Folktale Structure as the Key to the Success of the Harry Potter Series

Folktale Structure as the Key to the Success of the Harry

Potter Series

Dr. Joel Hunter

Southwest Popular Culture and Amercian Culture Association

February 2013

Rank each book in the series on a scale from 1 - 7, with 1 (one) being your LEAST favorite book in the series and 7 (seven) being your favorite.

―Philosopher's Stone

―Chamber of Secrets

―Prisoner of Azkaban

―Goblet of Fire

―Order of the Phoenix

―Half-Blood Prince

―Deathly Hallows

7—Deathly Hallows

6—Prisoner of Azkaban

5—Half-Blood Prince

4—Goblet of Fire

3—Order of the Phoenix

2—Philosopher's Stone

1—Chamber of Secrets

Aesthetic Satisfaction

Aesthetic SatisfactionMean of Each Book in the Harry Potter Series

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

5.5

6.0

Stone Chamber Prisoner Goblet Order Prince Hallows

Me

an

Aesthetic SatisfactionMode of Each Book in the Harry Potter Series

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Stone Chamber Prisoner Goblet Order Prince Hallows

Mo

de

Deathly Hallows

Prisoner of Azkaban

Half-Blood Prince

Goblet of Fire

Order of the Phoenix

Philosopher's Stone

Chamber of Secrets

Deathly Hallows

Prisoner of Azkaban

Half-Blood Prince

Goblet of Fire

Philosopher's Stone

Order of the Phoenix

Chamber of Secrets

Rank of Aesthetic Satisfaction

by mean— by mode—

Deathly Hallows

Prisoner of Azkaban

Half-Blood Prince

Goblet of Fire

Order of the Phoenix

Philosopher's Stone

Chamber of Secrets

Deathly Hallows

Prisoner of Azkaban

Half-Blood Prince

Goblet of Fire

Philosopher's Stone

Order of the Phoenix

Chamber of Secrets

Rank of Aesthetic Satisfaction

by mean— by mode—

The Old Question

Why has the Harry Potter series of books been so popular?

A Different Question

What accounts for the range of readers’ aesthetic satisfaction with the particular books in the series?

The Hypothesis

The aesthetic satisfaction with the particular books in the series is correlated to the story’s concordance with a fairy tale narrative structure.

Narrative Structure

Vladimir Propp(1895-1970)

1928Trans. 1958 (English)2d Ed. 1968

Propp’s Functions of the Dramatis Personae

(handout)

Example: Scheme for “The Three Bears”

Number Symbol Function Name Description Group

α Initial SituationThree Bears live together in a house in the woods.

They each have a porridge bowl, a chair and a bed.

1 β Absentation The Three Bears go for a walk in the woods

2 γ Interdiction

3 δ Violation

4 εReconnaissance

The Old Woman comes to the Three Bears' home, looks in the

window, and peeps in the keyhole

5 ζ Delivery The Old Woman discovers that the Three Bears are not at home

6 η Trickery

7 θ Complicity

8 AVillainy

The Old Woman eats Wee Bear's porridge, breaks his chair, and

sleeps in his bed

8a a Lack

9 B

Mediation

The Connective

Incident

The Three Bears return home;

Wee Bear finds the Old Woman in his bed

10 C

Beginning

Counteraction

16 H Struggle

17 J Branding, Marking

18 I Victory

19 K Misfortune Liquidated The Old Woman wakes, jumps from the window, and runs away

Pre

para

tion

Com

pli

cati

on

Con

flic

t

Symbolized Schemefor “The Three Bears”

α β ε ζ A B K

Symbolized Schemefor Chamber of Secrets

γ δ α β ε ζ η θ A B C ↑ D E F

γ δ ε ζ A B C ↑ D E F G F* H J I K ↓ L M N Q Ex T U W

ε ζ η θ

Symbolized Schemefor Prisoner of Azkaban

< γ δ ε ζ η θ A B C ↑ > < D E F G > Q Ex T U W

I K ↓ Pr Rs

α β γ δ ε ζ A A C G H J M N

D E F

Symbolized Schemefor Deathly Hallows

γ δ

α β a D a B C ↑ G H J ↓

γ δ C ↑ D E F G H J I K ↓ ↑ E F G A B C ↑ D E F G

0 ↑ D E F G H J I K ↓

a B C ↑ D E F G H J I K ↓ Pr Rs

B C ↑ D E F G

B C D E F G H J I K ↓

B C ↑ D E F G 0

D E F G H J I K ↓ Pr Rs o L M N Q Ex T W

β

“The scheme is a measuring

unit for individual tales. Just

as cloth can be measured with

a yardstick to determine its

length, tales may be

measured by the scheme and thereby defined.” (Morphology, 65)

Material Measuring QuantityDevice

Cloth Yardstick Length

Tale Scheme ?

Three Measurements of Fairy Tale Structure

Incongruity

Violations of Function Relationships

Creative Exploitation of Function Relationships

Concordance and Discordance

Incongruity

Violations of Function Relationships

Creative Exploitation of Function Relationships

Deathly Hallows and Prisoner of Azkaban

Order of the Phoenix and Philosopher’s Stone

Chamber of Secrets and Order of the Phoenix

Hypothesis Confirmed

The aesthetic satisfaction with any particular book in the Harry Potter series positively correlates to the book’s fairy tale structure as enumerated inPropp’s system of 31 functions.

But…

The quantities defined and “measured” by the scheme were created expressly for the study in which they were used.

They need to be independently validated!

What’s Next?

Generalize the results

Predict the structure of an unfinished series

• Cross-series comparisons

• Analyze other story forms

Validate the model

• Analyze other books and series

• Predict aesthetic satisfaction