Meaningful miracles: Unraveling eucatastrophe in the select fantasy fiction of J.K. Rowling

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Introduction

J.K. Rowling authored the Harry Potter septology, which has altered the course of Fantasy literature around the world, reinstating Fantasy on a pedestal. Her predecessor J.R.R. Tolkien brought in an epoch where Fantasy literature was loved and celebrated. Like the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, the Harry Potter has gained a cult status. Though considered Children’s literature, the series does not stick to a single category; it is crossover – a “fuzzy set” – which Brian Attebery uses to define the fantastic genre (Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn, ed., 2012, p. 2). The Harry Potter Series is also a Bildungsroman and therefore, mapping the trajectory of Harry’s journey from a child to an adult. The Eucatastrophe is a sudden and positive or lucky occurrence that happens in a fairy tale or fantasy in order to ensure a happy outcome. T.E. Apter talks about fantasy and realism discussing the possibilities of a character’s motives, actions and circumstance; he reflects on how the author adds views on the real world through the vehicle of fantasy. “The fantastic circumstances can be viewed as an economical and effective means of revealing characters’ interests and emotions which would be disguised or modified in surroundings well ordered by comfort or custom…” (Apter, 1989, p. 1).

Background and objective

The objective of this work is to study the Eucatastrophic occurrences in the works of J.K. Rowling and understand them against the larger context of the workings of Fantasy per se. The Eucatastrophe is defined by Tolkien as “the mark of a good fairy-story, of the higher or more complete kind, that however wild its events, however fantastic or terrible the adventures, it can give to child or man that hears it, when the “turn” comes, a catch of the breath, a beat and lifting of the heart, near to (or indeed accompanied by) tears, as keen as that given by any form of literary art, and having a peculiar quality” (Tolkien, 1984, p. 14).

The Eucatastrophe is the sudden joyous “turn” … a sudden and miraculous grace: never to be counted on to recur (Tolkien, 1984, p. 14). Hence, it occurs in a Fantastic or Fairy-tale setting and enriches the genre as such with its graciousness. It cannot be anticipated, in the sense that one cannot expect it to occur, especially without putting in one’s efforts. Tolkien says it is not an “escapist” event, but helps strengthen the story to achieve a sense of sublimity due to its magnificence. GRR Martin decries happy endings despite employing eucatastrophes in his A Soong of Ice and Fire, he installs multiple dyscatastrophes; this changes the course of the Fantasy tale forging similarities with dystopian fiction (Johnston, 2012, p. 136).

Aim of the paper

The phenomenon of poetic justice, i.e., punishing the evildoers and rewarding the good as coined by Thomas Rhymer plays out beautifully in fairy tales. Justice can be served in this genre through various means like using the deus ex machina, but the Eucatastrophes feel more realistic and probable. The deus ex machina worked for ancient drama or miracle tales where God intervened, and may not be relied upon for the modern audience, hence Tolkien chooses the Eucatastrophe which is used as a scaffold to bestow grace and deliverance. In a secondary (magical) world, the Eucatastrophe fits right in. The current work proposes to observe instances of Eucatastrophic occurrences throughout the seven parts Harry Potter series. These events are singled out and looked at closely to make observations. Instances from each of the seven books are picked and studied to get an impactful understanding of the concept.

Materials

The Harry Potter series is a crossover genre enjoyed by youngsters and adults. The series revolves around Harry who travels from the real world to a supernatural secondary world with magical creatures and learns to perform magic on learning he is a wizard. The seven books cover his journey and growth. For ease, the books’ titles are shorted and cited in the in-text references as follows: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is shortened to PS, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to CS, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to PA, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to GF, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to OP, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince to HBP, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to DH.

