Harry Potter and the Symbolic Order: A Psychoanalytic Deconstruction of the Hero

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is a widespread cultural phenomenon, but it also holds a great deal of academic value. The series gains new depth when paired with French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan and his Symbolic Order, as the focus of the series shifts from a young boy's fight against evil to an examination of how to define the self. This thesis focuses on Harry and Voldemort in particular at various stages of their identity formation in order to examine Lacanian identity development. Harry’s initial struggle to define himself within the wizarding world can be read through Lacan’s theories of the mirror stage then later in terms of the symbolic realm. The introduction of Harry’s nemesis, Lord Voldemort, lends the series a more theoretical edge and allows for further examination of Lacan’s theories. Voldemort’s own identity is firmly rooted in the symbolic, with each soul-containing Horcrux representing a fundamental aspect of the identity Voldemort attempts to create for himself. Even the Lacanian Real is explored within the series through Harry’s brief experience of death. With Lacan’s theories, Voldemort and his self-perceived identity are deconstructed, but so too is Harry’s position as the Chosen One. Wizarding society believes Harry to be the Chosen One, but it is their expectation that creates the role. Harry eventually fills this role, because it has been created for him, not because he possesses some inherent quality or talent. Harry and Voldemort are perfect Lacanian subjects, with identities rooted in forces outside themselves.