Introduction
In this capstone, I will explain the hero’s journey from Joseph Campbell’s perspective, as presented in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, using J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. The Hero with a Thousand Faces is divided into the hero’s Departure, Initiation, and Return.
My main objective is to show how the Harry Potter saga follows the structure presented by Joseph Campbell’s book. The methodology in each chapter consists of an explanation about the various stages of the hero and how we see them in Harry’s journey during the books. I will touch on topics such as identity and the importance of making decisions as something that determines us in The Belly of the Whale, love in The Encounter with The Goddess, and vocation in The Call to Adventure, the importance and the role of a mentor in Supernatural Aid, and the importance of sacrifice in Apotheosis, Death and Resurrection.
I will articulate this thesis according to Campbell’s structure, because it shows how modern literature works are shaped by this model in storytelling. This topic is relevant because every human being has a call to adventure, to the unknown, and, in a certain way, this journey is a symbol of our life. In addition, Harry Potter is extraordinarily rich in values and Christian symbols, and we can experience some of the emotions and thoughts of the main characters, in which we can identify ourselves.
I will also rely on other sources besides Joseph Cambell’s book and J.K. Rowling books, which are Christopher Vogler‘s The Writer’s Journey, John Granger‘s Looking for God in Harry Potter, Nancy Carpentier Brown‘s The Mystery of Harry Potter, and John Granger‘s Unlocking Harry Potter, and an article that is a critic about the book of Joseph Campbell which is Merve Özbakır‘s Following Harry Potter’s heroic Journey Through Joseph Campbell.
Chapter I: Departure
The Call to Adventure
In this first stage of the hero’s journey, Departure, I will divide it into three sections that Campbell mentions: The Call to Adventure, Supernatural Aid, and The Belly of the Whale. These are the most important moments of the hero, in which he receives the call and the journey properly begins.
In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell describes the calling as something essential for the adventure to begin, because if the hero does not go outside of his comfort zone, there is no adventure. Once he discovers and enters this unknown world, which he does not completely understand at first glance, or that even provokes some fear in him, but he will later overcome. «A blunder—apparently the merest chance—reveals an unsuspected world, and the individual is drawn into a relationship with forces that are not rightly understood.»[1]
Joseph Campbell continues to explain how this call brings a lot of mystery with it, transfiguration, death, and resurrection. And it is good that the hero changes, because that means that his old concepts and ideas no longer fit or match with his new ideals, so he is ready to cross the threshold.
The call rings up the curtain, always, on a mystery of transfiguration. [This Transfiguration] when complete, amounts to a dying and a birth. The familiar life horizon has been outgrown; the old concepts, ideals, and emotional patterns no longer fit; the time for the passing of a threshold is at hand.[2]
Christopher Vogler, who complements and agrees with Campbell’s work, concludes that everything starts with a calling. A new world that the main character is about to discover. He was like everybody else, but once he was called by something unexpected, the hero changed. He will need to make a decision, taking the risk and discover this new reality, or stay in his comfort zone.
You’re being asked to say yes to a great unknown, to an adventure that will be exciting but also dangerous and even life-threatening. It wouldn’t be a real adventure otherwise. You stand at a threshold of fear, and an understandable reaction would be to hesitate or even refuse the Call, at least temporarily. [3]
The calling for the adventure by Joseph Campbell can be found in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer‘s Stone. The book starts showing that the main character, Harry, does not have a real family; he is an orphan. He does not even know who he really is or his mission, but suddenly everything changes with a letter; someone is inviting him to a special school for wizards. «Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake: Mr. H. Potter, The Cupboard under the Stairs, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. The envelope was thick and heavy.»[4]
This is the first moment in which Harry is called by his name, and not by nicknames created for his uncles to make him feel less. Hagrid calls him by his name and reveals his identity as a wizard: «‘Harry – yer a wizard.’»[5] And explains to him about the wizarding world hidden from the eyes of the Muggles. Harry is invited to know this new world, where his identity can be found, and the truth about the murder of his parents.
