Summary
- A mother’s love was pivotal in the Harry Potter series, from Lily’s sacrifice to Narcissa’s betrayal for Draco’s sake.
- Mothers like Molly Weasley, Petunia Dursley, and Andromeda Tonks played crucial roles in shaping their children’s paths.
- The theme of motherhood in Harry Potter explores sacrifice, jealousy, imperfection, desperation, grief, reformation, suppression, and deceit.
Mothers are critical to the themes of Harry Potter, and a handful of these characters made decisions that significantly impacted the story. While the protagonists of the popular fantasy series were children, and the central antagonist was an evil wizard, the battle of good and evil revolved around the actions of mothers. It was motherly love that set Harry up as the Chosen One, and the ignorance of such love that set Voldemort on his Dark path. Some mothers helped Harry along his journey, while others obscured his path. Regardless, they were the most important features of Harry Potter.
The catalyst of the story in Harry Potter was Lily Potter’s sacrifice, which ensured that Lord Voldemort wouldn’t be able to harm her son. While this was the most obvious way that a mother’s love saved the day, the series continued to take this further with other characters. Through her story, J.K. Rowling seemed to pose an intriguing question—just how powerful is a mother’s love? Molly Weasley, Petunia Dursley, Narcissa Malfoy, Merope Gaunt, and many more all aided in the exploration of these themes, with every mother of Harry Potter representing a different sort of love.
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8 Lily Potter
The Mother Of Sacrifice
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Lily Potter is the mother of all mothers in Harry Potter. The Dark Lord offered Lily her life if she stepped aside and allowed him to take her son, but she refused, demanding that he kill her instead. It was an act of pure, desperate sacrifice and love that enacted a powerful form of magic. The moment Lily died, Harry was protected from Voldemort. It’s for this reason that the Dark Lord’s Killing Curse rebounded that Halloween night. Lily’s sacrifice is also why Harry survived Voldemort’s Killing Curse again in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Beyond saving Harry’s life, Lily’s sacrifice also taught her son an important lesson. Harry didn’t grow up knowing his mother, but her love carried on in his very blood. This ensured that, despite all the cruelty that Harry went through under the care of the Dursleys, he remained pure of heart. It’s also because of Lily’s love that Harry was unaffected by the fragment of Voldemort’s soul that existed within him. His mother’s sacrifice ensured that he was protected in body, soul, and mind.
7 Petunia Dursley
The Mother Of Jealousy
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Petunia Dursley might have been Lily Potter’s sister, but they were very different. Still, the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows revealed that these two had once loved each other. Petunia resented her sister for her talent and hated the magical world for rejecting her great desire to be spirited away to Hogwarts. However, this isn’t to say she wasn’t capable of love. It’s clear in Harry Potter that Petunia loved her son Dudley Dursley very much, though the effect this had on the overall story was very different than Lily’s love for Harry—though nearly as important.
Through unexpected circumstances, Petunia found herself in the same position as her parents—with one magical child and one ordinary one.
Being raised in Lily’s shadow hurt Petunia deeply. Their parents were so proud of their younger daughter’s magical ability that they neglected the older. Through unexpected circumstances, Petunia found herself in the same position as her parents—with one magical child and one ordinary one. She would have been determined to ensure that Dudley didn’t grow up feeling the way she had, so she showered him with affection while ignoring her magical nephew. While technically an act of motherly love, it was a cruel overcompensation that had a significant and negative impact on both boys.
6 Molly Weasley
The Mother Of Imperfection
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Lily didn’t have the opportunity to raise her son, but Molly Weasley tried her best to make up for it. She did all she could to ensure he had love, safety, and nutrition, looking out for Harry when others consistently placed him in danger. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry was rattled to hear Mrs. Weasley call him “as good as” her son. He was again filled with affection and appreciation when she gave him a golden watch for his 17th birthday—a tradition for mothers and sons in the wizarding world. Still, Molly wasn’t perfect.
