Confronting the Villain in Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone: Voldemort as Shadow and Evil Magician Glenna Andrade from the
Jungian Society for Scholary Studies Beloved by readers of all ages for the past
several years, the Harry Potter series depicts a young schoolboy’s
development as a fledgling wizard in his fairytale Because the Voldemort’s
name can be transliterated as either “flight from death” or
“wish for death,” his very name indicates his function as
Harry’s shadow. By definition, the shadow is the
“personification of certain aspects of the unconscious
personality…which…is the dark, unlived, and repressed side of the
ego complex” (von Franz 5). During the first stage, the shadow
represents all the things that person “cannot directly know” (von
Franz 5). However, just as Jung indicates, becoming conscious of one’s
shadow is essential to self-knowledge (“The Shadow” 9), and so
Harry must confront his resistances to self-knowledge that he binds up in
this projection (“The Shadow” 9). As a part of Harry’s
shadow, the villain images are recessed deeper into his unconscious in the
forms of the animus and anima. In Harry’s case, Voldemort
represents his animus because he is the same sex as Harry. Delving into
the unconscious also allows Harry to connect with his opposite side or anima,
his feelings in contrast to his intellect. On his road to maturation, Harry also faces the
dual opposites of the “wise old man”
image of the fairytale realm in the persons of Voldemort
and Dumbledore. As Jung explains in “The Spirit in Fairytales,”
the positive, “wise old man” image always appears when “the
hero is in a hopeless and desperate situation” (217). Just like the
positive “wise old man,” Dumbledore gives advice, asks questions
to induce self-reflection, gives a talisman (Jung 217-220), and even comes to
Harry’s rescue. Alternately, the “wise old man” image
appears as an “evil doer” (Jung, The Spirit in Fairytales,”
229-234) or the “old magician” who corresponds to “the
negative parental imago in the magic world of the unconscious” (Jung,
Fairytales 234). Hence, Voldemort serves as not
only Harry’s shadowy animus, but also his negative-father imago as the
“old magician” who is counterbalanced by his positive-father
imago of Dumbledore. In particular, Harry Potter’s projection
of Voldemort as his evil potential can be further
explained by several of Marie Louise von France’s observations on the
fairy tale. Written for children primarily, The Sorcerer’s Stone
not only follows the pattern of the neo-Jungian, Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth hero, but also casts Harry as the Cinderella
figure of the abused stepchild. Harry’s story begins when he
lives beneath his foster parents’ stairwell and is then spirited away
from his ordinary human or “muggles”
life by a fairy “godmother” for a new life in wizard school under
Dumbledore’s protection. In addition, because of their
simplicity, the fairy tale images allow a clearer look into Harry’s
confrontation with his shadow. As Marie von France suggests in Shadow and
Evil in Fairytales, since fairy tales reduce to their most elemental
aspects, they mirror the “most basic psychological structures of man to
a greater extent than [even] myths and literary products” (12).
Moreover, the fairy tale elements help explain the Potter series’ adult
popularity since such tales, as von Franz says, are reduced to “basic
structural elements” that appeal “to everybody” (12).
My plan here is to examine the first appearance
of the villain Voldemort during the climax of The
Sorcerer’s Stone. A close reading reveals that the images and
symbols contribute to the villain’s manifestation as both shadow and
evil “magician.” Voldemort’s very description betrays the evil within the shadow.