Methodology

An introduction is provided to grapple at the idea of Eucatastrophe. It is imperative to obtain a clear comprehension of the character of Harry Potter as he is central to the narrative and is also a major catalyst that helps understand the phenomenon. The story of Rowling’s septology is woven around him; and the Eucatastrophic occurrences take place in his presence or due to him. J.K. Rowling, the creator of the Potterverse, gives readers a healthy helping of Harry’s thoughts to strengthen their empathetic understanding of his acts. His is the only perspective that is justified throughout the series. The series darts between the omniscient narrator and the headspace of Harry, the protagonist: this is crucial because when one sees his perspective, one comprehends that he does the best with resources available to him. Most of the examples are drawn from the first and the last installments of the septology due to their relevance to the materialisation of the Eucatastrophe and its import. The paper uses textual analysis focusing on contextual understanding of the Eucatastrophe.

Analysis and discussion

Harry Potter, the protagonist of the series, is introduced to readers in the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as the young orphan boy taken into the Dursley household, but the Dursleys dislike him. The Dursleys care highly about making impressions and tag people with magical abilities as ‘freaks’, and are fearful of him inheriting magic. They hide Harry in a cupboard and pretend he does not exist, because he is not ‘normal’. He is bullied by their only son – Dudley. Harry is excluded at school owing to the fear generated by Dudley and his toadies: “At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley’s gang hated that odd Harry Potter ... nobody liked to disagree with Dudley’s gang” (Rowling, 1997, PS, p. 30).

Harry does make weird things happen, by mistake and not by will, or when he needs to escape. “The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn’t make them happen” (Rowling, 1997, PS, p. 23). He is not troublesome; he is hardly allowed to express his views. He is starved for love and is ignored. He gets scared of a good or normal day because he is sure there is an impending punishment. He is usually punished for complaints of Dudley, who is conditioned to dislike him.

When they go to the Reptile Section in the zoo, he feels bad for the snake in a glass enclosure as the Dursleys bang on its wall to get its attention. He sympathises with the snake: “He wouldn’t have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it ... worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom...” (Rowling, 1997, PS, p. 25). He does not complain. He magically sets it free without trying to; and gets into trouble for it afterward. Later, when Piers points out that Harry was talking to it, “Go – cupboard – stay – no meals” (Rowling, 1997, PS, p. 26), says Uncle Vernon to end the conversation, and locks him without food as punishment. His good day turns out disastrous as he thought it would. This is only a hunch which turns into reality for him. During his first year at Hogwarts, he feels awkward and fears that he may be sent back to live with the Dursleys.

When the admission letters (from Hogwarts) start coming for Harry, Harry wants to know who wrote to him and what about; because he knows no one. Harry is curious because they know where he stays, the address on the letter mentioned: “Cupboard under the Stairs”. The Dursleys move out of Privet Drive, despite the storm, just to escape the letters. Right about when Harry was giving up on his birthday, just at the stroke of midnight, Hagrid enters their hideout on the island and wishes him “a very happy birthday to yeh” with a homemade cake. He remarks about his looks “Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh’ve got yer mom’s eyes” (Rowling, 1997, PS, p. 47), and makes his day with the surprising announcement “Harry – yer a wizard” (Rowling, 1997, PS, p. 50). He even feeds Harry some sausages, and is shocked that Harry does not know of his parentage, magical abilities and answers all his questions. The Dursleys hate his questions which were difficult and his dreams which were strange due to his magical affiliation. The Dursleys try to stop Harry from asking questions (or learning from Hagrid) about his family, but they fail.

Hagrid comes with the Hogwarts admission letter proving to Harry that something wonderful is indeed about to happen to him. He goes on to enlighten Harry about the wizarding world and Hogwarts where magic is taught. He informs him about the murder of his parents at the hands of Voldemort, the darkest wizard of all times. And that he survived, as an infant, and was sent to be looked after by the Dursleys. Harry is astonished but happy with this twist, and he is brought home to the Magical world at the most unexpected moment imaginable. This cobbles his path for his adulthood, strengthening his character and eventually, and leads to his redemption. The teachers and the mysterious yet challenging environment of the school propel him forward to this goal. This is a Eucatastrophe where Harry wallows in his miseries on his birthday: expecting nothing good out of life; but Hagrid gets him a ticket to his freedom and self-discovery. Though the Eucatastrophe recurs throughout the series, there is no promise as to when it may occur; it is unexpected grace, a moment of sheer magic that cannot “be counted on”.