Molly represented the imperfect mother in Harry Potter. She always did her best, but it was difficult for her to make all the right decisions when it came to her seven children (plus Harry). She favored the more successful of her sons and criticized Fred and George endlessly. Molly also doted on her daughter, and this favoritism left Ron feeling constantly overlooked. It’s interesting to consider how Molly’s individual treatment of each child impacted their story, but the overall takeaway here is that her intentions were always good, and her love ensured that everyone’s outcomes were, too.
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5 Narcissa Malfoy
The Mother Of Desperation
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For most of Harry Potter, Narcissa Malfoy seemed simply despicable. In the books, it’s said that she constantly looked like she was smelling something horrible, and Draco’s entitlement reflected the woman’s parenting. She was proudly married to a Death Eater and was herself loyal to the Dark Lord. However, Narcissa’s story reveals that her love for Draco superseded her loyalty to anyone else—whether that be her husband, sister, or master.
Narcissa becomes so desperate to save Draco in Harry Potter that she betrays Voldemort. First, she went against the Dark Lord’s wishes to recruit Severus Snape to protect her son. Then, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Narcissa lies to Voldemort, telling him that Harry is dead when she finds out he isn’t. She had no love for the Boy Who Lived, but she knew that this was the only way to get to her son. Narcissa no longer cared if Voldemort lost, so long as her son lived. Not only did this save Harry’s life, but it’s implied in Harry Potter that Narcissa’s love was the only reason Draco’s soul didn’t turn completely black.
4 Augusta Longbottom
The Mother Of Greif
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Augusta Longbottom is an often overlooked mother (and grandmother) of Harry Potter—likely because she was cut from the movies. However, there is a lot to be learned from her story. Augusta was the mother of Frank Longbottom, Neville’s father. The man had been an accomplished Auror and powerful wizard of whom Augusta was deeply proud. Tragically
Frank and his wife, Alice, were tortured to the point of insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange, Barty Crouch Jr., and other Death Eaters. Though they survived, they spent the rest of their lives in St. Mungo’s Hospital.
Augusta’s grief was so profound that Neville was crushed under it, never able to amount to Frank’s memory in her eyes.
A young Neville Longbottom was left in Augusta’s care, but the woman struggled to let go of the memory of her son. She was determined to make Neville just like Frank, perhaps even hoping to replace one with the other. She even gave Neville Frank’s wand and allowed the boy to be held upside down out a window to force him into displaying magic. Augusta’s grief was so profound that Neville was crushed under it, never able to amount to Frank’s memory in her eyes. Ultimately, Neville proved that he was a powerful wizard all his own despite the pressures of Augusta’s love for her son.
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Neville’s ability to perform magic was greatly improved when he had his own wand, indicating that Augusta’s determination for him to be like Frank was what held him back.
3 Andromeda Tonks
The Mother Of Reformation
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Andromeda Tonks was raised as a member of the Ancient House of Black and was a sister to Dark witches Narcissa and Bellatrix. The Blacks were known for pure-blood ideology, which is why many, including Bellatrix and Narcissa, went on to follow Lord Voldemort. However, Andromeda was one of the few who turned her back on her family, choosing to marry a Muggle-born named Ted Tonks. Andromeda and Ted’s daughter, Nyphadora (AKA Tonks), went on to become an Auror, ironically tasked with taking down the Dark witches and wizards her mother had once called family.
The Black sisters’ history is something of a mystery in Harry Potter. However, it’s clear Andromeda couldn’t entirely leave her past behind despite her reformation. The stain that was Black family ideology came back to bite her, with Bellatrix especially determined to tear Andromeda’s newly constructed world apart. Unfortunately, both Ted and Nyphadora were killed in the Second Wizarding War. However, little Teddy Lupin, Tonks and Remus’ son, was left in her care. Teddy was the very symbol of what the forces of good had been fighting for, and Andromeda was there to love him for her daughter in a reformed world.
