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shifting of narrative viewpoints. People from these two societies often lack knowledge and understanding of the other culture. However, wizards still gain the upper hand because they embody magical skills. Wizards often see Non-Magical people as less able and lacking knowledge, even those wizards such who are fond of Muggles as Arthur. Conversely, Non-Magical people often think witchcraft represents unreason and abnormality. The repulsion and fear of witchcraft in the Non-Magical society results from the imbalance of power between the Non-Magical and Magical communities. This paradoxical relationship between the Wizarding and Non-Magical societies in the Potterverse not only makes possible of the shifting definition of Otherness but also illuminates an innovated blend of reason and unreason.
In this section, I discussed the interwoven relationship between the Wizarding and the Non-Magical worlds and the resultant imbalance of power. However, the other in the Potterverse is not only performed by contradictory aspects of these two societies but is also provided as a subgroup within the Wizarding society. Although from the Non-Magical points of view, the Wizarding society seems to be extraordinary in and of itself and is seen as being comfortable with a high degree of “the oddness,” some magical phenomena and creatures within the Wizarding world are labeled as the other which is excluded from the dominant group in the Wizarding society. In the next section, I will shift the focus toward these internal conflicts within the Wizarding society, and discuss the concept of Otherness within the Wizarding World.
2.2 Otherness within the Wizarding World
The Wizarding world embraces many mysteries. There nevertheless remain phenomena which would be recognized as abnormal even in the Wizarding world, such as dreams, illusions, or hearing voices no one else can hear. The value of reason is still
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appreciated more in the Wizarding world than the value of intuition, as sense is often more appreciated than sensibility in our experience. For example, Hermione thinks Divination is less sensible then Arithmancy (The Goblet of Fire 194). Foreigners are still taken as the other in the Wizarding world although the human conflicts between different countries are touched on lightly in the Potterverse. Otherness in the Wizarding world leads to the inquiry of the understanding of normality. Hybrid creatures and beasts are still viewed as the other through the shifting definition of being and beasts. In following parts, I will first discuss how foreigners are presented as the other in the Wizarding world although national borders are not so important in the Potterverse as in readers’ world. As for the position of hybrid creatures and other species in the Wizarding world, I will analyze the fluid relation between Magical beings and the beasts that Rowling illustrates in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series and Pottermore. Meanwhile, I will discuss Lupin’s inability to find steady employment due to his werewolf identity as exemplary of wizards’ unequal relation with other magical creatures, including aggressive reactions that accompany public revealation of Rubeus Hagrid’s half-giant status. Afterward, I will deal with the issue of illness, madness, and criminals in the Wizarding society and consider the fluid concept of the other in the Magical and Non-Magical worlds in these circumstances.
2.2.1 Foreigners as the Other: The International Structure of the Magical Society
The national border is not a fluid idea in the Potterverse; it remains the same in both the Magical and Non-Magical sites, yet the international relationship and the concept of nationalism behind it are different in these two sites. In the Wizarding world, the national conflict is mentioned only infrequently, yet foreigners are still viewed as the other to some degree by the British Wizarding community. Rowling first elaborates upon the
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international Wizarding world in The Goblet of Fire. In addition to Beauxabaton in France, Durmstrang in Bulgaria, and Ilvermorny in North America, Rowling describes other Wizarding schools in Pottermore, such as Castelobruxo in Brazil, Mahoutokoro in Japan, and Uagadou in Africa. She not only lists these Wizarding schools on the website, but also further elaborates upon the history and characteristics of these schools based on different national natures, folklore, and prototypes. She provides her readers with a further
description about the North American Wizarding society and the international political relationship with the release of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film in 2016.
Nation and nationalism in the Wizarding world exemplify another relation between the self and the other in the Potterverse.
First mention of other Wizarding schools occurs in The Goblet of Fire, when Harry, Hermione, and Ron overhear Draco Malfoy talks about Durmstrang. Harry apparently does not know there are other Wizarding schools in the world. Hermione explains that one of traditions of Wizarding schools is hiding from other. “There’s traditionally been a lot of rivalry between all the magic schools. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons like to conceal their whereabouts so nobody can steal their secrets” (166).
No one can be exactly sure about the location of these Wizarding schools, although Durmstrang is believed to be located in the far north of Europe as ascertained from the description of their dress and accent. Rowling later reveals more information about Beauxbatons in Pottermore, notably that it is situated somewhere in the Pyrenees. She describes that “Beauxbatons Academy has a preponderance of French students, though Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Luxembourgians, and Belgians also attend in large numbers”
(“Beauxbatons Academy of Magic,” Pottermore). The boundary between different Nations seems less important in the Wizarding realm where the primary focus is to keep themselves away from the Non-Magical. The uncertainty about these Wizarding schools
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shows a vagueness about the idea of nation and nationalism. Nation and nationalism in the wizarding world exemplify another relation between the self and the other in the Potterverse.
