The Harry Potter books were hugely popular when I was a child. They still are, I think, but growing up during the publications was a whole other experience. I never read them as a kid, though. For various reasons, I was pretty adamant that those books were not for me. I did not read much fantasy, so the genre did not appeal to me, and based on what I saw of the movies I expected the books to be dark and scary. There is also a part of me that avoids things that are too popular. Hype can be a turn off.
My sister adored the series, and we read very few of the same books and have different taste in television. (She was more House of Mouse and Cartoon Network and I was more PB&J Otter and Full House). As we got older I came to focus more on our differences than our similarities and made decisions about what I would like based on what she liked (the opposite).
Perhaps the biggest reason I did not read Harry Potter was because I did not think I should. I caught wind of the conservative Christian campaign that claimed it promoted witchcraft and had satanic and occult undertones. Like with most of my opinions in childhood, I did not have any data to back up this idea or any strong detailed argument formulated. My parents did not ban Harry Potter. I had friends and cousins who were not allowed to read Harry Potter and I thought my parents were slacking on the parenting thing.
Luckily for my sister and me my parents were not so dictatorial about what we were allowed to read, watch, and do. As it turns out, people are fallible, even the adults that we trust. I think it is fair to wager that most people who banned Harry Potter from their homes did not first read Harry Potter. If they had, they would have picked up on a lot more value than influential dark magic.
As I got older it was less and less reasonable that I had never tried reading any of the Harry Potter books. I saw the first few movies when they came out on DVD, but I knew from friends that the movies do not really hold up to the value of the books. About a year and a half ago I started going through the series. I was so wrong about those books! The fantasy aspect was not anything like what I expected. I did not pick up on any satanic undertones. And I realized how justified the hype really is.
Once I started, I could not stop! I chose to listen to the audio books, per recommendation from a friend. Whenever I could not listen – such as when I was rocking a sleeping baby – I would borrow the book from my clients’ bookshelves and start wherever Jim Dale had left off. I was fully living in the world! Although I could wax endlessly about the qualities of Rowling’s narration, that is not why I came here today.
I want to talk about Hermione, the true hero of Hogwarts. (I do not actually have an argument for why this statement is true. Your opinion may vary and have more validity.) Hermione’s best characteristic is her confidence in her own value. This is my favorite example. Harry warns that Hogwarts could expell her for joining in on their mission. She says, “Flitwick told me in secret that I got 112% on his exam. They’re not throwing me out after that.”
I love that Hermione wants to do well in school and is proud of her achievement. She knows that Harry and Ron will need her help. While getting expelled is her worst fear, she knows she is too high of an asset to her school and would not get expelled.
Women are not taught to be this confident and overtly self-assured! I have often been torn between wanting to brag about my achievements but then downplaying once I was noticed. Even the word brag feels negative. Having pride and knowing what we are good at or have worked hard for should not be negative. So I hope more and more girls are learning to be confident from Hermione. It does us no good to downplay our successes and value.
While I was not reading Harry Potter as child, I was missing out on some really exciting and heartwarming stories. I was also missing valuable life lessons about friendship, bravery, and confidence in oneself.
