Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- A Review

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic Press, 2007. 759 pp.

Harry Potter, “the Boy who would not die,” is a fictional character, but he is more than that. He is a symbol of courage, determination, selflessness, indeed, a symbol of all things good. This is a series of stories about hope, and how even a young person can be a messenger of hope.

I began reading the stories of Harry Potter nine years ago – to my then 8 year old son. Like many parents who first read the books to their children, the stories got me hooked, and I’ve enjoyed every one of them. Each of the characters, both good and evil, are indelibly imprinted on my mind: Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Dumbledore, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, Severus Snape, and Hagrid. There is of course Lord Voldemort, nee Tom Riddle, the snakelike presence whose life or lack thereof has been linked to Harry from the origins of the story. And following “He Who Must Not Be Named” are adults like Lucius Malfoy and his wife Narcissa, their son Draco and his friends Crabbe and Goyle. Of course there is Narcissa’s evil sister and Voldemort’s chief supporter, the sadistic Bellatrix Le Strange There are of course the Dementors and other magical beasts to contend with.

In many ways the Harry Potter series is a morality play. As with other works of fantasy – including that of C.S. Lewis – the world of magic is the context not the focus. Using the Wizarding world as the backdrop, J.K. Rowling is able to deal with issues such as friendship, love, evil, race and even religion in ways that are provocative and yet accessible. The idea that they are about the occult is simply silly – unless you think the Chronicles of Narnia series is about the occult.

This is also a warning against the search for power, for power’s sake. In this case, there is a strong sense that the power being sought is the power over death – the power of immortality. Voldemort had killed and essentially was killed, except that he had sought to preserve his life – even if not fully embodied. Even Dumbledore is concerned about death and its hold on us. Harry, having been spared as child, is always facing the reality of death – whether that of his parents or that of friends.


Spoiler Alert: (Yes, I’m going to deal with the whole book from here on out). As most will know, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows brings the seven book series to a close. It has been a long journey, but one that has been worthwhile from the very beginning.

The series has gotten darker and more mature as it has progressed. Rowling has made the wise choice to let the books grow up with her original readers. This is not simply a series of children’s books – whereas Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (1998) was appropriate for reading to an 8-year old, I don’t think this volume would be. It is pitched at a late teen audience (and of course we adults who have been hooked from day 1).

This final volume is violent. Death is present here in ways not seen before – though the ending is, as appropriate to the series, a happy one. Whereas Hogwarts was the primary location of previous books, Hogwarts and its denizens don’t really appear until the final chapters – when the final battle between good and evil takes place at Hogwarts. Instead, the focus is on a quest undertaken by Harry and his two constant companions from the first book to the present one – Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. As the sixth volume ended, before dying, Dumbledore had given Harry a task that he was to undertake with the assistance of his two friends – they were to find and destroy the Horcruxes, which Tom Riddle (AKA Lord Voldemort) had created to contain his divided soul. Riddle believed that by doing this he could attain immortality and increased power. Now, Dumbledore not having succeeded in his own quest, turns the job over to Harry and his friends.

Whereas in previous volumes, Voldemort had been seeking to gain power, in this volume, he seizes power. In the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), Harry had been put on trial for claiming that Voldemort had returned; now there was no denying the truth. With the Dark Lord in control, no one is safe and all appears to be lost – except as long as Harry is alive, at least in the hearts of some, there is hope. And Harry is Voldemort’s greatest fear – and thus he seeks to kill Harry. When Harry fails to die at the beginning of the book, Voldemort goes on a quest of his own, in search of a legendary wand, the Elder Wand, which he believes will make him invincible.

While he seeks to reinforce his control, there are a few who remain in opposition – though they must do so underground. Among the few who remain openly in opposition is one we’d least expect to take leadership, and that is Neville Longbottom, Harry’s classmate who from book 1 simply couldn’t get his magic right. His parents were famous aurors who died battling the Dark Lord, but everything he tried backfired – at least in the beginning. But, in time Neville finds his niche – he’s good with magical plants – and by the time we reach book 7, with Harry, Ron, and Hermione off on their quest, he becomes the leader of “Dumbledore’s Army.” He bravely fights the attempts by Death Eaters to control Hogwarts and he will fight vigorously during the great battle. This little side story is really a nice reminder that we needn’t be the same – our own callings will be influenced by our own giftedness.

As the book closes a final battle between forces of Good and Evil takes place at Hogwarts. Some familiar characters will die along the way, including Harry. Or at least that’s what it seems to have happened. It does appear that Rowling has weaved into this story just a bit of theology, and Harry appears here as a kind of Christ figure – not overtly, but for those who have eyes to see, they will see it. He is the selfless sacrificial lamb who is lead to the slaughter. As with Aslan, he is the victim whose life is traded for the lives of his compatriots. He goes to Voldemort and offers himself up because he has discovered that it is the only way to defeat Voldemort.