The loneliness that Harry experiences teach him empathy without turning him bitter, this sets him apart from those people who go through tough times only to turn bitter themselves – like Voldemort. Voldemort is a loner at the orphanage where he grows up, but he turns on fellow kids and hurts them, turning into a psychopath.

Harry takes help from Mrs. Weasley to get on to Platform nine and three-quarters. Ron joins him in the compartment during their ride on the Hogwarts Express, after which they talk about their respective families and worlds (Muggle and Magical). The moment Malfoy seeks out Harry for his fame and sneers at Ron’s family for their poverty, Harry takes Ron’s side. Subsequently, Malfoy insults Harry’s parents and warns him: “Unless you’re a bit politer you’ll go the same way as your parents. They didn’t know what was good for them, either” (Rowling, 1997, PS, p. 81). He also berates Ron’s parents and Hagrid calling them “riffraff. Harry and Ron fight back; they not only stand up for each other but forge a life-long friendship at this juncture.

Harry tries to retrieve a Remembrall from Malfoy and gets caught by Prof. McGonagall while speeding up into the air before taking a sharp dive and catching it (Rowling, 1997, PS, p. 110–111). Harry assumes that he is going to be expelled which is typical for his insecurity. Surprisingly, instead of a detention or expulsion he gets included into the Quidditch team of Gryffindor, as Prof. McGonagall’s pick as she sees his innate flair for flying. Dumbledore, his headmaster and mentor, gives him his “invisibility cloak” anonymously as a gift for Christmas, the night he finds the Mirror of the Erised. He is told that it was his father’s, and it becomes instrumental in many of his future wanderings or adventures (Rowling, 1997, PS, p. 148). Harry confides in his friends that Dumbledore would give them a chance to try their hand at undertakings which are dangerous or ‘beyond their limits’.

In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry is rescued in the eponymous Chamber by the Phoenix, (Fawkes, the phoenix that gave the wand core for both his and Voldemort’s wands) the moment he is attacked by the Basilisk after it plunges a poisonous fang in his arm. Nobody invites Fawkes; it comes of its own accord when Harry shows undying loyalty to her master and friend Dumbledore. The phoenix blinds the Basilisk and gets the Sorting hat. Harry is told by Dumbledore that “help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it” (Rowling, 1998, CS, p. 264). When he is about to be attacked by the Basilisk, Harry cries out for aid and does get it. ““Help me, help me,” Harry muttered wildly, “someone — anyone —” The snake’s tail whipped across the floor again... The basilisk had swept the Sorting Hat into Harry’s arms. Harry seized it” (Rowling,1998, CS, p. 319). So, the moment Harry asked for help, he receives it, from an unlikely source perchance. He draws the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting hat, which Tom deems as useless. Dumbledore always equips Harry and his friends to fight their own battles (Rowling, 1998, CS, p. 235). As Tom Riddle complains about Harry, saying that he is “Dumbledore’s man through and through”. Also the phoenix comes uninvited to the Chamber (perhaps at Dumbledore’s bidding) with the Sorting hat and saves Harry through its tears. He is poisoned by the rare basilisk’s venom, and luckily for Harry, phoenix’s tears are the only antidote.

Help arrives in the form of a time turner in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, where Hermione helps Harry save his Godfather by using her Time turner. The trio is depressed that Buckbeak is going to be executed for no solid reason except due to Malfoy’s tantrums. They go and give company to Hagrid, and soon after detect that Dumbledore hinted them to save Buckbeak along with Sirius. This is a Godsend because no one expected it to occur. Only Dumbledore, who could see the world with a very unique or quirky perspective, and would give second chances, is capable of inventing a plan to help both the victims who are framed as culprits (Sirius and Buckbeak – the hippogriff) to escape. As Dumbledore explains to Harry, Peter escaping that night is a blessing which helps Harry much later, as “When one wizard saves another wizard’s life, it creates a certain bond between them ... and I’m much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter” (Rowling, 1999, PA, p. 427); this act attains new-found meaning in the last part of the series where Peter helps Harry. Harry would be in a situation where he is literally at the mercy of Peter.

