Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is almost the most discussed of the Potterian book series. But the mass of fans do not consider it a full-fledged continuation of the previous novels, but only a fan’s version.
What the book is about
The work is written as a play, the text of which is given in two parts. The work tells of the adventures of beloved main characters 19 years after the events described in the last novel in the series of Potteriana.
Harry is no longer a Hogwarts apprentice-boy, but an employee of the Ministry of Magic, a model husband, and a father of three children. He is still haunted by the past, and his young son Albus helps “fight the burden of the family legacy.”
Readers will be transported back to Hogwarts, meet many beloved characters, and learn spells by heart. Something is not quite right here, however. In previous books, the author paid a lot of attention to description and detail, and readers were immersed in the magical world head-on. Here it is already implied that readers know everything about Hogwarts, and it is only necessary to mention a certain place and an image will arise in their heads.
The book differs from its predecessors both in format and in who it was written for. “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is more of a work for adults, although the main characters there are children. Joan Rowling probably had this in mind and wanted to write something for those who grew up with Harry and his company and show how he became an adult? The book is actually very psychological, and fans of delving into the characters will find rich ground here.
The plot boils down to the main problems of teenagers and their parents, their misunderstanding of each other.
The point of the book
The book tells us that a man can overcome many things: failures, prophecies, mistakes, his own weaknesses, spells, and even death itself. All the power is in the magic that is not outside, but inside. The heroes’ new triumph over evil is paired with their difficult victories over themselves.
The idea is not new at all, but it hasn’t gotten any worse over time.
Book Analysis
This play is a continuation of the Potterian storyline. It recounts the mishaps that happen to Harry Potter’s son Albus and his buddy Scorpius Malfoy, Draco’s son.
The script was not written by Rowling herself, but by Jack Thorne. But Rowling developed the plot in part with Thorne and another co-writer (the play’s director, John Tiffanni). That’s how the book came to be.
The story of the book’s creation
The day before the book went on sale, the play of the same name premiered in London. The book itself was a new chapter in the history of Harry – along with the main characters, the reader is carried forward 19 years, in our time.
The release of the work is owed to the activist fans, who inundated Rowling with letters requesting help for those who do not have the opportunity to see the play in London.
The meaning of the book’s title
The narrative is about the conflict of fathers and children (Albus Severus Potter versus Harry Potter, Voldemort’s daughter versus the Dark Lord, Scorpius Malfoy versus his family’s bad reputation).
The Hogwarts seasons are the favorite child of their creators, but undoubtedly a terrible curse hangs over them.
The Problematics of the Book
The work cannot be taken as part of the canon because:
– The archetypes are destroyed; Harry Potter is overflowing with primordial imagery, and this makes for an enriched character system, making it fuller and more interesting. The main most common Potterian pattern is maternal. Through the entire cycle of novels, this archetype runs red through. Lily Molly exemplifies the self-sacrifice of a woman with a huge heart who replaced Harry as his mother;
– the principle of the time flywheel seems strange; the guys do everything to save the hippogriff from execution; Lupin, intent on attacking their previous versions, is distracted, and Harry lets the Patronus go and reveals himself to himself from the past; this doesn’t change the story, because at the time the flywheel spins, all these changes have already taken place;
– the character system sags: the work portrays Harry as a dull and shy clerk, Draco seems horrible to be like his father, and the Witch with the cart turns into a horrible monster; the characters have changed a lot in two decades, but some nuances are still not subject to transformation – for example, temperament and memories from his childhood.
What the book teaches
It talks about the most important things in the world: kindness, friendship, mutual support, courage, and love. It teaches readers to take responsibility for their actions, shows that adults are not always right, that people, regardless of their status, can make mistakes, and that even pure intentions do not always turn out to be something good.
Explanation of the book’s ending
The fact that Volana de Morta has a daughter, Delphie, makes one ponder how the most famous and sinister wizard in history has lived all along. The reader learns that the appearance of the “cursed child” is to be “thanked” for the Dark Lord’s association with … Bellatrix Lestrange. It is possible that she was so loyal to the ruler that she did not even shrink from cheating on her beloved spouse, but how did she find the time to do it? Based on the above, the happy mother gave birth to a baby girl right before the battle for Hogwarts – and immediately set out to meet her death.
Albus transforms into Ron Weasley (through a reversible potion) and suggests that Hermione “make another baby.
There are many formalities in the work. Even though Rowling did not position the book as a novel, it is still important to follow all the established criteria. Fans of her work are used to the explanation of the actions of the characters and events. And all of a sudden they learn that the Dark Lord has a quite mature daughter, who has wanted revenge for many years, who followed Harry and Albus, although from birth she is endowed with amazing abilities, which in power overlap even the power of the Dark Lord.
Strangely, Albus and Scorpius resurrected only Cedric Diggory and not all the remaining dead “in the name of Harry Potter.”
Rowling does not shy away from breaking her own laws. If it is appropriate to ignore all of the above in awe of the “new Harry Potter comeback book,” Rowling’s violation of her own magical criteria is truly offensive to readers. Young Albus and Scorpius boldly use magic outside the walls of Hogwarts, and the Ministry of Magic remains ignorant. Albus is forbidden to visit Hogsmeade, but he has no problem visiting it. Scorpius is somehow discovered in the Ministry of Magic. Rowling blatantly violates personal criteria when applying the time flywheels. Suddenly it turns out that the narrative quite realistically changes any not insignificant events.
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” sadly states how important it is to tell yourself “stop” in time. Joan Rowling’s work has been admired for 20 years by adults and children on every continent. Now she evokes sympathy. Perhaps her talent has exhausted itself.
Obviously, it is not easy to part with beloved characters. But through her books, Joan K. Rowling has explained to readers that pain and trials are part and parcel of our lives that simply must be dealt with. To herself, apparently, for some reason, this recommendation does not apply.
