Princess Archetype Essay

Katherine Thompson

EN 250

Dr. Schott

16 February 2023

A Study of the Princess Archetype in Harry Potter

For years, feminist theorists have studied gender roles in classic fairytales and more specifically, the princess archetype in these fairytales. This princess archetype ties into female stereotypes and is not just a recent trend. Women in these “classic” fairytales and even in the modern renditions of these stories are typically submissive to authority, take on stereotypical “motherly” roles, and described by their physical appearance before any other description. For instance, in one of the original versions of Cinderella published in the late 1500s and in the Disney film released in 1950, the heroine of the story is submissive to authority-

In America, feminism as a literary theory first became popular around the 19th and early 20th centuries when women’s right to vote became a popular political issue. Then, from around the 1960s to the 1980s, after World War Two was over, a second wave of feminism came when women started to push back against the aforementioned female stereotypes like the motherly role, rejecting traditionally feminine clothes as a sign of resistance. Then, beginning in about the 1990s, a third wave of feminism came when women started to question societal assumptions about sex and gender, celebrating their femininity rather than rejecting it (Harry Potter and Feminism, slide 3). These movements had a strong political basis, but also had roots in literature. While the dates and some core values of each of these waves are more specific to politics and literature in the United States and the American woman’s experience, there were global causes and effects of each of the three waves. The global causes can be traced back to these fairytales and the global effects can be seen in popular literature

Most of these similarities are not positive, and she is made fun of for her other redeeming qualities. In the first book of the series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, there is a scene where Ron makes fun of Hermione after performing well in their Charms class, and she runs to the bathroom on a forbidden floor of the castle. In the bathroom, she is attacked by a troll. Harry and Ron come to the rescue, defeating the troll, and saving Hermione. The scene is described in the books as, “Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand- not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: “Wingardium Leviosa!’” (Rowling, 176). After defeating the troll and getting to safety, Hermione lies to get Harry and Ron out of trouble, and then the boys are rewarded with points towards their house. In a scholarly piece on the princess archetype in Harry Potter, the author writes, “Hermione’s lie is ironic and persuasive because it is based on her well-known conceitedness. Yet, by inventing a convincing lie, she also acknowledges and repents her vanity” (Lin, 89). A common piece of fairytale literature that the article also points out is “’the subordination of female desire to male desire’” (Lin, 89). By lying to get Ron and Harry out of trouble, Hermione puts herself in this subordinate