absent parents” (Damour 15). Harry has lived with horrible stand-ins for a family and clings onto the belief that his family was superior to the Dursleys. He cannot bear the thought that James may not have been as kind as he has been portrayed.
We even see this fantasy of the family romance with Sirius Black. Once Harry discovers that Sirius is not evil, he immediately feels a connection to him. He idealizes Lily and James but also their friends. He must believe the best of Sirius or he could miss out on everything he is searching for. When he finds out that Sirius is his godfather he knows he must be good. Harry blindly trusts both Lily and James’ judgment. Harry does this with many different parental figures in the novels such as Lupin, Sirius, and Dumbledore.
Goodfriend’s chapter of the book, An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lived: The Psychology of Harry Potter, looks at Harry through a psychological lens. She argues that Harry has an avoidant attachment style. A child with an avoidant attachment style avoids parents and caregivers. The child does not look for comfort or contact from parents. Children have no preference between their parents and a stranger. While I agree that this is Harry’s attachment style, I believe there are extenuating circumstances that caused this. A child with an avoidant attachment style usually develops it after a long period of absence by the parents. Harry’s parents are absent, but Harry does not show indifference towards them.
Harry develops this attachment style due to the disappointments he has faced in life. He constantly has to go to the Dursleys house on breaks and he is not allowed to go to Hogsmeade because he cannot get his permission slip signed. Harry discovers that he will be limited in life because he does not have true parents who love and cherish him. This causes him to be avoidant to the Dursleys, but not to Lily and James. Another aspect of an avoidant attachment style is having little trust in others. Harry lacks trust due to the hardships he has endured in life. The only two people he truly trusts are his parents. He trusts that they were good people with good judgment.
Throughout the novel, Harry is searching for anything that can help him know his parents better, and know them to be the wonderful people he has thought them to be. This is why Harry is so angry when someone tries to tarnish their image. He cannot accept the idea that James and Lily are not perfect people. He is dependent on their memory and the hope that they were wonderful. Harry turned out so well despite his lack of parents and a family structure due to his ability to hold onto this image of what his parents must have been.
When Harry’s parents are killed, he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle who are not too fond of him. Harry cannot depend on the Dursleys for love and affection. In the first part of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the narrator says, “He’d lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years…” (29). Vernon and Petunia treat Harry like a servant, making him sleep under the stairs, while their son is treated like a king. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon keep knowledge about his parents from him. He was kept at a distant due to their fear and hatred of the magical world. He believes his parents were killed in a car accident until Hagrid breaks the news to him on his eleventh birthday. After Harry knows the truth about his parents, we see him yearning for them. The reader does not know much of what has happened to Harry in those first eleven years, but it can be inferred that he was desperate for parents but not for James and Lily specifically.
Harry is constantly being compared to his parents by the professors at Hogwarts and everyone who knew James and Lily. He is told that he has his mother’s eyes. At the end of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore says to Harry, “I expect you’ll tire of hearing it, but you do look extraordinarily like James. Except for the eyes… you have your mother’s eyes” (427). Harry is proud to look like his parents but does seem annoyed to be always told this. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it is clear Harry is tired of hearing how alike his eyes are to Lily’s. When Slughorn makes a comment about Harry having his mother’s eyes, Harry replies, “My mother’s eyes, yeah”, then the narrator says, “Harry had heard it so often he found it a bit wearing” (Half-Blood Prince 70). While Harry loves the connection to his parents, he seems to be tired of hearing it because it will not bring his parents back. He misses them so much and hearing how alike he is to them makes him remember that they are gone.
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry and Sirius are saved from the dementors, Harry believes it was his father who saved them. When Hermione tells him it is impossible, Harry still holds onto the hope that maybe it was his father who saved him. The reader sees throughout the novel Harry desperately holding onto the memory of his parents and the idea that they might come back.
Harry hears his mother’s voice whenever the dementors get too close to him. At first, this horrifies Harry, but then he seems conflicted. While working with Lupin on the patronus charm, Harry says, “Any second now, he might hear his mother again… but he shouldn’t think that, or he would hear her again, and he didn’t want to… or did he?” (Prisoner of Azkaban 238). Harry clings onto the sound, even if it is Lily’s screams right before she is killed. It is clear that Harry is dependent on Lily and James and is desperately trying to hold onto their memory.
