Intersectionality and the hidden patriarchy in Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Atik Qothrunnada, Imas Istiani

Abstract


This study explores intersectional identities in female characters to investigate hidden patriarchy in Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This study aims to explore the intersectional identities of female characters and how they expose the hidden patriarchal structures within the narrative. Using a qualitative descriptive approach with textual analysis applied to selected female characters as primary data, this study used Crenshaw’s intersectional feminist lens to explore how overlapping identities affect equality in society. The findings of this study uncover the female characters only function as supporters, enforcers, or extensions of male authority. It highlights that the female characters experience overlapping oppression and are positioned in a male-dominated hierarchy. The conclusion of this study proves that the existence of hidden patriarchy in the narrative is revealed through the lens of intersectionality which clarifies gender-based boundaries. It is recommended that further discussions and critical analyses be conducted to challenge patriarchal narratives in popular literature, as literary representations continue to reflect and reinforce societal norms.


Keywords


Harry Potter; intersectionality; patriarchy; popular literature

Full Text:

PDF

References


Adhikary, R. P. (2020). Women under Patriarchy: A Postcolonial Feminist Critique of Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel. European Scientific Journal ESJ, 16(14). https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2020.v16n14p89

Azizah, N. (2024). INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM IN THE SELECTED POEMS FROM THE JIM CROW, HARLEM RENAISSANCE, AND CONTEMPORARY ERAS BY AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN POETS. Lakon: Jurnal Kajian Sastra Dan Budaya, 13(2), 99–118. https://doi.org/10.20473/lakon.v13i2.63942

Bakuuro, J. (2017). THE MONSTER IN PATRIARCHY-A THEMATIC REVIEW OF NOVELS OF THREE FEMALE AFRICAN WRITERS. British Journal of English Linguistics, 5(6), 28–38. www.eajournals.org

Batool, A., Umer, S., Sufi, M., & Abidin, S. Z. U. (2022). Black Feminism & Intersectionality: A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Expressional & Relational Value of language in Maya Angelou’s-Still I Rise. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry (TOJQI), 13(1), 1703–1719. https://www.tojqi.net/index.php/journal/article/view/9456

Chairunnisa, A., & Al Hafizh, M. (2024). MANIFESTATIONS OF INTERNALIZED PATRIARCHAL NORMS IN TAYLOR JENKINS REID’S THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO (2017): FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE. E-Journal of English Language and Literature, 13(3), 767–782. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.24036/ell.v13i3.129563

Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139–167. http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclfhttp://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039

Dwi Sukmayanti, R., & Nurhadi, M. A. (2019). MORAL VALUES IN THE “HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS” BY J.K ROWLING. INFERENCE: Journal of English Language Teaching, 2(2), 174–180. https://journal.lppmunindra.ac.id/index.php/inference/article/view/6016.

Fitri, N., & Suparti, E. (2016). ANALYZING THE PORTRAYAL OF PATRIARCHAL OPPRESSION TOWARDS THE FEMALE CHARACTERS IN THE CASUAL VACANCY: A REFLECTIVE POST-FEMINIST CRITICS. CaLLs: Journal of Culture, Arts, Literature, and Linguistics, 2(1), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.30872/calls.v2i1.703

Fransisca, M., & Mochtar, J. (2017). The Role of Girls as Mothers in Harry Potter Series. K@ta, 19(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.9744/kata.19.1.1-7

Hanif, Z. (2014, April 12). A Modern Lens: Exploring The Hidden Patriarchy In 2024. The Indiependent We’re Providing Budding Journalists with Experience & YOU with Incredible Articles. https://www.indiependent.co.uk/a-modern-lens-exploring-the-hidden-patriarchy-in-2024/

Hankivsky, O. (2014). INTERSECTIONALITY 101. The Institute for Intersectionality Research & Policy, SFU.

Istifadah, & Rohmana, W. I. M. (2022). Patriarchal Hegemony in the Novel “Women at Point Zero” by Nawal El Saadawi. Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 7(2), 383–394. https://doi.org/10.21462/jeltl.v7i2.838

Jawed, G. (2024). The Notion of Patriarchy in the Selected Short Stories of Ruskin Bond. RESEARCH REVIEW International Journal of Multidisciplinary, 9(7), 216–225. https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2024.v09.n07.027

Khan, N. H. (2020). An Intersectional Feminist Reading of Bapsi Sidhwa’s Water. JOURNAL OF LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE, 4(2), 43–55. https://doi.org/10.33195/crqx1r91

Khan, S. Y., Masum, R., & Ansari, A. (2025). Interrogating Patriarchy in Contemporary Pakistani Fiction: A Feminist Analysis of Sabyn Javeri’s Nobody Killed Her. Journal for Social Science Archives, 3(1), 2025. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.59075/jssa.v3i1

Kindangen, M. R., Mogea, T., & Maukar, M. (2022). THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MINOR CHARACTER IN ROWLING’S HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. JournaE-Clue Journal of English Culture, Language, Literature and Education, 10(1), 252–265. https://doi.org/10.53682/eclue.v10i1.4581

Kołodziejuk, E. F. (2020). Mothers, daughters, sisters: The intergenerational transmission of womanhood in margaret atwood’s the handmaid’s tale and the testaments. ELOPE: English Language Overseas Perspectives and Enquiries, 17(1), 67–85. https://doi.org/10.4312/elope.17.1.67-85

Lahiri-Dutt, K. (2024). Translating the feminist theory of intersectionality into gender analytical frameworks for gender and development. Feminist Theory, 1. https://doi.org/10.1177/14647001241276185

Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Qualitative Research Design An Interactive Approach (V. Knight, L. Habib, K. Koscielak, L. Larson, & C. Bowman, Eds.; 3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.

