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This essay examines various features belonging to the liminal area between life and death in the world of Harry Potter. Being fantasy novels, Rowling's works are free of the reins of empirical thinking. The border they posit between possible and impossible may be displaced; still, it is more or less firmly set.
Today, when one hears the name Harry, the most immediate association which comes to mind is probably either Prince Harry of Wales, or the hero of seven J.K. Rowling novels-our well-known and beloved Harry Potter. It is hard to say who of the two would win the flattering title of Britain's most popular Harry. While Prince Harry's official name is Henry Mountbatten-Windsor, his fictitious namesake is presented to us simply as Harry Potter-bearing a common, inconspicuous name. However, some critics suggest that there is possibly much more to the meaning of Harry Potter's name. Could this actually be an allusive wordplay on the true nature of the character? According to John Granger, toward the end of the series, the readers should interpret Harry as "the Heir of the Potter" (115), the Potter in question being Our Lord, the creator of all living beings and non-living things.
What is certain is that with 450 million copies of the books in print ("Birthday"), the love for the good British wizard has become a worldwide phenomenon, though lagging behind the all-time bestseller professing the teachings of the original Heir, the Holy Bible. Granger is one among many scholars who perceive Rowling's books as profoundly religious. Being "largely about death," as Rowling herself stated (Greig), it does not come as a surprise that the books initiated a long-running and manifold debate over the underlying spiritual and philosophical concepts which the author tried to promulgate. On the one hand, there are harsh Christian critics who denigrate the story for supporting occult practices and witchcraft (Heilman 3), to the point of raising petitions for the complete censorship of the novels. Be that as it may, these critics are outnumbered by readers and reviewers who recognize a plot and a message suffused with (Christian) theology, fit for metaphysical, religious, social, or moral analysis, a convenient growing-up story, or a catalyst which adults could use to explain more easily the...