Jennifer Sterling-Folker and Brian Folker state that “nationalism and the nation-state play no role in magical conflicts” (103). They point out that Ministry of Magic is not only in charge of preventing Muggle detection, but also “regulates magical behavior in ways that are similar to the regulation of muggle populations by their respective national governments” (105). The Folkers state that conflicts in our reality can either be internal to nation-states, such as civil wars, or between nations such as border disputes. However, they suggest that “warfare in the magical world […] seems almost solely connected to issue of racial purity among wizards and the oppression or containment of other magical creatures” (109). That is to say warfare in the Magical society results from internal
conflicts of ideology, not from external conflicts between nations. The Folkers explore the reflection of international political and economic institutions in the Harry Potter saga to argue that “it underscores an important element of human conflict” (103). However, the fact that human conflict is not mentioned much in the texts does not mean it is not there.
It might be a narrative conceit on the part of an author who already has fabricated a universe of fantastic proportions. In the following paragraphs I will deal with those different cultures that Rowling has mentioned in the Harry Potter sage which leads to the idea of human conflict in the Potterverse.
The heterogenic nationality in the Potterverse enhances the idea of foreigners as the other in the British Wizarding society. Rowling presents these cultural differences by notably emphasizing the stereotype of foreign languages and appearances. Julia
Eccleshare observes that
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defining people by nationality depends largely on using the best-known, and therefore the most stereotypical characteristics. Though clearly intended as parody, the two competing teams at the Quidditch World Cup
— Bulgaria and Ireland — are defined by simplistic, nationalist emblems and mascots. […] The same problems beset the descriptions of the members of the two schools traveling to Hogwarts with their champions for the Triwizard Tournament. (80-1)
To enhance the impression of different characteristics of countries, Rowling puts extra effort into her description of clothing which fits the stereotype of each country. She describes the uniform of Beauxbatons as “shivering, which was unsurprising, given that their robes seemed to be made of fine silk, and none of them were wearing cloaks. A few had wrapped scarves and shawls around their heads” (The Goblet of Fire 244). As for Durmstrang, “they were wearing cloaks of some kind of shaggy, matted fur. But the man who was leading them up to the castle was wearing furs of a different sort: sleek and silver, like his hair” (247). This description about Durmstrang presents us an impression of Imperialism. The clothes match the name of the schools – beautiful wards and storm and stress. In Rowling’s elaboration upon the Quidditch World Cup, she provides details about several foreign wizards,
Three African wizards sat in serious conversation, all of them wearing long white robes and roasting what looked like a rabbit on a bright purple fire, while a group of middle-aged American witches sat gossiping happily beneath a spangled banner stretched between their tents that read: THE SALEM WITCHES’ INSTITUTE. (The Goblet of Fire 82)
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In this paragraph, Rowling not only shows outfits that fit our stereotypical imagination about Africans but also mentions an American historical icon for enhancing our impression of American witchcraft.
Rowling further reveals the North American wizarding society and the international political relationship with the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film. She released a series of writings about the history of magic in North America, including the development of the Wizarding school, government, and culture in North America. The North American Magical society adds the elements of Americanness to the Potterverse, which leads to a complete international structure in the Wizarding world. In Pottermore, Rowling raises a debate about ‘Country or Kind’ in her work “MACUSA:”
The issue for discussion was: did the magical community owe their highest allegiance to the country in which they had made their homes, or to the global underground wizarding community? Were they morally obliged to join American No-Majs in their fight for liberation from the British Muggles? Or was this, simply put, not their fight?
The arguments for and against intervention were protracted and the fight became vicious. Pro-interventionists argued that they might be able to save lives; anti-interventionists that wizards risked their own security by revealing themselves in battle. Messengers were sent to the Ministry of Magic in London to ask whether they intended to fight. A four-word message returned: ‘Sitting this one out.’ McGilliguddy’s famous response was even shorter: ‘Mind you do.’ While officially the American witches and wizards did not engage in battle, unofficially there were many instances of intervention to protect No-Maj neighbors and the wizarding
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community celebrated Independence Day along with the rest of American society – although not necessarily alongside them.
The relationship between the British and the American is much more complicated in the Potterverse than in readers’ world since it includes the relationship of the governments in British and American Wizarding societies, the relationship of the governments in British and American Non-Magical societies, and the relationship between American wizards and Non-Magical citizens. The relationship between the governments in British and American Wizarding societies is similar to the proportion of the politics in British and American Non-Magical societies since the President of MACUSA still asks the Ministry of Magic in London for advice.
To sum up, Rowling does not describe any national conflict in the Potterverse, but foreigners in the Wizarding society are still taken as the other since their stereotypical images are enhanced in the story. Wizards have no intention to exclude any foreign wizard; instead, they are only curious about foreigners and tend to escort their own
national pride. However, wizards’ attitude toward other creatures is not so friendly as they treat foreigners. In next part, I will discuss the fluid category of beings and beasts which lead to the shifting concept of the other within the Wizarding society.
2.2.2 Magical Beings, Beasts, and Hybrid Creatures in the Potterverse
The biodiversity of the Wizarding world is much more complicated than in the Non-Magical world. Numerous magical creatures blur the boundary between human being and animal, such as the werewolf, centaur, merpeople, giant, and so on. In Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,13 several conflicts between these human-like or intelligent
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creatures and wizards are described deliberately. This setting shows how wizards treat the other under different contexts.