Because of this, Harry needs to decide whether he is going or not. It will require risks, but it will also bring a lot of answers to his past and future. Finally, he takes the risk and meets this new world, thus moving away from the ordinary world to enter the new world, and the beliefs that he has about his life, reality will change. Now the journey has already started, and the hero is no longer in his comfort zone. «A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o’clock.»[6]
Supernatural Aid
The second stage of the hero, according to Campbell, is the encounter with the mentor, someone who will guide him on his journey. «For those who have not refused the call, the first encounter of the hero-journey is with a protective figure (often a little old crone or old man) who provides the adventurer with amulets against the dragon forces he is about to pass.»[7] And in the next paragraphs, he continues: «Having responded to his own call and continuing to follow courageously as the consequences unfold, the hero finds all the forces of the unconscious at his side.»[8]
Vogler mentions that in the story of a hero, there is always a mentor, because if not, the hero will be unable to fulfill the mission that has been entrusted to him. This figure of the mentor is the one who is going to advise in moments of uncertainty and difficulty. In times of darkness, he will guide the hero, support him, and make him feel safe and protected. When the hero does not have specific knowledge, the mentor will be a source of knowledge and wisdom.
The Mentor, whose many services to the hero include protecting, guiding, teaching, testing, training, and providing magical gifts. […] Meeting with the Mentor is the stage of the Hero’s Journey in which the hero gains the supplies, knowledge, and confidence needed to overcome fear and commence the adventure.[9]
This archetype of the mentor is seen in Harry Potter, with characters like Hagrid, Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin, and Snape, among others. Hagrid reveals his identity to Harry for the first time. Sirius acts as a father figure and gives him advice during the third, fourth, and fifth books, in which he advises about how to deal with Professor Umbridge, who forbids them to practice magic. «‘Yes, but the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters,’ said Sirius with a wry smile. ‘I know she’s a nasty piece of work, though — you should hear Remus talk about her.’»[10] Lupin is the mentor who teaches him how to conjure his first Patronus and overcome his trauma. ‘EXPECTO PATRONUM!’ Harry bellowed. «‘EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!’ […] Excellent! Lupin said, striding over to where Harry sat. ‘Excellent, Harry! That was definitely a start!»[11]
Snape is a controversial and interesting figure. He is the undercover mentor who, in each book, protects Harry from any danger, helping Harry not to drop from his broom because of the jinx of Professor Quirrell.[12] In the last book, before Snape dies, he gives some memories of his past so that Harry can understand that he was protecting him all the time because of his love for Lily. So Harry argues with Quirell, thinking that Snape tried to kill him. «‘But Snape tried to kill me!’. ‘No, no, no. [Harry continues] ‘Snape was trying to save me?’ ‘Of course,’ said Quirrell coolly. ‘Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match? He was trying to make sure I didn’t do it again.’»[13]
Finally, we have Harry’s main mentor, Albus Dumbledore, who, from the very first moment, helps Harry to resist the temptation of the Mirror of Erised. Dumbledore helps Harry to understand who he really is, the reason for the pain of his scar, and the connection that he has with Voldemort. He prepares him to confront evil and to deal with pain.
Dumbledore becomes a fundamental figure of a mentor, because he has a lot of experience and he is a wise man, who helps Harry to detach from the mirror of Erised, which is not good for him. The motto on the top of the mirror says: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. Which means “I show not your face but your heart’s desire”, if you read it the opposite way. We read that Dumbledore says:
‘It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you.’ […] ‘Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad. […] ‘The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again.’[14]
Dumbledore plays an important role in the life of Harry, because, since the beginning, he knows what Harry needs to pass through, and also that he will need to give up his life at the end for the salvation of their wizardry world, it is the only way, but Dumbledore does not tell him straight forward, he prepares him and waits until Harry is ready. He teaches him how to love and how to be brave, so that he will be ready for his mission and his destiny.
The Belly of the Whale
In this subdivision of Departure, Campbell mentions that this section can be understood as a moment of self-knowledge for the hero. So, in this section, I will highlight the different moments in which Harry understands who he is and what he is called to become.
