Love and Redemption: Christian Themes and Witchcraft in <i>Harry Potter</i>
- 1 School of Chinese Culture and Communication, Beijing International Studies University, Beijing, China
Abstract
The novels of Harry Potter series illustrate the theme of the literature and praise the “love” and “true goodness” of Christianity, while at the same time depict a considerable amount of witchcraft culture. This paper discusses the five questions posed in the section of introduction such as “Does Harry Potter have Christian overtones? How does the life of a wizard as depicted in Harry Potter differ from that of a wizard in the Middle Ages?” After analyzing the novel’s of strong Christian overtones, this paper extends this question by exploring the mapping of the Christian spirit of “love” and “live to death” in the specific plot, concluding that love is powerful and can transcend the distance between life and death, that we can all be saved by receiving and transmitting love. This paper adds also a great amount of medieval witchcraft and the lifestyle of witches. From the resistance to witchcraft to the study of witchcraft, reflecting the evolution of Christian attitudes as the centuries changed.
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