On The Self-construction Of Harry Potter And Voldemort From The Perspective Of Lacanianism

The Harry Potter series is the representative work of J.K.Rowling,the famous British writer.This series has received considerable attention from many scholars who analyze the work and study the characters in the series from different perspectives.Drawing heavily from the Subject Theory of Lacanian psychoanalysis,this thesis sets out to analyze the trauma suffered by Harry and Voldemort,their respective Oedipus complex,as well as the ―other‖ around them.The author aims to find the reasons for their success or failure in self-construction and provide some reference to how to face the psychological dilemma of self-construction.Finally,the author tries to give some advice to the self-construction of modern people.This thesis is divided into five parts: Introduction,three body chapters and Conclusion.Introduction firstly gives a brief summary of J.K.Rowling‘s life,some information of the series,and the critical history of Harry Potter.It then surveys relevant criticisms of the novel at home and abroad,and explains the critical perspective and theory to be adopted by the present research.Chapter One discusses the traumatic experience of Harry Potter and Voldemort.When Harry faces trauma,his parents play a positive role in the repetition of his trauma,and help him construct his self successfully.Voldemort,on the one hand,creates a fantasy,Lord Voldemort,for his trauma,which causes his failure in entering the symbolic order and in self-construction.Chapter Two analyzes the effect of the Oedipus complex in the self-construction of Harry Potter and Voldemort.Harry does not identify with Voldemort,the compensatory father;instead,he identifies with his own father.Therefore,he ends his Oedipus complex successfully.On the contrary,Voldemort cannot identify with his father at all.His hatred for his father and admiration for the blood of his mother cause him to go to extremes in his self-construction and become the formidable dark Lord.Chapter Three focuses on the role of the ―other‖ in Harry Potter‘s and Voldemort‘s self-construction.The identification of other wizards in the wizarding world makes Harry realize and take his responsibility,further helping him to complete his self-construction.On the contrary,those ―others‖ around Voldemort do not play any conducive role in his self-construction.They can never help him realize himself nor identify with him,which dooms his self-construction.In Conclusion,the author sums up the reasons why the two major characters succeed or fail in self-construction.Some reference to the psychological dilemma and self-construction of modern people are also provided.