Harry Potter vs. Voldemort

As a follower of the famous psychologist Freud, Carl Jung developed his own theories about character; he felt that all human beings subconsciously belonged to a particular character pattern, or "archetype," which determined both personality and behavior. "Carolyn Pearson identifies twelve archetypes that are fairly easy to understand. These are the Innocent, the Orphan, the Warrior, the Caregiver, the Seeker, the Destroyer, the Lover, the Creator, the Ruler, the Magician, the Sage, and the Fool" (Something). All of these twelve archetypes can be easily identified within characters in literature, mythology, art, the media, and even people in modern day life. While Carolyn Pearson's list of various archetypes may seem rather long, Jung preferred to keep a shorter list, which included the persona archetype and the shadow archetype.

"The persona is a complicated system of relations between individual consciousness and society, fittingly enough a kind of mask, designed on the one hand to make a definite impression upon others, and, on the other, to conceal the true nature of the individual" (Something). Thus, the persona is the outward appearance of a person, displaying only what it wants seen by others, often creating false pretenses. Meanwhile, the shadow is almost the opposite and exhibits negative characteristics that we would rather not share with the outside world. "We first know the shadow as the personal unconscious in all that we abhor, deny and repress: power, greed, cruel and murderous thoughts, unacceptable impulses, morally and ethically wrong actions. All the demonic things by which human beings betray their inhumanity to other beings is shadow" (Something). It is important to note that the persona archetype cannot and will not exist without the shadow archetype and vice versa; this proves a well-known point that where there is good, there is always evil.

An underlying theme of the recently popularized "Harry Potter" series, written by J.K. Rowling, focuses on the eternal battle between good and evil; comparable to the persona and the shadow archetypes, the reader learns early on that there exists a strange, but undeniable link between the main character, Harry Potter and his nemesis, Lord Voldemort. While Harry Potter fits the characteristics of the Persona Archetype, Lord Voldemort acts as his subconscious Shadow Archetype, which manifests itself in various forms throughout the series.

Book One: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
The first book of this series focuses mainly on introducing characters and setting, while also beginning to develop the plot. Readers finally see the notoriously evil, Lord Voldemort, towards the end of the novel as he kneels in a clearing in the forbidden forest. "A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered…then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast" (256). During this scene, Harry's scar - given to him by Lord Voldemort in their first encounter - immediately hurts him, which reminds us of the connection between the two wizards. Another link is seen between Voldemort's "crawling," a childlike characteristic, and Harry's youth during his first year at Hogwarts. Additionally, we see Voldemort taking on characteristics of the shadow archetype. Not only does Voldemort show himself as a literal shadow, slithering through the forest, but also in this scene, he commits the ultimate evil by killing a pure and innocent unicorn. In contrast, as the persona archetype, Harry maintains his own purity and innocent good nature.

Soon after first revealing Voldemort's hooded image, the climax of the novel brings the reader face-to-face, so to speak, with Voldemort in the dungeons of Hogwarts. In this scene, Harry meets Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Quirrell, but "where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake" (293). At this point, it is revealed that Professor Quirrell has been serving the dark lord by housing Voldemort's soul within his own body, allowing Voldemort to survive. It is significant to note that here, Voldemort is first compared to a snake; snakes are a recognized symbol of the shadow archetype.

Most importantly, in these final scenes of the first novel, we see Harry and Voldemort doing battle for the sorcerer's stone, which would grant its owner eternal life. During this scene, as they gaze into the Mirror of Erised - a mirror that shows the viewer their greatest hopes being granted - Voldemort sees himself as a self-sufficient man, rising again to evil; meanwhile, Harry looks into the mirror and sees himself finding the stone and keeping it from Voldemort. Clearly, Voldemort wants the stone so that he may regain physical shape and live forever; Harry wants only to find the stone to stop Voldemort from completing his quest and coming to full power. Harry succeeds because he is pure of heart as the persona and does not want to use the stone, he only wants to have it; Voldemort fails because he is greedy as the shadow and wants to use the stone for his own selfish purposes.

Earlier in the novel, when Harry first locates the Mirror of Erised, he sees himself with his deceased parents, a distant dream that will never come to fruition. When Dumbledore learns of Harry's discovery, he warns him, "…this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible" (213). Dumbledore then proceeds to hide the mirror, which forces Harry - though he would have liked to stay in front of the mirror with his parents - to heed to his warning and not return to the mirror. Voldemort, however, saw himself in the mirror taking advantage of the stone and was instantly mesmerized, unable to focus on anything else. Thus, the mirror also demonstrates the strong link between Harry as the persona archetype and Voldemort as the shadow archetype.

Book Two: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The second book Rowling's series continues the saga of our persona hero, Harry Potter and again, the climax of the novel brings him face-to-face with Lord Voldemort. In this instance, Voldemort manifests himself in the memory of the teenage Tom Riddle, once a student at Hogwarts, and his diary. Additionally, he controls a large basilisk, which strengthens the shadow argument; snakes are a common symbol of the shadow.