Near the end of Harry’s quest to rescue the magical Sorcerer’s
Stone, Harry descends through a trap door into the metaphoric
“underworld” or the unconscious. Here, Harry confronts Voldemort for the first time. When Voldemort’s servant Quirrell
unwraps his turban and turns around, Voldemort is
exposed. Harry is shocked to find that “Where there should have been a
back to Quirrell’s head, there was
a…most terrible face” (SS 293). Voldemort’s
first manifestation indicates that while Harry is clearly outmatched in
wizardry and age, he meets the “face” of evil courageously,
willing to confront the dark side of himself, his own shadow, the part of
himself he does not yet understand. Furthermore, the appearance of Voldemort as two-faced forecasts Voldemort’s
capacity for lying. Additionally, Voldemort’s
appearance as a parasite on his servant’s head indicates his power of
demonic possession and his evil aptitude to exploit others. In this way, Voldemort’s description as a two-faced parasite
begins to symbolize not only Harry’s willingness to face his shadow,
but also his moral obligation to respect others and to use power to help, not
degrade them. In the same scene, Voldemort’s
appearance as a skull and a snake are important symbols that offer Harry new
insights. When he assesses villain’s face, Harry describes it as
“Chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a
snake” (SS 293). On one hand, the “chalk white” face
suggests a skull that represents Harry’s fear of death in his
collective unconscious. The skull also ties in to Voldemort’s
name as meaning “flight from death” or “wish for
death.” Obviously, Harry fears his own death from Voldemort
who has already killed Harry’s parents (SS 294) and who threatens him,
yet the skull also represents Harry’s shadow aspect in his unconscious
“wish for death” since this is the only way he can satisfy his
intense longing to be re-united with his parents, a weakness that Voldemort often preys upon. On the other hand, the skull
also connects to the villain’s ultimate desire as a “flight from
death” since his immediate goal is to attain immortality by stealing
the Stone. Moreover, Voldemort’s obsession
with immortality signifies his evil side since, as von Franz says,
“evil entails being swept away by one-sidedness, by only one single
pattern of behavior” (von Franz 147). Altogether then, Voldemort’s multivalent death imagery presents
Harry with the understanding that obsession becomes evil because a person
chooses to ignore balance in life. As Harry learns later from his positive
father figure, the headmaster Dumbledore, a gift “like
unlimited…life” is a bad choice because death is not to be
feared, but rather to be expected as only the “next great
adventure” (297). It appears that Dumbledore, like Jung, recognizes
death as “a goal and a fulfillment” of life’s natural
progression (“The Soul and Death” 495). Voldemort’s description as a snake reinforces his evil nature in
other ways. Clearly, the snake imagery underscores the immortality theme
since the snake as a circle served as such before Judeo-Christian myth. Just
as important, the snake imagery connects to the biblical The theme of lying has larger moral aspect that
connects to Harry’s maturation. Harry has already lied to Quirrell about how to find the Sorcerer’s Stone
when Harry saw his reflection in the Mirror of Erised
(Desire). Not too incidentally, Harry is much like Perseus
who required the “mirror” of objectivity to bypass the emotional
shock of looking at Medusa directly (von Franz 249) or into his own evil
side. Nonetheless, Harry’s lying reveals a more sophisticated decision.
For “moral” not only includes the capacity of discriminating
between right and wrong, but also of making an intellectual choice based upon
the higher good, as verified by the probability that Voldemort
would use the Stone to acquire a separate physical body and attain eternal
life-- to advance his control of the world. In addition to the death and lying symbolism,
snake imagery contributes to Voldemort’s
position as Harry’s shadow in the fairytale since both can speak with
snakes in what wizards call “parseltongue.”
Sharing this rare magic power (CS 317), the two are even more similar than
indicated by the several suggestions of their physical resemblance (CS 317).
Since the ability to communicate in an animal language is a prime element of
the fairy tale, Harry’s capacity suggests that he can probe the Nature
side of his personality, his emotional aspect, his anima. In this way, Harry
can learn to balance intellect and emotion, which promotes his growth towards
individuation. In contrast to the villain who uses parseltongue
to command animals to attack (CS 308), Harry generally speaks with snakes to
understand and help them (SS 28). Harry’s own
connection to the snake imagery may be perceived as a positive aspect. The
snake often climbs and then descends from the “tree of life”
bringing messages to the physical or conscious realm. Next, in his confrontation scene with Voldemort, Harry glimpses the deeper side of himself
through a descent into the numinous realm. When grappling with Quirrell, Harry feels pain in his head and lacks external
sight (SS 295). Just like Perseus avoided
Medusa’s stare, Harry’s blindness suggests his reluctance to face
his shadow because such a look can end in death. As Jung observes, a person
may recognize “the relative evil of his nature,” but to gaze into
the face of absolute evil is a “rare and shattering experience”
(“Shadow” 10). Additionally, Harry’s blindness indicates
his respect for a greater spiritual power, for in a fairytale, one should not
penetrate the awe of a higher power unless forced to (von Franz 165).
Fortunately, Harry’s temporary blindness is compensated with
“in-sight.” He descends through an inner hell to attain a
numinous experience (von Franz 198). Over Quirrell’s
shrieks and Voldemort’s commands to kill him,
Harry hears the call of “Harry!
