J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series can be analyzed through Lee Edelman’s No Future—specifically his critique of reproductive futurism and the concept of the death drive. Edelman disrupts societal norms that center “The Child” as a symbol of hope and continuity, which lead to marginalizing identities that resist “The Child”. Basically, Harry’s role as “The Chosen One,” the series offers insights into the tension between legacy, sacrifice, and destruction.
The figment of “the Child” is one that centers conservative ideals that are protected in order to preserve hope for the future. A good example of this is the “don’t say gay’ bill in Florida that prevents anything about sexuality or gender being taught to children in order to preserve their “innocence” because queerness is inherently deviant.
Harry Potter epitomizes Edelman’s figure of the Child, embodying hope for the wizarding world’s future. Harry fills role as this “savior” which reinforces the expectation that children secure the continuation of society, AKA reproductive futurism. Additionally, themes of lineage and legacy are prevalent, from Voldemort’s obsession with pure-blood supremacy to Harry’s connection to his parents. The plot of the story of Harry Potter is investment in his survival in order to defeat Voldemort and have a stable future, a key critique Edelman levels against societal reliance on the child for redemption.
Harry Potter and the death drive:
It is in this sense tat the death drive, a Freudian tendency towards dissolution and destruction by Edelman, can be applied to the series as well. The cycles of violence, the losses, make a narrative that is destruction inclusive.
Despite his obsession with immortality, Voldemort represents an extreme embodiment of the death drive. His creation of Horcruxes or fragments his identity, mirroring the drive’s self-destructive tendencies. His quest for domination leads to widespread destruction, even as he seeks to perpetuate his existence. Ultimately, Voldemort’s refusal to accept mortality leads to his downfall, underlining the futility of denying life’s impermanence.
The Battle of Hogwarts is symbolic of the tension between the death drive and procreative futurism. While the destruction aligns with Edelman’s concept of the death drive, the narrative resolution reaffirms continuity: Voldemort’s defeat restores order, and the epilogue—focusing on Harry’s children—reiterates the centrality of legacy, the child as guarantor of a hopeful future.
Sum it up
Harry Potter is a series that generally follows procreative futurism, placing Harry as the savior who secures a future for his world. The series also contains elements of loss, destruction, and acceptance of mortality, which work in conversation with Edelman’s critique of linear futurity. By intertwining the death drive with the narrative focus on hope, Harry Potter does offer a complex interplay between creation and annihilation, raising questions about what the costs and limits might be of securing a future through the figure of the child.