2 Kendra Dumbledore
The Mother Of Suppression
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Kendra Dumbledore, the mother of Albus, Aberforth, and Adriana, was another well-intended woman who gave up just about everything for her family’s safety. She and her husband, Percival Dumbledore, initially lived in a Muggle community until their youngest daughter was viciously attacked when a group of boys saw her using magic. Percival took revenge on these Muggles and was subsequently sent to Azkaban Prison, where he eventually died. Suddenly a single mother, Kendra moved her family to Godric’s Hallow, a predominantly magical community.
Kendra did her best, but she was ultimately ill-equipped to handle the trauma that Adriana suffered following her assault. She kept the girl hidden away since Adriana had become so fearful of her powers that she attempted to suppress them. Kendra’s efforts to keep anyone from finding out the truth about her daughter compounded the issue, and Adriana became an Obscurial. Her explosive power eventually led to Kendra’s death—an event that significantly shaped Albus Dumbledore’s future and, by extension, Harry’s.
1 Merope Gaunt
The Mother Of Deceit
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Harry Potter‘s Merope Gaunt was a tragic figure who never learned what it meant to be properly loved. She was born into an ancient and pure wizarding house, and her father, Marvolo Gaunt, was proud of this despite their poverty. Merope was horribly abused by her father and brother (Morfin), and this only grew worse when she fell in love with a local, wealthy Muggle man, Tom Riddle. Once her abusive family was sent to Azkaban, Merope finally had a chance to choose a life for herself. However, rather than starting anew, she tricked Riddle into marrying her by sneaking him a love potion.
Merope’s deceit lasted until she became pregnant and stopped administering the love potion to her husband. Riddle left her immediately, leaving Merope heartbroken. She died in childbirth at a London orphanage, living only long enough to name her son after the husband and father who never truly loved her. Tom Marvolo Riddle, the son of a woman who had only known love through deception, eventually became Lord Voldemort, the villain of Harry Potter who simply couldn’t understand the power of a mother’s sacrifice.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a multimedia franchise about an orphaned boy who enrolls at Hogwarts School of Wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family, and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world. Adapted from the novels, Harry Potter is an eight-episode film saga that follows the journey of Harry Potter and his friends, Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley, as they navigate the tricky world of growing up, school life, and magic. Starting from year one and moving to their seventh year, the films chronicle the students’ time at Hogwarts while unfurling a sinister plot that centers around the unsuspecting Harry. With the return of the dark wizard, Voldemort, the students and professors at Hogwarts will fight to carry on as the world around them may change forever. Harry Potter has expanded beyond the world of its films and novels with several video games, a spin-off film series titled Fantastic Beasts, and even attractions at Universal Studios.
Created by J.K. Rowling First Film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone First TV Show Harry Potter Cast Daniel Radcliffe , Emma Watson , Rupert Grint , Tom Felton , Alan Rickman , Matthew Lewis , Bonnie Wright , Evanna Lynch , Maggie Smith , Michael Gambon , Richard Harris , Ralph Fiennes , Helena Bonham Carter , Alfred Enoch , Harry Melling , Gary Oldman , Robert Pattinson , Warwick Davis , Oliver Phelps , James Phelps , David Bradley , David Thewlis , Katie Leung , Jason Isaacs , Imelda Staunton , David Tennant , Jamie Campbell Bower , Timothy Spall , Robbie Coltrane , Eddie Redmayne , Jude Law , Katherine Waterston , Ezra Miller , Dan Fogler , Alison Sudol , Johnny Depp , Mads Mikkelsen TV Show(s) Harry Potter Character(s) Harry Potter , Hermione Granger , Ron Weasley , Dumbledore , Minerva McGonagall , Rubeus Hagrid , Dobby the House Elf , Draco Malfoy , Sirius Black , Ginny Weasley , Voldemort Expand
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