Furthermore, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry is given many opportunities to get things right in the last instant, though they were orchestrated by fake Moody (Crouch Jr.). At the Graveyard, Harry gets to flee for safety, only because the ghosts from Voldemort’s wand return to keep him at bay for some time. These ghosts or shadows of the people, who were murdered by Voldemort before, return to dumbfound him and give a breathing space to Harry for making an escape from the scene. Though Voldemort is a powerful wizard, he is scared of the people he has killed: “...Harry looked at Voldemort ... his wide red eyes were still shocked ... he had no more expected this than Harry had...” (Rowling, 2000, GF, p. 666). The moment of astonishment or shock and being unaware of the mysterious occurrence is of course an unexpected turn of events. It works, thankfully, in Harry’s favour. But Harry uses that opportunity to save his neck and return Cedric’s body to his father which is a risk. Cedric’s ghost requests Harry to take his body to his parents before breaking down completely. This attitude is what saves him many a time, coupled with his perseverance. The love of his dead parents also, especially his mother’s, guards him (not just in this specific instance) by enabling him untouchable by Voldemort. Voldemort makes the potion using Harry’s blood for making a body, and is able to touch Harry. This act deepens their bond, and turns to Harry’s favour much later.

In Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, Harry realises his strengths and faces Voldemort with help from many a friend or supporter. He loses his Godfather in the finale’s battle, but learns many lessons. He matures into an adult and makes his own decisions. Throughout this period, Voldemort tries to take over his mind later, he gives up completely because it is a physically painful process to possess Harry: Voldemort cannot feel emotions that Harry feels, and that takes a toll. Their connected minds give Harry a window into Voldemort’s moods, which helps him in his future missions. Harry teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts to a set of friends who form a group, and they swear secrecy, and name their group “Defense Association” or “Dumbledore’s Army”, with DA for short (Rowling, 2003, OP, p. 347). The name “Dumbledore’s Army” saves them when they are about to be punished violently by Prof. Umbridge, Dumbledore takes blame for the notoriety, but escapes from Hogwarts using his phoenix, Fawkes. Dumbledore explains to Harry the nature and extent of the sacrifice done by Lily for his sake. Lily does magic which is of the oldest kind by giving away her life for a loved one. The deep-rooted love lives on even after his mother is killed during that fateful night.

In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Harry and Voldemort do not meet. Dumbledore teaches Harry all he knows about Tom Riddle before he became Voldemort: to give him intimations into his thinking and habits. These classes map a psychoanalytical understanding of young Voldemort’s (Tom Riddle’s) mind – his ambition and resolve; and prove to be useful later; Harry guesses his moods and decisions accurately in the finale. The horcrux hunt becomes the final instruction given by Dumbledore. Harry gives the Liquid luck potion to his close friends who stand guard at the school because of his hunch about something bad that may befall that night and each of these friends nearly misses death or deflect fatal curses.

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Harry, Hermione and Ron start off with uncertainty and unease, but step forward with courage and determination. Harry is confused regarding his opinions about Dumbledore, whom he starts questioning. His friends are loyal to him; though there are occasional fall-outs. Ron leaves them before Christmas, for instance, but comes back with a bang and saves Harry and destroys a Horcrux (Rowling, 2007, DH, p. 300–302). This is the first of a trail of Eucatastrophes that happen in this narrative. Harry accurately guesses that he and Tom are related to the Peverell brothers (original owners of the powerful horcruxes), though Hermione and Ron think it is a highly far-fetched idea. Hermione goes upstairs in Batilda Bagshot’s home; otherwise his going alone would have proved to be a fatal decision, and a reinforcement of Harry’s predictable ideas (Rowling, 2007, DH, p. 279). His wand is nearly broken in the fight there, and he gets nightmares throughout that day, reliving the terrible night of his parents’ murders, which he sees from Voldemort’s mind (Rowling, 2007, DH, p. 280–282).