Harry!” (SS 295). For his courage to participate in a numinous
experience, Harry gains the reward of hearing his parents as helpmates. As we
will learn in later novels, his parents will reappear when Harry needs aid in
confronting evil, and, in fact, Harry’s father later materializes as
the “Petronus” (his patron, his “pater”) in his appearance as the animal helper of
the white stag. Equally important, Harry’s confrontation
with Voldemort brings about a connection with his
anima or with his emotional side that values love. For example, because Harry
is under the power of his dead mother’s love, Harry’s very
physical touch of Quirrell brings about his intense
pain that causes Quirrell to release his grasp and
to retreat (SS 299). Harry’s mother’s gift of love repels Quirrell because he has shared his soul with the evil Voldemort (SS 299). As Dumbledore later explains to
Harry, If there is one thing Voldemort
cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realize that love as powerful
as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible
sign … to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved
us is gone, will give us some protection forever. 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. (SS
299) Hence, Harry is protected by his maternal love because,
as von Franz says, “Warm human contact dissipates…clouds of
projection” (154). Therefore, Harry’s human contact not only
repels physical evil, but also diminishes the grip of his shadow’s
projection. Subsequently, Harry begins to perceive that the warmth of love
engendered within his anima is the superior human defense against the cold
manifestation of hatred. Additionally, Voldemort
personifies the shadow qualities that Harry must
learn to reject. Voldemort embodies that
kind of evil that von Franz determines as the “spirit of ‘no life
and no love’” (173). Voldemort even
seems to derive pleasure from “destructiveness for its own sake”
(von Franz 173) since he kills his hosts without remorse. Furthermore,
Harry’s shadow-villain Voldemort continues to
repudiate his own emotional side. Before he retreats, Voldemort
asserts that there is “no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it” (SS 291).
Here, Voldemort suggests that any positive emotions
such as love and compassion betray a lack of strength. He himself denies his
anima and thus is trapped within his obsession for power. On the other hand, Harry accepts the anima
aspects of himself: he respects others, uses power to help not abuse,
and appreciates the love that affirms life. As a result of his generous
emotions that counterbalance his intellect, Harry learns about the
protectiveness of love and gains the reward of connecting with his spiritual
patron-father. In this way, Harry’s ego becomes stronger as he begins his
journey towards individuation. Seen another way, Harry’s journey
resembles the fairytale aspects aligned with his shadow. His journey begins
with conventional Cinderella imagery, replicates the plot of the fairytale
hero who descends into the numinous realm, and ends with Harry’s
confrontation with the shadow that allows him to connect to the positive
emotions that promote individuation. Equally important, Harry succeeds
in fending off Voldemort because Harry carries a
higher power than mere magic: his character reveals he makes good
choices. As von France notes, “Knowledge when linked with a state of
higher consciousness, is perhaps the greatest means of fighting evil;
dissociated from consciousness, it is just one magical trick against
another” (250). Moreover, Harry has love on his side too. As von France
further points out, in a contest of magic, the drive of love or Eros will win
against the “drive of dominion” (252). In conclusion, using M.L. von Franz’s
concepts from The Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales which amplify
Jung’s “The Spirit of the Fairytale,” this investigation
concludes that Harry prevails over evil by his willing descent into an inner
hell, facilitated by a numinous combination of his knowledge, state of higher
consciousness, and inherent drive towards love or Eros. Because the Voldemort’s name can be transliterated as either
“flight from death” or “wish for death,” his very
name confirms his function as Harry’s shadow. Furthermore,
“Vole-de-mort” suggests “vole” or “mole” of
death, the despised, sneaky, dark-roaming rodent who functions as the
“magician.” Ultimately, Harry will continue to confront Voldemort in future novels because Harry has more to
learn from his shadow. Even his continuing training in wizardry skills will
bring him just to par with Voldemort’s
intellect and experience. One final lesson must be for Harry to recognize his
own capacity for evil. As von Franz says, evil includes the lack of the
“spirit of ‘no life and no love’ which…. is
destructiveness for its own sake,” but also the self-recognition that
everybody possesses the capacity for evil “to some degree” (173).
In future novels, Harry must continue to address his shadow that contains his
“the dark, unlived, and repressed side” (von Franz 5} and to
balance intellect and emotion of his animus and anima. While he has acquired
the boon of a positive father imago in Dumbledore and will later attain the
animal-helper Patron of his father, ultimately, Harry’s future journeys
into his shadow must include his ability to admit his own weaknesses, to
recognize his own capacity for evil, and to use his ego strength for
self-discipline. Only further novels will tell whether Harry will
continue to prevail over his shadow-villain Voldemort.
Works
Cited Jung, C (arl) G (ustav). ”The Shadow” Aion:
Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self. Bolligen
Series XX. Transl. R.F.C. ----. “The Phenomenology of the Spirit in
Fairytales” The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Bolligen Series XX. Transl.
R.F.C. Hull (Second Edition). NY: Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets. US: Arthur A. Levin Books, 1999. ----. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s
Stone. US: Arthur A. Levine Books, 1997. Williams, Edwin B., General Editor. The Scribner
Bantam English Dictionary. NY: Bantam, 1979. Von Franz, Marie-Louise. Shadow and Evil in
Fairytales. Works
Consulted Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of
Fire. US: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2000. ----. Harry Potter and the Order of the ----. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
US: Arthur A. Levine Books, 1999. |