Harry Potter, Psychoanalysis, and the Unconscious Dimension

Harry Potter, Psychoanalysis, and the Unconscious studies the Harry Potter series through the lens of psychoanalysis focusing on the importance of space and play between the Potterverse and its readers. Twenty-five years since the first Harry Potter novel was published the popularity of the series shows little sign of decreasing: theme parks develop around the world, as have interactive websites, and a plethora of academic papers and books have published around the world. Successive generations of children and their parents continue to read and enjoy these novels, their lively storytelling, complicated plots and attractive fictional characters with whom readers identify and for whom they care. From a psychoanalytical standpoint, it seems as though some aspect of this popularity must lie in the unconscious of the reader—which is what this book aims to explore.