Malfoy refuses to identify Harry and co. at their Manor (Rowling, 2007, DH, p. 370–373); and the trio is tortured in the dungeons. Bellatrix’s fear at seeing the fake Sword of Gryffindor seeds the idea of something precious being saved in her vault at Gringotts (to Hermione). Harry’s defeating Malfoy at the Malfoy Manor turns out to be a great favour, making Harry the lawful owner of the Elder wand (Rowling, 2007, DH, p. 595). Peter cannot kill Harry and that moment of hesitation kills him, his enchanted hand is bewitched to detect his betrayal for Voldemort. Dobby saves Harry, going back on his word to him (Harry asks Dobby to never save his life) and becoming a martyr in the process. He is killed by Bellatrix, this sacrifice makes him decide to go after the Horcruxes and not the Hallows. On the night of the trio’s return to Hogwarts, Aberforth helps them to arrive at Hogwarts and reunite with old friends. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry realizes that the purpose of his life is to die willingly – he marches to meet his fate. As he submits to death at Voldemort’s hands, he encounters a choice: to opt between life and death, he chooses to live despite his pain: for helping those who love him and to save everyone from Voldemort. Harry gets to meet Dumbledore while making this choice. As usual, the wise man dishes out wisdom to Harry and promises that their meeting is “real” though it happens in Harry’s head (Rowling, 2007, DH, p. 579). Harry takes pity on the creature that Voldemort is to become in the future and he tries to help it. He gives up when Dumbledore says that it is beyond his aid (Rowling, 2007, DH, p. 566–567). Dumbledore recounts to him how Harry is the ideal person to unite the Deathly Hallows, because he would use them perfectly for what they are meant. (Rowling, 2007, DH, p. 577). Harry decides to keep only one of the three Hallows – the Invisibility Cloak (that when united would make him the conqueror of Death). The logic for getting or uniting the Hallows is similar to seeking the Philosopher’s stone from the Mirror of the Erised: the word ‘Erised’ which could be read as “desire” when reversed and the mirror shows one’s deepest desires. Harry gets them, only to discard two of them, breaking their power. He gets the Philosopher’s stone from the Mirror, since he does not “desire” it or will not misuse it.

Harry advises Tom (Voldemort’s former name) to repent as he understands repentance is the way to repair one’s soul: “It’s your one last chance,” said Harry, “it’s all you’ve got left... I’ve seen what you’ll be otherwise... Try for some remorse...” (Rowling, 2007, DH, p. 714). He implores and dares Tom to feel remorse for his actions, for which Tom only scoffs, he is not aware of the peril that awaits his soul. He is overconfident about his abilities and forgets his weakness – of not being able to understand emotions and sacrifice, this redeems Harry time and again. Harry defeats Tom in the wizarding duel and Voldemort dies on the spot.

Neville realizes his inner potential, takes on the role of a protector and finally makes his grandmother proud. Lupin, Tonks, Fred are martyred along with many others leaving the world a better place, knowing their love and sacrifice will be cherished by their families. This is a Eucatastrophe, because many lay their lives in hopes of a better future. Lupin is troubled about his son, but tries telling Harry “... but he will know why I died and I hope he will understand. I was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life” (Rowling, 2007, DH, p. 561).

Findings

When challenges are thrown, Harry shows his finest traits like courage, sacrifice, warmth and empathy. The instances from the text are chosen to highlight the situations and events which are filled with grace which is showered on him and his friends, when they need help dearly. Fawkes – the phoenix, the Sorting hat, the Sword of Gryffindor, Dobby, Dumbledore and other aides come to give him support because of his earnestness, loyalty, empathy and honour. These are idyllic traits that make the archetypal hero the “chosen one”.