Meena, P., Devi, S. R., & Rajammal, P. P. (2024). A Retrospective Analysis of Cultural Patriarchy in Majid Rafizadeh’s A God Who Hates Women: A Woman’s Journey Through Oppression. SCIEDU World Journal of English Language, 15(1), 342–351. https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v15n1p342

Naufina, N. (2021). The Portrayal of Hegemony and Patriarchy in Louise O’ Neill’s Only Ever Yours. PIONEER: Journal of Language and Literature, 13(2), 173. https://doi.org/10.36841/pioneer.v13i2.1215

Nonglait, N. C. (2017). Identity, Representation, Self and the “Other”: An Analysis of Harry Potter’s Identity. The Criterion: An International Journal in English, 8(4), 356. www.galaxyimrj.comwww.the-criterion.com

Palo, A., & Manderstedt, L. (2019). Beyond the Characters and the Reader? Digital Discussions on Intersectionality in The Murderer’s Ape. Children’s Literature in Education, 50(2), 125–141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-017-9338-2

Perkasa, G. A., Khairunas, S., Wibowo, A. I., & Yastanti, U. (2024). Gender Equality and Intersectional Feminism in The Hidden Figures Movie Directed by Theodore Melfi. Scope : Journal of English Language Teaching, 9(1), 194. https://doi.org/10.30998/scope.v9i1.24190

Riad, S., & Jones, D. (2022). Approaching intersectionality through metonymy: Coloniality and recursion at work. Gender, Work and Organization, 30(2), 547–573. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12828

Rogers, A. S. (2019). Are Disney Characters “Frozen” in Stereotypes? An Intersectional Analysis of Frozen. Education Sciences & Society, 2019(2). https://doi.org/10.3280/ess2-2019oa8427Grafiati+3

Rorintulus, O. A., Wuntu, C. N., Tatipang, D. P., Lolowang, I. S., & Maukar, M. M. (2022). DISCRIMINATION OVER WOMEN AS DEPICTED IN WALKER’S AND TOHARI’S WORK: A COMPARATIVE STUDY. ELITE: English and Literature Journal, 9(2), 159–177. https://doi.org/10.24252/elite.v9i2.32488

Rowling, J. K. (2007). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Arthur A. Levine Books.

Sanjutha, & Sundari, M. (2024). The Male Gaze as an Agent of Patriarchy: A Comparative Analysis of “Apologies for Living On” and Andheri Local". The SPL Journal of Literary Hermeneutics A Biannual International Journal of Independent Critical Thinking, 4, 221–226. www.literaryhrm.orgwww.cavemarkpublications.com

Sheheryar, N. (2024). EXPLORING GENDER ROLES AND PATRIARCHY IN “THE STORY OF AN HOUR” BY KATE CHOPIN: A FEMINIST ANALYSIS. International Journal of Contemporary Issues in Social Sciences, 3(2), 2213–2220. https://ijciss.org/index.php/ijciss/article/view/936

Silva, D. F. (2017). Intersectionality, Decolonial Mapping, and Rethinking Imperial Subjectivation in the Poetry of Olinda Beja. Trans Modernity Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World, 7(3), 79–104. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5070/T473037322

Syah, E. T. C., & Ayu, H. R. (2014). SNAPE’S AMBIGUOUS BEHAVIORS IN HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. Litera~Kultura, 2(2), 79–84. https://doi.org/10.9744/kata.19.1.1-7

Tyson, L. (2023). Critical Theory Today A User-Friendly Guide (4th Edition). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003148616

Ummah, I. C., Raushanfikr, A. N. A., & Adzhani, S. A. (2024). PATRIARCHAL CULTURE AND ITS EFFECT TO THE CHARACTER IN THE YELLOW WALLPAPER. Mahakarya Student’s Journal of Cultural Sciences, 5(1), 23–30. https://doi.org/10.22515/msjcs.v5i1.8441

Utami, M. (2021). Intersectionality of Race and Gender in “Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows.” Buana Gender: Jurnal Studi Gender Dan Anak, 6(2), 165–176. https://doi.org/10.22515/bg.v6i2.4701

Wara, I., & de Bruin, J. (2023). From a slap to a punch: preparing Hermione Granger for postfeminist Hollywood. Feminist Media Studies, 24(2), 258–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2023.2194572




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30659/e.10.2.571-587

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Atik Qothrunnada, Imas Istiani

License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/