In this essay, Amy M. Green approaches the Harry Potter series from an inherently Marxist perspective, exploring issues of landlessness and disempowerment in the series. Gaps are exposed in Rowling's ostensibly progressive Wizarding world, including failures to challenge extreme systemic inequity even by our favorite characters. Focusing on Rowling's treatment of non-human and part-human species, Green explores the tensions inherent in the series' ideologies of race and identity: centaurs and giants relegated to the (literal) margins of Wizarding society, house-elves complicit in their own subjugation, and lycanthropes forced into hiding their true identities are all expected to both subject themselves to human laws of Wizarding society and retain a sense of loyalty to the very wizards who oppress them. Green investigates these tensions thoroughly and with sensitivity, offering intriguing possibilities for further study and exploration.
Journal
The Looking Glass : New Perspectives on Children's LiteratureISSN
1551-5680Volume
13Issue
3Publisher
La Trobe UniversitySection Title
Alice's AcademyAuthor Biography
Amy M. Green received her Ph.D from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and
specialized in Shakespeare and 19th century American literature. Her
dissertation explored the influence of Shakespeare on the novels of Henry
James. Her articles appear in numerous journals including Papers on Language
and Literature and The Mark Twain Annual. She currently teaches at The Meadows
School, a private college preparatory academy in Las Vegas.Date Created
2009-11-06Rights Statement
Essays and articles published in The Looking Glass may be reproduced for non-profit use by any educational or public institution; letters to the editor and on-site comments made by our readers may not be used without the expressed permission of that individual. Any commercial use of this journal, in whole or in part, by any means, is prohibited. Authors of accepted articles assign to The Looking Glass the right to publish and distribute their text electronically and to archive and make it permanently available electronically. They retain the copyright and, 90 days after initial publication, may republish it in any form they wish as long as The Looking Glass is acknowledged as the original source.Data source
OJS data migration 2025: https://ojs.latrobe.edu.au/ojs/index.php/tlg/article/view/162