Newt Scamander — a Magizoologist who is the author of the fictional textbook, Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them— discusses the shifting definition of a “beast” in his research and emphasizes several species that are hard to define, such as werewolves, centaurs, trolls, and so on. He raises a core question: “which of these creatures is a ‘being’
— that is to say, a creature worthy of legal rights and a voice in the governance of the magical world — and which is a ‘beast’?” (xix). The early definition of “being” is any member of the Magical community that walks on two legs; however, many two-legged creatures’ intelligence are not qualified as a “being.” For example, Diricawls, Auguries, and the Fwoopers.14 Here Newt quotes another fictional book in Potterverse A History of
Magic,15 as the reference to his examples. Rowling’s cunning usage of self-reference provides a solid structure for the Potterverse. After the first failure, the Minister of Magic declares those who could speak a human tongue could be defined as “beings” (xxi). But many creatures can speak simple human morphemes without any comprehension of the languages. Merpeople have a high level of intelligence, but they only speak Mermish which out of the water sounds like a meaningless scream. However, Mermish can also be viewed as a foreign language since Dumbledore can speak Mermish. That is to say, this language is understandable through learning. Finally, the Minister reaches the agreement that “a ‘being’
was ‘any creature that has sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magic community and to bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws” (xxii). This
14 These are fictional creatures in the Potterverse which are created by Rowling and record in The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
15 A fictional book about the history of the Wizarding world by Bathilda Bagshot (The Sorcerer’s Stone).
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agreement is only an imperfect solution of the fluid idea of “being,” providing a legislative clarification of “being.”
Apart from the ambiguous definition of “being” and “beast,” some species are defined as “being” but seem not interested in the affairs of the wizarding government. “We are all aware that the centaurs have refused ‘being’ status and requested to remain ‘beasts’;
werewolves, meanwhile, have been shunted between the Beast and Being divisions for many years” (xxiii). In Newts’ footnote of this statement, he also points out that several species are willing to manage their affairs separately from wizards, such as hags, vampires, and merpeople (xxiii). As for werewolves, they are a kind of disease in the Wizarding society. There is another quality that has highly intelligent creatures being classified as
“beasts,” the inability to manage one’s brutal nature. Into this category falls the Sphinx.
There exists some legislation to contain prejudice against creatures other than Wizardkind. For example, in The Goblet of Fire, when people find a comatose house-elf16 possesses a wand under the Dark Mark, a Ministry wizard immediately states, “clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken, for a start. No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand” (132 – original emphasis). In fact, the house-elves can perform strong magic without wands. This restriction is only made for securing Wizardkind’s superiority.
Another example of the discrimination to other creatures is the social status and bias of werewolves. In her article “Specters of Thatcherism,” Karin E. Westman states that,
[Lupin’s] presence at Hogwarts reveals the degree of latent prejudice lingering in even Ron Weasley’s other otherwise well-meaning and Muggle-loving heart: the news that Lupin suffers the effects of a werewolf bite received as a child prompts Ron’s immediate, bitter, highly italicized
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response: ‘Get away from me, werewolf!’ (Prisoner of Azkaban 253). […]
Lupin’s status as werewolf — an existence that had no cure when he was a boy and still leaves him unemployed because of prejudice like Ron’s” (323 – original emphasis).
At the end of The Prisoner of Azkaban, Snape lets slip Lupin’s identity as a werewolf;
Lupin is forced to leave Hogwarts. “This time tomorrow, the owl will start arriving from parents … They will not want a werewolf teaching their children” (423). The werewolf’s bite is fatal and can never be completely cured therefore a werewolf is closer to the source of contamination or curse rather than a natural species. This disease can only be controlled by Wolfsbane Potion — a potion that prevents werewolves from losing their minds after transformation. That is to say, even the accursed can be included in the society through medical assistance. Nevertheless, the illness is still a cause for discriminatory behavior.
Lupin plays a role that breaks the general bias to a werewolf in the Wizarding world, which proves that werewolves maintain some humanity and reason. Rowling here attempts to raise a discussion on the prejudice in the medical system that treats patients like the other. I will further discuss the issue of illness as the other in part C: “Illness, Madness, and
Criminals in the Wizarding Community.”
Lupin is not the only one who goes through a miserable experience because of his hybrid identity. Rubeus Hagrid is also treated unfairly since his identity as a half-giant is revealed. In The Goblet of Fire, after Rita Skeeter reveals Hagrid’s identity as a half-giant, there is a great many who turn against Hagrid. Dumbledore is also criticized for hiring a half-giant in the school. In her report, Skeeter emphasizes the giant clan’s notoriety as a bloodthirsty and brutal species. Hagrid afterward receives hate letters which insult him and his identity. For example, “you are a monster and you should be put down” and “Your mother killed innocent people and if you had any decency you’d jump in a lake” (544).
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Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, also expresses his distrust of Hagrid and Madame Maxime: “They don’t turn out harmless — if, indeed, you can call Hagrid harmless, with
Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, also expresses his distrust of Hagrid and Madame Maxime: “They don’t turn out harmless — if, indeed, you can call Hagrid harmless, with