Mothely Love: Annoying, But Saves Your Life!

            Mothers, I’m sure I’m not the only one who often feels annoyed by them.  They nag you, and say you can’t do this, can’t do that.  J.K. Rowling probably felt this way at times as well.  However, reading through the Harry Potter novels, we can tell how much she values the love and sacrifice of a mother.  In this series, a mother’s love is the most powerful magic of all.

                Harry Potter, the boy who lived, is who he is because of the sacrifice his mother made when he was just one year old.  His mom Lily stood between him and Voldemort, which gave Harry the protection to survive the killing curse and become famous throughout the wizarding world.  Lily’s sacrifice went on to protect him in Privet Drive till the age of 17.  No Death Eater or Voldemort could harm him as long as he called Privet Drive his home.

                In the final book of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we again see the power of a mother’s affection.  After Voldemort uses the killing curse on Harry in the forest, he sends Narcissa to check if he’s dead.  However all Narcissa cared for was reaching the castle to find her son Draco, so she lied to Voldemort, and corfirmed Potter dead.  Again it was a mother’s love that saved him.  A mother, whether a Death Eater or in the Order of the Phoenix, puts her child before everything else, even her own life.

                During the final battle we see another very motherly moment.  Through out the whole series Molly Weasley is represented as an ideal mother.  Her world revolves around her family.  She is the opposite of Bellatrix, who has no motherly qualities, and only thirsts for blood.  In the battle, when Bellatrix attacks Ginny, Molly becomes infuriated and yells, “Not my daughter, you bitch.”  This was one of the best dialogues in the series.  Molly soon kills Bellatrix, showing how fierce a mother can become to protect her child.  Molly defies the typical idea of a ‘housewife’ and goes on to kill Voldemort’s most powerful follower. 

                J.K. Rowling lost her mother at a fairly early age.  The affect of it seems to have rubbed off on her writing.  She appreciated a mother’s presence than most of us ever can.  A mother’s affection, sacrifice, and power is a key theme throughout the series.  A mother, who ever she may be, puts her child before anything and everything else.