Now comes the moment of the hero to figure out who he really is, and take the risk to know the truth, even if it is very painful, as Campbell mentions in his work: «But here, instead of passing outward, beyond the confines of the visible world, the hero goes inward, to be born again. The disappearance corresponds to the passing of a worshiper into a temple where he is to be quickened by the recollection of who and what he is.»[15]
Identity is crucial for the stage of the hero’s journey, because at this moment, it is where the hero finds a source of consolation, knowing who he really is, where he comes from, and where he is called to be. Here is where all the journey, sacrifice, and pain that the mission implies start to make sense. Now I will repeat some of the crucial moments of the first book in which Harry chooses who he wants to be.
Harry’s journey started with a very distorted identity, feeling unloved, an orphan, being nobody, not knowing that he was born to become the chosen one. But Hagrid is the first figure who changes his mentality and tells him his identity. He is a wizard, someone who belongs in a special world. Something that Harry accepts very easily. The second moment is with the sorting hat, in which Harry chooses to be a Gryffindor member and not a Slytherin.[16]
Then, when Harry fears the connection and likeness that he has with Voldemort, his mentor, Dumbledore, teaches Harry that our decisions make us what we truly are, and not our qualities or likeness with others. Which is what makes us different, and this is what makes him a good person.
‘It only put me in Gryffindor’, said Harry in a defeated voice, ‘because I asked not to go in Slytherin . . . . ’ ‘Exactly’, said Dumbledore, beaming once more. ‘Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.’[17]
The next especially important step in Harry’s identity is when he is told by Ollivander where his scar comes from, the truth about his past, and how Voldemort tried to kill him with Harry’s twin wand. Still, if Voldemort did marvelous things because he was destined for that wand, we should expect the same from Harry, who, in a certain way, has a similar wand and killed Voldemort before. We read Olivander says:
‘It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother – why, its brother gave you that scar.’ […] The wand chooses the wizard, remember … I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter … After all, He Who Must Not Be Named did great things – terrible, yes, but great.’[18]
In the last book, with the memories of Snape, Harry gets to know the last part of his identity, that is to be a horcrux of Voldemort, and even though it is painful, he accepts it and confronts it, knowing that his destiny was always to give up his life. This is the moment in which Harry comprehends the entire complexity of truths about his past, his scar, the death of his parents, and how he survived because of the love of his mom, Lily.
‘Part of Lord Voldemort lives inside Harry, and it is that which gives him the power of speech with snakes and a connection with Lord Voldemort’s mind that he has never understood. And while that fragment of soul, unmissed by Voldemort, remains attached to and protected by Harry, Lord Voldemort cannot die.’[19] Harry becomes the beloved son of his parents, Lily and James. And he knows he is loved by Sirius and his friends as well, to the point that they are willing to die for him.
With this section, we finish this first stage of the journey of the hero, Departure, in which Harry realized that he is a wizard, and received the call for an adventure. Finally, along the way, he encountered several mentors who helped him understand his identity.
Chapter II: Initiation
The Road of Trials
In the Initiation stage, in which the hero has gone far from home and is aware of his identity, he needs to confront several trials and temptations that will put him to the test, namely the first and third sections, called The Road of Trials and The Woman as the Temptress. The second phase will be The Meeting with the Goddess, in which the hero will receive love, which will enable him to endure in his mission. Finally, I will conclude with Apotheosis, Death, and Resurrection, in which the hero makes a selfless sacrifice for others.
ONCE having traversed the threshold, the hero moves in a dream landscape of curiously fluid, ambiguous forms, where he must survive a succession of trials. […] The most difficult stages of the adventure now begin, when the depths of the underworld with their remarkable manifestations open before him.[20]
Campbell depicts the hero in his process of maturity with the trials, the difficulties of his mission, which, in some moments, will generate some doubts in the hero’s heart, even a desire to quit or to go back, not knowing if he is capable or has the necessary abilities and strength to overcome what is about to come.
