The World isn’t Split into Good People and Death Eaters: Exploring the Ambiguities of Alchemy, Immortality, Morality, and Choice in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series

Abstract

In this Master’s paper, I am exploring the ambiguous intersection between alchemy and immortality in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, especially where choice and morality complicate Rowling’s depiction of the means to immortality and those who seek, or choose not to seek, it. Rowling’s series seems to suggest that the quest for immortality is destructive, but there are also instances of successful alchemical practices within Potter. My focus will be on the means to immortality Rowling introduces, as well as the way in which Rowling portrays the moral implications of choosing to pursue immortality when the ambiguities of alchemical practices and receptions are considered alongside Rowling’s series. I argue that Rowling suggests that there is only ambiguity in the search for immortality, and that means the products of the search for immortality are also ambiguous, as is the morality of choosing the pursuit.