During this meeting, Voldemort acknowledges similarities between himself and Harry, "'There are strange likenesses between us, after all. Even you must have noticed. Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike…'" (401). Of course, Voldemort's words are not surprising; it seems likely that the persona and the shadow would share some characteristics as they, like Harry and Voldemort, are undeniably linked. Both this quotation, as well as other blatant examples of the strong relationship between Voldemort and Harry, leads both the reader and Harry to wonder if he was placed in the correct house within Hogwarts.

Each house - Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw - has its own distinct characteristics and values; while Gryffindors are known for their bravery, Slytherins are known to be sly and clever, stopping at nothing in order to achieve their intended ends. Dumbledore, however, is quick to suppress Harry's worries:

You happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand-picked students. His own very rare gift, Parseltongue - resourcefulness - determination - a certain disregard for the rules…yet the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor…which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. (422)

The most important difference between Harry and Voldemort first shows itself in this scene and continues to evolve throughout the series. With all of their similar gifts, and characterizing the two sides of the persona archetype and the shadow archetype, Harry could easily have become the next Voldemort; yet, something prevents him from following that evil path. As Dumbledore says, "It is our choices…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities" and obviously, Harry has different ambitions and makes different decisions in order to maintain his persona of purity and goodness.

Book Four: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The fourth book of the series opens differently than any of the prior installments. Instead of immediately beginning at Privet Drive, the home of Harry's muggle relatives, we are introduced to the Riddle house where Lord Voldemort is apparently functioning and planning for his next evil attack. Cut to Privet Drive where Harry awakens with his infamous scar - given to him by Voldemort - causing him great pain; instantly, the reader is reminded of the undeniable link between Harry and Voldemort.
As Harry Potter the Goblet of Fire progresses, Rowling easily distracts her readers by introducing romantic interests for the growing students, as well as the Triwizard Tournament, in which a student from Hogwarts competes with students from different schools for glory and recognition. Unsurprisingly, Harry is chosen to represent Hogwarts in the tournament and must compete against the other students using his magic, skills, bravery and intellectual capabilities.

Voldemort's appearance, again at the climax of the novel, comes as no surprise. Tricked into following a Portkey in the last stage of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry and Cedric Diggory - a fellow Hogwarts student competing in the tournament - fall into the hands of Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Upon Voldemort's cruel and merciless order, Cedric is killed almost immediately, leaving Harry to watch in horror as Voldemort returns:

The thing Wormtail had been carrying had the shape of a crouched human child, except that Harry had never seen anything less like a child. It was hairless and scaly-looking, a dark, raw, reddish black. Its arms and legs were thin and feeble, and its face - no child alive ever had a face like that - flat and snakelike, with gleaming red eyes. (640)

For only a moment, we see Voldemort as helpless, weak, frail, and disgusting in appearance as Harry, too, sits helpless, confused and tied up at the mercy of Voldemort and his death eaters. "'B-blood of the enemy…forcibly taken…you will…resurrect your foe'" (642); using Harry's own blood, Voldemort rises to power once again.

Immediately following Voldemort's arrival, his Death Eaters return and listen to the story of his downfall and the torments he suffered in order to survive. In its most fundamental form, the shadow archetype's only concern is survival; similarly, following his fall from power, Voldemort was chiefly concerned with his continued existence.

Subsequently, Voldemort attempts to attack Harry, but with the worst killing curse known to the wizard world, Avada Kedavra.
A jet of green light issued from Voldemort's wand just as a jet of red light blasted from Harry's - they met in midair - and suddenly Harry's wand was vibrating as though an electric charge were surging through it; his hand seized up around it; he couldn't have released it if he'd wanted to - and a narrow beam of light connected the two wands, neither red nor green, but bright, deep gold…Voldemort's long white fingers too were gripping a wand that was shaking and vibrating. (663)

This dramatic clash between the wands - both made from the same phoenix tail - again demonstrates the powerful bond between Harry and Voldemort. Additionally, we see the Slytherin green jet of light from Voldemort's wand and the Gryffindor red jet from Harry's wand; the jets of light symbolize evil and good, as well as shadow and persona. The two jets of light create a golden light, then a golden web that encases the two powerful wizards and eventually emits Voldemort's past victims, including Harry's mother and father, as ghosts. Finally, we see Voldemort's past victims circling Voldemort and allowing Harry to escape; all of the individuals coming to Harry's rescue were once the persona archetype and victims of the this particular shadow, Voldemort. According to Carl Jung, "the archetype remains; the garments it dawns are those of its particular time and place" (Something). Naturally, each of the ghost persona archetypes appears to help fight Voldemort to the death and avenge past, personal failures.

In this fourth selection, Harry ought to be at the height of his glory, winning the Triwizard Tournament at such a young age and representing his school, but his achievement is blatantly overshadowed by Voldemort's return to strength and power; this is just one more example of Harry as representing the persona and Voldemort as the shadow.

Throughout these three books, which span four growing years at Hogwarts, Harry Potter meets Lord Voldemort on several occasions. Voldemort always appears as a dark figure, but usually weak, and Harry manages to thwart his evil attempts time and time again. Often, Voldemort is seen as a snake, with a snake, or representing a snake; as is aforementioned, the snake is a classic form for the shadow archetype. In the most recent installment within this series, we learn that "neither can live while the other survives," which further demonstrates the link between Harry and Voldemort. It also shows that eventually, Harry, the persona, will have to face and defeat his shadow, Voldemort, in order to survive.