Now the hero fully enters the mysterious, exciting Special World. […] It’s a new and sometimes frightening experience for the hero. No matter how many schools he has been through, he’s a freshman all over again in this new world.[21]
Throughout the seven books, Harry faces several trials that prepare him to become a hero, to fight for a worthy cause, which is why I will now mention the different key moments of each book in which Harry is put to the test. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, he confronts the Mirror, the monster Fluffy, the troll, and Professor Quirrell, so that he can stop Voldemort from coming back. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, he kills the basilisk and saves his friends. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he forgives the person who betrayed his parents and led them to death, and confronts his fear, conjuring a Patronus against the dementors. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, he accomplishes the three different tests of the Triwizard Tournament, and he survives escaping from Voldemort in the graveyard.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, he accepts and overcomes the grief over the death of his godfather, Sirius, and prevents Voldemort from learning of the prophecy. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, he deals with the death of his mentor, Dumbledore, but before that, he helps him to destroy one of the horcruxes. Finally, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, he destroys the seven horcruxes and wins the final battle of Hogwarts in a duel against the Dark Lord, defeating him completely.
The Meeting with the Goddess
In this section, Campbell relates the encounter with the Goddess as an encounter not only with a feminine figure, but with love itself. That is why we will consider the different moments in which Harry feels really loved by his mom, his mentors, his godfather, and ultimately his friends.
Campbell talks about the woman and her role in the hero’s journey. With her, the hero feels love and has the inspiration, strength, and support he needs for the contests he is about to confront. Love is the key to success. The hero, without the support and the cheering up of the others, and with desolation coming in, will be discouraged, and most likely he will turn back to his comfort zone.
For she is the incarnation of the promise of perfection; the soul’s assurance that, at the conclusion of its exile in a world of organized inadequacies, the bliss that once was known will be known again; the comforting, the nourishing, the “good” mother—young and beautiful—who was known to us, and even tasted, in the remotest past.[22]
The first person whom Harry feels love for is his mom, knowing that she died to save his life. The perception of himself changes completely with the greatest love that exists in this life, the love of a mother. His identity as an orphan unloved no longer matches. Dumbledore explains to him why Quirell was not able to touch him. «‘It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good.’»[23]
But on the other hand, Harry also had Hagrid as a paternal figure since the first book, who brings him a cake for his birthday, creates a burning fire, and brings happiness to his life. Hagrid enters and gives love to Harry for the first time since his parents died.
Harry feels love also from his godfather as the fulfillment of the paternal figure that he never had, the possibility of having a real home and a real family. Sirius is the figure who is strongly connected to his parents, to his past. Because Sirius was his dad’s best friend, and he was so close to his parents that they assigned him as the keeper of his secret place to be safe from Voldemort. «‘Once my name’s cleared … if you wanted a … a different home …’ […] ‘Are you insane?’ said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Black’s. ‘Of course I want to leave the Dursleys!’»[24]
Then he has his friends support him and help him during this adventure, right until the end, with loyalty. It is clear how Hermione and Ron are these special characters who are there for Harry when he needs them, and even when he does not need them. They always show unconditional love for Harry, helping him in each trial that he needs to face in each year at Hogwarts.
A special moment is when Neville tells Harry that he and the others are willing to die for him. «But Neville seized his wrist as Harry made to move on. “‘We’re all going to keep fighting, Harry. You know that? ’»[25] Harry is hesitating, and he wishes to turn back and say goodbye, but he is also aware that if he does so, he won’t have the strength to continue; that is why he will not farewell. But he could not see any of the people he loved, no hint of Hermione, Ron, Ginny, or any of the other Weasleys, no Luna. He felt he would have given all the time remaining to him for just one last look at them, but then, would he ever have the strength to stop looking? It was better like this.[26]
As we saw, The Meeting with the Goddess is used by Campbell as a symbol of an encounter with unconditional love and support for the hero. In Harry Potter, this role is fulfilled not by a literal goddess but through friendship and care, such as those with Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Sirius Black, and Rubeus Hagrid, which provide the same sense of belonging and love.
Woman as the Temptress
In this section, Campbell refers not only to the temptations that the hero has in his journey regarding women, in the sense of quitting the journey and not sacrificing his life so that he can share his life with her. But Campbell also means the different moments throughout the whole journey in which the hero hesitates about whether he is capable of finishing or not the journey, or if he even wants to. Also, we have the sense in which the hero is about to take a rash decision that can collapse the whole mission because he is angry or sad.