We see Harry seeking out his parents in the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, when he finds the mirror of erised. The mirror shows the person’s deepest desires. Harry sees himself happy with his parents and other magical relatives. He begins to ignore his real friends in order to sit in front of the mirror. Dumbledore tells Harry the dangers of the mirror and rescues him. Harry holds onto whatever little pieces of his parents he can find. Even though he does not remember them, he is extremely dependent upon them.
Harry idealizes his parents and wants to preserve their memory. He does not want to believe that James may not have been the perfect person he always thought he was. In Algeo’s essay, “Harry Potter’s Four Fathers: The Quest for the Father in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”, he discusses Harry’s love for his father and need to protect him. He says, “…we know that Harry’s love for his father… is so strong that Harry will brook no unjust criticisms of him” (Algeo). He is discussing the part of the novel where Aunt Marge insults James. Harry cannot control his anger in this situation and accidentally blows her up. As Algeo says, Harry has an intense love for his parents that he protects them in any and all situations.
We also see Harry preserving James’ memory when Snape tells Harry the truth about James “saving” him. Harry becomes enraged at Snape’s accusations about his father. Harry loves being compared to his parents, but not in the way Snape does it. Snape compares Harry to James in a vindictive way, calling them both rule breakers and arrogant. At the end of the novel when Sirius mentions James, Harry is furious. The narrator says, “For the first time in his life, he wanted his want back in his hand, not to defend himself, but to attack… to kill” (Prisoner of Azkaban 339). Harry’s anger becomes out of control when he is defending his parents. Later in this scene Snape calls James arrogant and Harry runs forward to disarm him. It is clear that he is trying to preserve their memory and does not want to believe that they may not be the people he thought they were.
Damour’s essay, “Harry Potter and the Magical Looking Glass: Reading the Secret Life of the Preadolescent”, makes a reference to Freud’s term “the fantasy of the family romance” (Damour 15). This term refers to children’s belief that their parents are not biological but adoptive and their real parents are superior beings. This could be an explanation for why Harry tries so hard to preserve their memory. The Dursleys are such horrible people that Harry wants to believe that his parents are wonderful. He has a “belief in having superior but absent parents” (Damour 15). Harry has lived with horrible stand-ins for a family and clings onto the belief that his family was superior to the Dursleys. He cannot bear the thought that James may not have been as kind as he has been portrayed.
We even see this fantasy of the family romance with Sirius Black. Once Harry discovers that Sirius is not evil, he immediately feels a connection to him. He idealizes Lily and James but also their friends. He must believe the best of Sirius or he could miss out on everything he is searching for. When he finds out that Sirius is his godfather he knows he must be good. Harry blindly trusts both Lily and James’ judgment. Harry does this with many different parental figures in the novels such as Lupin, Sirius, and Dumbledore.
Goodfriend’s chapter of the book, An Unauthorized Examination of the Boy Who Lived: The Psychology of Harry Potter, looks at Harry through a psychological lens. She argues that Harry has an avoidant attachment style. A child with an avoidant attachment style avoids parents and caregivers. The child does not look for comfort or contact from parents. Children have no preference between their parents and a stranger. While I agree that this is Harry’s attachment style, I believe there are extenuating circumstances that caused this. A child with an avoidant attachment style usually develops it after a long period of absence by the parents. Harry’s parents are absent, but Harry does not show indifference towards them.
Harry develops this attachment style due to the disappointments he has faced in life. He constantly has to go to the Dursleys house on breaks and he is not allowed to go to Hogsmeade because he cannot get his permission slip signed. Harry discovers that he will be limited in life because he does not have true parents who love and cherish him. This causes him to be avoidant to the Dursleys, but not to Lily and James. Another aspect of an avoidant attachment style is having little trust in others. Harry lacks trust due to the hardships he has endured in life. The only two people he truly trusts are his parents. He trusts that they were good people with good judgment.
Throughout the novel, Harry is searching for anything that can help him know his parents better, and know them to be the wonderful people he has thought them to be. This is why Harry is so angry when someone tries to tarnish their image. He cannot accept the idea that James and Lily are not perfect people. He is dependent on their memory and the hope that they were wonderful. Harry turned out so well despite his lack of parents and a family structure due to his ability to hold onto this image of what his parents must have been.