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[Abstract] Harry Potter series inherit English tradition of literature and culture and are deeply rooted in reality. They absorb Rowling’s own life and emotional experience and have the historical and cultural background of society. In her works， the universality of subject， content and emotion has endowed the works with vivid archetype feature. We can say that the success of works depends on eternal glamour of archetype. This thesis makes a trial interpretation of Harry Potter on level of myth archetype.

[Key Words] Harry Potter; Archetypal Criticism; Dual World; Hero Archetype

Archetypal criticism emerges in the 1930s， subsequently develops in the 1950s and 1960s. The word Archetype is from the Greek archi， or beginning， and typos， or imprint. Jung in 1930s and 1940s developed a theory of archetypes out of it and gives more direct theoretical justification of archetypal criticism. Frye applied Jung’s concept of archetype in psychological field to his literary criticism and proposed a whole system of literary archetypal criticism in the 1950s. Frye states that archetype is “the communicable unit which recurs again and again in literatures”. They can be “a literary symbol， or cluster of symbols， which are used recumbently throughout literature and thereby become conventional”.

I. The Archetype of Dual World

Different from Rowling’s predecessors in Britain， the modern fairy tale full of fantasy took deep root in the reality by Rowling. In Harry Potter， the magic world and the reality world are in complete harmony， exist in union and have no obviously boundaries and overgreat differences; only the person with magic ability has the insight of finding the magic world and enters the world of wizards. Rowling came from Scottish， set a background of Scottish for her story. Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft Harry is in is described as a boarding school located in the buildings of old castles. The boarding schools are usual places in British literature works; Rowling said that it was necessary to describe Hogwarts as a boarding school; thus， persons can be endowed with freedom. Various westward schools with mystery， such as School of Judah Law， provided magic archetypes for Hogwarts. Harry’s all romances mainly occurred in the space which is relatively close， but it is free; everything occurred in the campus of Hogwarts makes persons with the same life history， adults or children， feel kind， shortens the distance between the fantasy and the reality and makes Harry’s growing stories more real and perceptible.

II. The Archetypal Hero

Harry is， himself， a classic archetypal hero， and understanding his archetypal forebearers will explain much of his appeal to young readers who identify with the pleasures and perils of heroism better than most people. Hero archetype appears in literary works as an important myth motif. It has a non-replaceable effect in the significance of meeting the desire of the human soul and represents human spiritual pursuit. Rowling has made a replacement and transformation for the old archetype in her created fantasy world to remodel a fairytale hero to shocks the soul of readers and make the long-hidden hero spirit released once again. Harry Potter emerges as the times require. In magic world， he has nothing better than others as an ordinary baby. Voldemort chose him as his Opponent according to a so-called prediction and labeled him as a strong enemy. The death of his mother endowed him with magic strength to defeat Voldemort. The careful protection and cultivation of Dumbledore in magic world made him gradually grow into a young wizard who shoulders great burdens. At last， he made his own choice due to his decisive will to revenge for his parents and root out evil， instead of will and hope of others and hint of that prediction. He is the hero representative with free will who is chosen in times and makes his own choice.

III. Conclusion

Rowling made reproduction of people and society to some extent in her works. Harry Potter series generally inject new energy to modern social life， literature and culture， with spirituality and vigor of children， child literature and archetype. As the trial that modern people seek for road of spiritual recurrence， they have the meaning of spiritual enlightenment and cultural return.

References

[1]Colbert， David. The Magic World of Harry Potter[M]. Arrangement with Writers House INC. USA，2001.

[2]Rowling， J.K..Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone[M]. London: Bloomsbury， 1997. New York: Scholastic Press， 1997.