Joseph Campbell explains the next step of the hero’s journey, which is the temptation to give up on his mission and go back home. The hero wants to turn back because he loves a woman and wants to stay with her and form a family. «Everything we think or do is necessarily tainted with the odor of the flesh. [In relation to the flesh] Life, the acts of life, the organs of life, woman in particular as the great symbol of life, become intolerable to the pure, the pure, pure soul.»[27]
In another chapter, Joseph Campbell explains the consequences of refusing the call to adventure. How he will feel safe in the beginning, but then he will feel regret that he had the chance to help and he didn’t. He had a great power, but he did not use it for the good of others. So he became a coward and an unfulfilled person, because he didn’t fulfill his mission; he never became what he was supposed to be. Temptation does not involve a romantic attraction only; in this case, it can also be in a moment in which the hero is angry, and he is about to do something silly, he is about to make the wrong decision because he is blinded by his emotions.
Refusal of the summons converts the adventure into its negative. Walled in boredom, hard work, or ‘culture,’ the subject loses the power of significant affirmative action and becomes a victim to be saved. His flowering world becomes a wasteland of dry stones and his life feels meaningless.[28]
This is perceived in Harry Potter in several moments. Let us focus on three instances: One of them is when Harry is about to do something reckless that is going to destroy his whole life, and he is about to kill Sirius Black, thinking that he is the reason why his parents are dead. «And if you’d heard your mum screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn’t forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her —’». [29] But in the end, Harry controls himself and finds out that actually Sirius is a true friend of his parents, and he didn’t betray them; but the friend that did betray his parents was Peter Pettigrew, whom Harry forgives in the end, having a new mindset.
Another similar example is when Bellatrix Lestrange kills Sirius, the only real family that was left for him, and Harry wants to torture her, to kill her. « ‘SHE KILLED SIRIUS!’ bellowed Harry. ‘SHE KILLED HIM — I’LL KILL HER!’»[30] Harry once again is blinded by anger, and even though Lupin is trying to prevent him from doing something silly, Harry keeps running after Bellatrix, but then Voldemort and Dumbledore appear, and Harry calms down. Finally, the last one is when Harry feels the temptation to remain with Ginny, to be stopped by her and by his friends, looking for a way to avoid suffering, to his own sacrifice. But with the whole journey that he had walked, he had learned that if he really loves his friends, he will need to fulfill his destiny fighting against the Dark Lord and die, so that they can overcome the evil that is taking over the world.
It’s so easy for Harry just to give up and escape death. It can even be justified, because it’s his own life, but could he live knowing that he had the chance to do more and he didn’t, that is one of the great things that inspires Harry to not give up in his mission, but to keep going, right until the end.
He wanted to shout out to the night, he wanted Ginny to know that he was there, he wanted her to know where he was going. He wanted to be stopped, to be dragged back, to be sent back home. . . . But he was home. Hogwarts was the first and best home he had known. He and Voldemort and Snape, the abandoned boys, had all found home here….[31]
Apotheosis, death, and Resurrection
This is the culmination of the hero’s journey. He is at the peak of his abilities. «The hero has become, by virtue of the ceremonial, more than man».[32] This is the moment in which the hero is ready to sacrifice himself, to die for a noble cause, to bring peace to the world, even if he will not participate in it.
He also became completely free, because he gave his life willingly, so there is no more space for fear. Love becomes the main part of this sacrifice. It’s what gives sense to this catastrophe, to the death of the hero. «When the envelopment of consciousness has been annihilated, then he becomes free of all fear, beyond the reach of change.»[33]
In Harry Potter, I found this moment especially in the last book, when Harry realizes that his destiny and mission were always to die, to give up his life, so that the ultimate enemy will be defeated. «Harry understood at last that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to walk calmly into Death’s welcoming arms».[34] The boy who lived has to die at the end, so that he can die at the proper moment.
Harry needs to walk alone in this last moment to his death; he does not want anybody else to die protecting him; he wants instead to be the one dying this time. The initial identity that Harry had was of being an orphan, unloved, and alone. But now he is about to conclude his journey as the one loved by his friends and family. All the preparation, training, and lessons given by Professor Dumbledore are giving him the necessary strength to take this last step of his journey.
