Girls Takeover, Part 2: How Motherhood Is A Core Theme in Harry Potter
Mar 26, 2024
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Chloé, Meg, and Pam explore motherhood in Harry Potter, discussing Merope Gaunt's sacrifice, Narcissa's role, and the evolving role of women in the fandom. They reflect on the characters' maternal qualities, such as Hermione's friendship with Harry, and how even characters like Umbridge represent motherhood in their own ways.
Motherhood is a core theme for women in Harry Potter, regardless of having children.
Characters like Narcissa Malfoy demonstrate that being a good mother does not negate being a good person.
Love, whether familial or for justice, drives characters to make bold choices during war.
Women in Harry Potter embody a mix of maternal care, loyalty, and warrior strength to confront conflict challenges.
Deep dives
Maternal Warriors: The Women of the Light Side
Women like Molly Weasley, Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, and even Hermione Granger possess both nurturing qualities and fierce warrior spirits. Molly's motherly care extends to battling alongside her children in the Battle of Hogwarts, showcasing her strength and love. Professor Sprout's gentleness with plants parallels a nurturing role, while her participation in the war exhibits her courage and dedication. Hermione combines her intelligence, empathy, and determination to fight for justice and equality, embodying the balance of love and strength.
Narcissa Malfoy: Love Above Ideology
Narcissa Malfoy defies the typical dark side characterization by prioritizing love for her family over allegiance to an ideology. Her actions are motivated by protecting Draco and ensuring his survival, showing a deep maternal love that transcends the dark forces she aligns with. Narcissa's decisions reflect personal love rather than a commitment to the cause, highlighting how her primary allegiance lies with her loved ones and self-preservation.
Love as a Driving Force in War
The characters in the Wizarding World demonstrate that love, whether for family, justice, or humanity, can be a powerful force in times of war. Examples like Hermione Granger's advocacy for house elves, Molly Weasley's fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts, and Narcissa Malfoy's decisions regarding Draco showcase the impact of personal love on individual choices in the midst of conflict. Love serves as a motivating factor that can lead characters to make difficult decisions and take decisive actions to protect what they care about most.
Maternal Instincts in Conflict
The women in the wizarding war exhibit a blend of maternal instincts, fierce loyalty, and warrior strength in confronting the challenges of conflict. Characters like Molly Weasley and Professor McGonagall embody the roles of both caregivers and fighters, balancing love and protection for their families with the courage to stand against dark forces. Hermione's unwavering commitment to justice and equality portrays how maternal instincts can extend beyond traditional roles, inspiring bravery and resilience in the face of adversity.
Importance of Diversity in the Harry Potter Fandom
Diversity and inclusion are highlighted as essential areas for improvement within the Harry Potter fandom, especially in amplifying voices of BIPOC creators and perspectives. The need to create space for more diverse viewpoints, representation, and creators is emphasized to ensure a more inclusive community.
Cultural Variations Enhancing Fandom Experience
The discussion on translating Harry Potter into different languages reveals how cultural nuances and linguistic adaptations can provide unique experiences for fans globally. Examples of how character names and phrases differ in French and Spanish editions illustrate the depth of the fandom's richness across languages.
Positive Role of Women in Amplifying Voices
Acknowledgment of the positive impact of women, such as Laura's influence in providing representation and inclusivity within the Harry Potter fandom, is emphasized. The contribution of women and female-led initiatives, like Fandom Forward and LeakyCon, in fostering diversity and promoting social causes within the community is recognized.
The ladies of MuggleCast are back for Part 2 of our Girls Takeover Series! This week we’re diving deeper into the roles of women as mothers, teachers, care givers, and warriors. We’re joined by our social media manager Chloé, transcriber manager Meg, and sister-podcast host Pam.
This week, we dive deeper into the roles of women as mothers we didn’t get to dig as deep into on our last installment.
We spend time ruminating on the show’s current position in Goblet of Fire, and give Hermione props for being the friend Harry needs, even if it’s not necessarily what Harry wants.
Did Merope Gaunt make the ultimate sacrifice out of love for her son?
Is Narcissa a good mother? We examine how being a good mother and being a good person are not mutually exclusive.
No matter the role examined, we continue to find that for the women in Harry Potter, motherhood is a core theme. Even women who don’t have children, they still serve mother-like roles in some capacity.
That’s right, even Umbridge represents a particular flavor of motherhood (ugh).
We also examine the roles of women and fandom, and reflect on our tenure as Potterheads, and what our fandom engagement looks like outside of the podcast these days.
Demographics for leaders in the Harry Potter fandom has evolved in the last 20 years: a fandom where many of the site runners, content creators, and podcasters were men has seen a dramatic shift towards more women and non-binary people leading in the fandom space.
We look to organizations like Fandom Forward, MuggleNet, and LeakyCon as organizations that are heavily woman-led making efforts to create better inclusivity and representation in the wizarding world fan space.
Did you enjoy this installment of Girls Takeover? Keep an eye out for our next installment, where we’ll be taking on an installment of Chapter by Chapter!
This week's episode is sponsored by BetterHelp Get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/mugglecast
