Picture Imperfect

S. M. Hutchens on the Discovery of Dirt in Potter’s Field

I am embarrassed by the complaints of critics who condemn the Harry Potter books as vade mecums in the transgression of the Judeo-Christian moral canon. Typically they identify Harry and his young friends as excused exemplars of rule-breaking, disobedience, lying, vengeance taking, and the like, triumphantly noting that the final installations, containing the revelation of the Snape–Dumbledore murder-suicide pact, insinuate the virtue of euthanasia into the minds of young readers—not to mention that all of this is done in a pagan context by witches and wizards.

My reaction is—yes—but are they missing something? Like the Point of It All?

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S. M. Hutchens is a Touchstone senior editor.

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