Harry is becoming what Dumbledore, Snape, Sirius, Lupin, and his parents themselves were: heroes. Heroes who were brave enough and didn’t let fear paralyze their hearts, but died and saved people that needed them, so that others might live. Harry now loves so much that he is capable of making such a sacrifice. From a human perspective, it’s incomprehensible, but from a supernatural perspective is something noble, worthy, and unselfish. Something that just comes from the heart.
He accepts his sacrifice completely after finding the Resurrection Stone: «I open at the close” [about the snitch] “He pressed the golden metal to his lips and whispered, ‘I am about to die.’»[35] But right after finding the Resurrection Stone in a certain way, Harry gets to the last point of his identity, Lord of the Deathly Hallows, because he has the Resurrection Stone, the Invincible Cloak, and the Elder Wand, which belongs to him; after all Harry is the one who disarmed Draco in the last book; that is why he will have the possibility to come back to life, resurrect and confronts evil one last time, conquering with the power of love. «AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES. . . . »[36]
Harry has the power that Voldemort never understood: love. Harry is the opposite of Voldemort. He loves, he sacrifices for others. He has friends, family, and a place to belong, and he is not afraid of death. In contrast to Voldemort, he is selfish; he does not care about others and just wants to live for himself. He is consumed by self-love, by pride. He is afraid of death, and that is why he created the horcruxes.
We have seen the second section of the journey of the hero, Initiation, in which the hero prepares himself with a series of trials, temptations, the experience of feeling love, and also the experience of death and resurrection. Now comes the last stage of the journey, Return. After saving the world, the hero comes back home changed, being the hero that he was called to be.
Chapter III: Return
Return as the Master of the Two Worlds
The hero has fulfilled his mission; now is the moment to come back to his ordinary world, but changed, with a new mentality, abilities, and knowledge, and more mature. It feels as if the world in which he belongs before never existed, as if it were a memory that happened a long time ago.
When the hero-quest has been accomplished, through penetration to the source, or through the grace of some male or female, human or animal, personification, the adventurer still must return with his life-transmuting trophy. The full round, the norm of the monomyth, requires that the hero shall now begin the labor of bringing the runes of wisdom, the Golden Fleece, or his sleeping princess, back into the kingdom of humanity, where the boon may redound to the renewing of the community.[37]
In the final book, Harry has fulfilled his destiny, and now he comes back home, Hogwarts, the place where he truly belongs. After all the lessons he has learned, instead of using the elder wand, he puts it back where it belongs, showing once again he is an adult already. «‘I’m putting the Elder Wand,’ [It continues talking about the Elder Wand] ‘back where it came from. It can stay there. If I die a natural death like Ignotus, its power will be broken, won’t it? The previous master will never have been defeated. That’ll be the end of it.’ Dumbledore nodded. They smiled at each other.»[38]
In the epilogue of the last book, Harry has finally overcome his traumas about Voldemort and his Scar. «‘He’ll be all right,’ murmured Ginny. As Harry looked at her, he lowered his hand absentmindedly and touched the lightning scar on his forehead. ‘I know he will.’ The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well.»[39] He now has a family that he never had, with his children, James, Albus, and Lily, and his wife Ginny. And in this last part of the book, Harry helps his son Albus in the beginning of his journey to become a student at Hogwarts. When he is about to take the train from Platform 9 ¾, Harry teaches the same lesson that Dumbledore once taught him about the importance of our decisions.
