JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series has often been chronicled as a modern-day phenomenon. The seven-book series has generated a huge fan base, resulting in eight high-grossing feature films, a West End production and five planned spin-off films. Aside from the original book cover for every Harry Potter book, there have even been new covers released for the franchise’s 20th anniversary. Despite the fact that the books were initially tailored for children and young adults, the Harry Potter series has captured the hearts of multiple generations. The accessible language and compelling storylines of the books meant that anybody could engage with them. The series ignited a passion for reading in millions of children and rekindled that same passion in many adults. However, whilst most of only read the tales of Hogwarts, Mary Pyle, a research student in Trinity’s School of English is delving deeper by asking: “What is it that is so important at an unconscious level in Harry Potter, that people respond to it?”. Her thesis, with a working title of Harry Potter and the Unconscious Dimension, aims to answer that question. Speaking to The University Times, Pyle spoke of her research and the inspiration behind her thesis.
As an avid reader, Pyle’s primary degree is in English and French, which she studied in Trinity: “English I always wanted to do because I always read, and it never occurred to me to do anything but.” But after reading a book on dreams and nightmares, Pyle was inspired to train and work as a psychoanalyst. She is a founding member of the Irish Institute for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (IIPP), was involved in the establishment of the MSc in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in Trinity and now works as a training analyst, supervisor and teacher on the programme.
I bought the Harry Potter books for my grandchildren, and then I got hooked – which is what happens to everybody
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It was not until Pyle bought the Harry Potter books for her grandchildren that she was inspired return to Trinity as a research student. “I bought the Harry Potter books for my grandchildren, and then I got hooked – which is what happens to everybody”, she explains. “My partner also liked them. We used to have great discussions as to what it was that appealed to adults and what appealed to us. I thought that would be something that I’d like to research. It could be quite fun.”
Harry Potter and the Unconscious Dimension will examine the unconscious response to literature and will channel the ideas of many 20th-century psychoanalysts such as Donald Winnicott and Melanie Klein. Explaining the format of her thesis, Pyle said that it will be divided by psychoanalytic topic. After first describing a psychoanalytic idea in detail, she will then find examples from the Harry Potter series that illustrate that particular idea. One such idea, she explains, will be Winnicott’s idea of “play”: “According to Winnicott, ‘play’ is the basis of pretty much everything we do.” She describes how, as children, we play with toys, however, as adults we “play” by sharing a “love of music, love of books, love of sport, love of anything. Something which is shared by at least two people in common is a way of playing.” The second half of Pyle’s thesis will be based on Winnicott’s work and will link this idea of “play” to how Rowling “plays with her readers”.
It is “quite a loss to see that this perfect person you are seeking isn’t there”
Pyle will also explore Klein’s psychoanalytic ideas in her thesis. “When a baby is born, according to Klein, it is always looking to see who is good, who is bad, who they can relate to and who they can trust”, she explains. From an early age, babies tend view people as either good or bad. “There is a splitting.” However, as humans are inherently a mixture of both good and bad, a baby will move into “the depressive position” and realise that “there is nobody out there who is absolutely perfect”. Pyle notes that it is “quite a loss to see that this perfect person you are seeking isn’t there”. This idea is particularly prevalent in fifth instalment of the series: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In The Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter discovers that his father bullied and tormented Professor Snape during their school years. He realises that his father “wasn’t that wonderful”. He was a “show-off”. Pyle explains how Harry was “really upset because this was taken away from him – this idealised father”. It is this specific upset she is analysing in her thesis: “I am looking at this kind of upset because it is something that we all go through at different stages. It comes back again and again.”
In her search to find the unconscious appeal of the Harry Potter series, Pyle is exploring the simplest possible appeal of all: the storyline. In her thesis, Pyle will explore the links between Joseph Campbell’s idea of the hero’s journey and the Harry Potter series. Pyle explains that, according to Campbell, a hero is “somebody who goes out from a community” to achieve something. He meets “various people along the way” and overcomes many obstacles. “There are tests. He risks his life”. In the end, “usually the hero comes back with some great advantage or boon he can offer to the community”. The story of the hero is evident across literature: “You find it in Beowulf. You find it in King Arthur. You find it in classical Ulysses. You find it in religious myths.” You also find it in the Harry Potter series. Harry’s journey spans seven books. In the end he “saves the world from Voldemort”. Does the story of the hero strengthen the series’ unconscious appeal? “We have always liked stories and myths. We have always liked adventure”, muses Pyle.
The description of the dementors is the best description of clinical depression that I have read outside the textbooks
One of the most chilling creatures in the Harry Potter series is no doubt the dementor. While most people view dementors as antagonists that Harry must defeat, Pyle is analysing the unconscious appeal of them: “The description of the dementors is the best description of clinical depression that I have read outside the textbooks.” She explains how often only people who have suffered with depression can recognise that fact. Dementors “suck out the soul” and “the will to live”. They are an embodiment of death itself. Pyle is also exploring how Rowling handles death across the series: “It is a topic that everybody has to face as young children. I see it with my youngest grandchild. He is now six.” Pyle explains how when children see dead animals, they are often forced to question whether or not their own parents will die. “It is there from the beginning of life”, she says.
When asked about the challenges she has faced since undertaking her research, Pyle admits that deciding how to write her thesis has been a significant obstacle, confessing that it took her “two years to find the right style to use”. However, the large volume of academic writing on the Harry Potter series has been a surprising aid: “When only the first three books had been published, collections of scholarly essays and other books about the series had begun to appear.” In fact, Pyle has discovered that Harry Potter modules are offered in 60 universities and colleges across the world – including Yale University and Durham University. Who knows, maybe a Harry Potter module could be on the cards for Trinity in the future?
For many Harry Potter enthusiasts, Pyle’s thesis is a dream thesis. With a wealth of psychoanalytic experience behind her, Pyle’s Harry Potter and the Unconscious Dimension will undoubtedly help us understand the psychoanalytic charm behind Rowling’s series. Perhaps we will finally know why the story of a young wizard left the world spellbound.
