ARCHETYPE OF THE DEVIL FROM NORSE MYTHS IN HARRY POTTER SERIES

Harry Potter series of novels have been translated into 60 languages and sold more than 325 million globally. With this sale the series have become one of the highest-selling books in history. This paper attempts to apply Frye’s theories to analyze the archetypes of devil from Norse myths in this series and find the connections between Lord Voldemort and the devil in Norse myths. The intrinsic links between the most important antagonist of the series, Voldemort and the devil god Loki in Norse myths are analyzed in this paper. The growth of the devil and his experience show Loki influenced the creation of Voldemort. The first chapter is about devil’s growth, the image of Voldemort can be said to represent the personality of the risk of occult darkness; he is the personification of human greed. The second chapter is about devil’s experiences, with Angrboda, an ogress who lived in Giant Land, Loki had three children. One was the Fenris wolf; the other two were the Midgard Serpent and Hel. The serpent, wolf, and death are also connected with Voldemort. The attitude of Rowling toward evil is clear: Evil can’t be avoided by ignorance. The third chapter is about similarities and differences between Lord Voldemort and the devil, from the preceding comparison, we can conclude that Voldemort and Loki both have good looks and a clever mind. They were also accepted by society in the beginning, and the prevailing orthodoxy was in the spotlight. However, they also have evil inner worlds. After undergoing some changes, evil was released from within their hearts, creating a later Voldemort and a later Loki.The biggest difference between Voldermort and Loki was their original intention. In many stories of the Norse Myths, Loki was known as the trickster or troublemaker. That means the intention he has done many bad things just out of a mental mischief. Voldemort has all done for a target — the pursuit of immortality. From the analysis of Voldemort and on the Norse mythical comparing Loki, a conclusion that can be drawn is that Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series was significantly influenced by the Norse myths during the creative process.

Keywords: Voldemort; Devil; Norse myths; Archetypal criticism