Twenty years ago, this ridiculous string of words would have meant absolutely nothing. However, now, for a generation ‘which is still awaiting their Hogwarts’ letter despite being overage
LUMOS
Nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak!
Twenty years ago, this ridiculous string of words would have meant absolutely nothing. However, now, for a generation ‘which is still awaiting their Hogwarts’ letter despite being overage, they not only make perfect sense but also open a portal into the magical world of Harry Potter.
The Philosopher’s Stone, published in 1997, marked the beginning of a series that would go on to break all records set by previous bestsellers. Rising from humble beginnings, the Harry Potter series has become a global sensation leaving its author richer than the queen of England. The frenzy didn’t begin immediately but once it started there was no stopping it and sales soared to unprecedented heights. The books broke record after record, year after year until eventually the only records left to be broken by new releases were those set by its preceding books.
Rowling’s own rags-to-riches story is not any less magical than the world she created. She lost her mother to a degenerative disease at a point in her life when she was ‘as poor as possible in modern Britain without being homeless’. Her life, she realized, was devoid of all happiness and she found the emptiness within her to be worse than sorrow. Using this hollowness as basis for the creation of the soul-sucking Dementors in her books, Rowling started to build her empire from rock bottom.
One of her lasting regrets is to have kept the fact that she was writing a novel from her mother who would sadly not live to see her daughter’s success.
“If she hadn’t died, I don’t think it’s too strong to say that there wouldn’t be Harry Potter.”- Rowling
Rowling had started planning the seven books in considerable detail as early as 1990. The concluding chapter of the series was one of the earliest to be written; long before the first book was published!
Years of meticulous planning enabled Rowling to add subtle details to her earlier novels which foreshadowed events to follow in the later books. The statement in the first book which tells that Hagrid delivered baby Harry to his relatives on a motor bike borrowed from Sirius Black was skimmed over and largely forgotten by the community until Black enters the picture in the third book. Considering that Black is introduced as the murderer of Harry’s parents, the information revealed in a cunningly casual manner in the first book becomes much more significant. Discovering hidden gems like these makes re-reading the books a much more entertaining experience.
As a student of French, Latin and classics, she used her knowledge to create hundreds of references to mythology in her books. Additionally she used clever word play on classical Latin nomenclature as she created the names of spells, locations and witches and wizards. This is probably why many of the spells sound oddly familiar while not being entirely comprehensible. This unique blend of the familiar and the obscure creates a mystical aura around the magical words the spell casters utter.
Her style of naming her characters has caused a lot of interest to be created in the etymology of the series. Harry’s third year Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Remus Lupin’s name is a perfect example. The name Remus has its roots in Roman mythology as one of the human twins raised by the wolf Lupa. Lupin is word play on the Latin word for wolf ‘lupus’. Both names give a large hint to his true identity as a werewolf. The origins of another werewolf Fenrir Greyback’s name are set in Norse mythology.
Fans, of course, attempt to find meaning in every character’s name. While most references are not immediately obvious to the casual reader, many of HP’s fans cannot be termed as ordinary readers. Dedicated fans have researched the origin of names in great detail and compiled some very interesting information pertaining to etymology which is readily available online.
Some readers, as they comb through the books for hidden Easter eggs, read between the lines, which is where the conspiracy theories originate. Most of us have a love-hate relationship with conspiracy theories; admit it. They can be quite fascinating although sometimes morbidly so. Every now and then you stumble upon a conspiracy theory so absurd that it leaves your head spinning. These theories range from the ludicrous (Ron is Dumbledore, Professor McGonagal is a Death Eater, Crookshanks is Lily Potter) to the mildly amusing (Willy Wonka is George Weasley in an alternate universe). Equal parts entertaining and alarming, they do catch our attention and the most outrageous of these seem to serve as a challenge for fanfiction writers.
Fanfiction is legally a grey area. Many notable authors have vehemently protested against it. However, JK Rowling has publically given her blessings to fanfiction writers and claims to be flattered at the effort put in by them.
Readers who are emotionally invested in the Harry Potter world and the characters but unwilling to read fanfiction will find Pottermore to their interest. Pottermore is an online platform owned by JK Rowling who periodically releases previously withheld information on it. Not only is the website a source of validated and authentic insights into Harry, Hermione and Ron’s world long after their time at Hogwarts, but also a social network for potterheads. Like-minded individuals can interact with each other all the while being sorted into Houses, getting custom wands made, stirring mysterious potions and finding the shape of their Patronus.
The continued popularity of Harry Potter is testament to the fact that the concept of a hero facing the evil villain in a world of magic, mystery, friendships and love is a timeless one. Young minds will continue to be fascinated by the idea of having special powers like Harry. While the next generations will not be able to grow up with the cast of the movies, I believe they will grow with the characters and also begin their eternal wait for a certain letter of acceptance.
Fun facts