Harry makes this discovery by discovering a side of his apparent nemesis – Severus Snape (his long time potions teacher), who had as we learned in the sixth volume murdered Dumbledore himself – that he hadn’t known before. Having always read the books through Harry’s eyes, I like most readers, have come to despise this greasy haired figure who apparently took joy in persecuting Harry and his friends. And as the book begins our worst feelings about him seem confirmed – Snape is in league with Voldemort. That relationship even elevates him to Headmaster of Hogwarts. But all is not as it seems. In the very end of the book, as the final battle is underway, the truth comes out. Voldemort kills Snape so as to take full power, or so he thinks, of the Elder Wand, which Dumbledore had apparently wanted Snape to have. By killing Snape, he believed he would have the wands full powers for himself (he was wrong, because it was Draco who had lifted the wand from Dumbledore’s dead hands). As Snape lay dying, Harry comes to him and receives the “silvery fluid” that is his thoughts. Taking a flask of these thoughts to Dumbledore’s former office, he pours them into the pensieve and dives in, discovering the connection that linked him to Snape. You see, from the time they had been children, Snape had loved his mother. That love continued despite their very different life choices. Snape had tried to protect Lily, and when he failed to dissuade Voldemort from killing her, he joined with Dumbledore in protecting her progeny. Harry learns from Snape’s thoughts that Dumbledore had arranged his own death (he was dying anyway) and that Harry must die of Voldemort must die.

Armed with this knowledge, Harry slips away and faces Dumbledore unarmed. Taking great joy, the Dark Lord attacks Harry with his death curse, apparently killing Harry, but knocking Voldemort down as well. Still, it appears that Harry is dead and Voldemort claims his victory – only Harry isn’t dead. To the surprise of all, including Harry, the curse has back fired – Voldemort has indeed destroyed the Horcrux that had held Harry connected to Voldemort, but it does not kill Harry – for in his selflessness, love has once again overcome evil. Now, I’ll agree --- there is just a bit of dualism present here, but it is a powerful message as well that love conquers death. In fact, Harry goes into this encounter with Voldemort, with this verse of scripture in mind, a verse of scripture that marked his parents grave – “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26). His death will prove to be the end for the one who seeks to control life and death.

Harry chooses to give his life because it is the only way Voldemort can be defeated – this was why Dumbledore had groomed him from day 1 – for this day. This is what he had learned from Snape’s own thoughts.

You see, his own body has become unknowingly to Voldemort, a Horcrux itself. When Voldemort had failed to kill Harry as a Toddler, a bit of Voldemort became part of Harry – which is why he could speak to snakes and had a direct connection to Voldemort’s mind. It is this connection that will prove to be Voldemort’s downfall – when he tried to kill Harry again, what he did was destroy the Horcrux, destroying part of himself. Voldemort believed himself invincible because he had the legendary “Elder Wand,” a wand that legend said was invincible - -and he had stolen it from Dumbledore’s tomb – but once again he made a fatal mistake and in a final battle with Harry, as he tried to kill Harry, Harry was able to reverse the curse and Voldemort kills himself and the threat is gone. Good triumphs over evil.

There are some surprises revealed in the book. We discover that Dumbledore has some skeletons in his closet and has had his own run at power. Harry begins to have doubts about Dumbledore as the quest becomes more arduous and seemingly unending. Had Dumbledore sent him on a quixotic quest that would cost the lives of his friends, and perhaps his own? He dealt with rumors suggesting that Dumbledore had an unsavory past and had been less than honorable dealing with his family. The truth is, Dumbledore wasn’t perfect, but he understood what Harry must do. Of course the true nature of Snape is learned – he too is a man of courage, even if that courage is displayed in ways that are veiled.

The message here though is one of love. It is love of neighbor in its strongest. Harry lived in the first place because of the love his mother had for him. Her love had imbued him with protection that would guard him from Voldemort’s attempts on his life. It is love for Lily that causes Snape to stand by her son. It is love that links Harry to Ron and Hermione. If the search for power is at the heart of the dark side (to use a bit of Star Wars terminology), love is the foundation of the good.

The good news of Harry Potter is that we are called to lives of active love in a world where hate and bigotry seek to reign. If we choose love, we will likely encounter great difficulty and great opposition, but love will reign supreme – for death shall be destroyed. This indeed is a book to be read, enjoyed, and reflected upon, for its message is one we should attend to. No, it’s not a message of non-violence, but it is in any case one of grace, friendship, community, and love.