‘Albus Severus,’ […] ‘you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin, and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.’ ‘But just say — ‘‘— then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won’t it? It does not matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you, you’ll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account.’[40]
Harry named his children Lily and James, in memory of his parents, and Albus Severus, because of Dumbledore and Snape. Snape, being one of the bravest men he ever knew. Snape, because he always protected Harry as the undercover hero, not for the sake of glory, but for love. He is one of the reasons Harry has this opportunity to live the life that he always wished for. Before Snape died, he showed Harry his memories so he could find out the truth; Snape always took care of him. «‘Take . . . it. . . . Take . . . it. . . .’.»[41]
The last thing that Snape sees is the green eyes of Harry, which reminded him of the eyes of his beloved Lily, and then he dies «‘Look . . . at . . . me. . . .’ he whispered. The green eyes found the black, but after a second, something in the depths of the dark pair seemed to vanish, leaving them fixed, blank, and empty. The hand holding Harry thudded to the floor, and Snape moved no more.»[42]
Now that Harry has accomplished this last step of the journey, coming back home as a new person, he can be called the hero that he was called to be since the beginning, fulfilling the prophecy, and ultimately defeating Voldemort, so that peace might be restored.
Conclusion
Throughout the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, we saw how the work and structure of Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey in The Hero with a Thousand Faces is very present. He begins in the ordinary world, being an orphan, unloved, meaningless, unaware of his identity, until someone from the exterior calls him for an adventure, to the unknown.
Eventually, in the same way, Harry goes through the different stages to become a hero, following Campbell’s structure. In each book, we can perceive that there is growth in the heart of the hero, and there is a change in his ideas, preferences, and goals. According to Campbell, the hero must pass through adversity and trials so that he grows and learns from his mistakes. We can see how Harry had a very difficult journey, so to speak; he made many mistakes that cost him valuable things. The clearest example is the death of his godfather, Sirius. Because Harry is tricked by Voldemort, and he takes a rash decision, Sirius tries to rescue him, and in the process, he dies in combat.
It shows how if we want to unleash our full potential, we need to confront fear, loss, and difficulties that will make us shake, doubt about our abilities, and even our identity. But it also reflects the most valuable thing that exists in this world, love. Love is the virtue that makes us humans, that makes us good people. Love is the virtue that encourages us to give up our lives for the people we love the most.
The Harry Potter saga portrays very well the importance of making decisions as something that defines us, that makes us good or bad people. The Campbell’s structure proves that it is not only applicable in myths, but also used nowadays in storytelling. This saga of Rowling is very relatable, in which we can identify with the different characters and their emotions.
Bibliography
Campbell, C., On the Hero’s Journey, Novato, CA: New World Library,
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[1] Campbell, J., The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Princeton University Press, Princeton 2004, p. 46.
[2] Ibid. p. 47.
[3] Volger C., The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, Michael Wiese Productions, Studio City 2007, p. 107.
[4] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Scholastic Inc. 1999, p. 34.
[5] Ibid. p. 50.
[6] Ibid, p. 93.
[7] Campbell, J., The Hero with a Thousand Faces, p. 63.
[8] Ibid. p. 63
[9] Volger C., The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, p. 117.
[10] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Scholastic Press 2003, p. 302.
[11] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Scholastic Inc. 2001, p. 241-242.
[12] Rowling J. K., Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, p. 288-289.
[13] Ibid. p. 288-289
[14]Ibid. p. 213-214.
[15] Campbell, J., The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Princeton University Press, Princeton 2004, p. 83.
[16] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, p. 85.
[17] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, p. 85.
[18] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Scholastic Inc. 2000, p. 333.
[19] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Scholastic Inc. 2007, p. 686.
[20] Campbell, J., The Hero with a Thousand Faces, p. 89.
[21] Ibid. p. 91.
[22] Campbell, J., The Hero with a Thousand Faces, p. 101-102.
[23] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, p. 299.
[24] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, p. 379.
[25] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, p. 696.
[26] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, p. 695.
[27] Campbell, J., The Hero with a Thousand Faces, p. 112.
[28] Ibid. p. 54.
[29] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, p. 214.
[30] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, p. 809.
[31] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, p. 697.
[32] Campbell, J., The Hero with a Thousand Faces, p. 142.
[33] Ibid., p. 139.
[34] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, p. 698.
[35] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, p. 698.
[36] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, p. 841.
[37] Campbell, J., The Hero with a Thousand Faces, p. 179.
[38] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, p. 749.
[39] Ibid., p. 759.
[40] Rowling, J. K., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, p. 758.
[41] Ibid., p. 657.
[42] Ibid., p. 657-658.