The night of the battle is truly an arena of disillusion and self-realization to everyone fighting the war (within and without). Harry’s chief fear was his being similar to his parent’s murderer and the most-feared wizard of all time. He does fight his fears on the battlefront, he proves to be the “Chosen one” by standing up to his fears and by showing pity to an enemy. He understands that his Slytherin traits originate because he was a horcrux of Tom. In the end, during the duel, Harry tries to tell Tom to regret for his actions, for penitence may lead to grace, but Tom chooses damnation. Being the demonic, unhappy and power-blinded person, he fails to realize that Harry is trying to help and delivers himself to hell, losing his one go at mercy. The greatest way of avenging is by forgiveness. This is what Harry practices in the Battle of Hogwarts, in front of his friends and enemies; he forgives and does not employ the killing curse. He only disarms and wins the last Battle, and therefore the war. The Killing curse that annihilates Voldemort is cast by him and is only disarmed by Harry. It backfires as Harry is the lawful owner of the Elder wand, and it owes him its commitment. It is a Eucatastrophe because peace is brought about by Voldemort, who refuses defeat and denies truths constantly; he ends himself by refusing to listen to the wisdom, as it came from an enemy and because he does not want to heed it at all. Though many important people die, the story ends with a sense of completion and appeals to most readers. The punishment levied to the evil and rewarding the virtuous maybe a black and white division, in a sense, but the mode of Fairy tale operates in this very manner as it is simple and sets good and bad as water-tight compartments.

Harry gets to be a normal person at the end, in the epilogue, with his wish of having a family coming true. He marries Ginny and has three kids. Ron and Hermione have their happy family. Harry convinces his son to be happy in whatever house he is sorted into. This is a very mature idea, as it reflects his growth, in terms of broad-mindedness and a deeper understanding of magic in general. The Hogwarts express stands for new life, the choice of opening the story after seventeen years at King’s Cross is conscious. It is a representation of hope, happiness and bitter-sweet goodbyes that lead to the next stage in life. Harry confides in Albus Potter that the Sorting hat takes the opinion of the student, which soothes him. The non-verbal exchange between Harry and Draco Malfoy is another vital incident, where they nod and acknowledge each other. Though Harry and Draco have bad blood between them, they respect each other, learning to coexist peacefully. Harry promises his son that being in Slytherin is alright, as he is named after Severus, who once belonged to Slytherin, but is very brave (incidentally, Dumbledore feels students are sorted too early). They progress to a new world, which may not be perfect, but has a peaceful ambience to it. Seventeen years after the war, Harry’s scar does not hurt anymore, because the struggle is over.

Conclusion

The Eucatastrophic occurrences are tied together facilitating the good to win against the evil. Harry, the hero, is representative of virtue, as the series operates in the format of a Fantasy tale. Though the Eucatastrophes cannot be counted on, they save the day manifold times. Unlike the deus ex machina, which feel forced, eucatastrophes arise naturally from the setting of the story. They fit into the secondary realm of Harry Potter’s magically enhanced world with ease.

Case in point could be any of the instances picked from the books chosen for the paper. Many a miracle is manifested throughout the series: beginning from the letters reaching Harry wherever he went; Fawkes giving Harry the sorting hat; Sirius and Buckbeak surviving; Harry getting to escape Voldemort; and him as well as others surviving the killing curse multiple times. Some are caused vis а vis magic and others true sheer luck which may not be expected. The unexpected manner in which they take place compounds the fun and mystery of the fairy tale as such. The sacrifice of people for the sake of a better future is necessary for a peaceful world. Harry sacrifices himself to save his friends, but this gives them a protection from Voldemort. This works in the favour of survivors of the Battle of Hogwarts. These pivotal events add to the overall impact of the Eucatastrophe compounding the value of a fairy tale or fantasy.

About the authors

Swathi Metla

VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology

Author for correspondence.
Email: swathi_m@vnrvji.et
ORCID iD: 0009-0000-8139-1098

Assistant Professor of the Department of English

Pragathi Nagar, Nizampet, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500090, India

Yu. V. Sudha Devi

VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology

Email: sudhadevi_yv@vnrvji.et
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5618-7888

Assistant Professor of the Department of English

Pragathi Nagar, Nizampet, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500090, India

References