I've been toying with my own theories connecting the Norse myth of Ragnarok to the Harry Potter books. As we all know, JK is very fond of mythology. This particular myth is really set up in OotP. If we compare Harry to Thor, god of thunder (lightning bolt scar?), Dumbledore to Odin, and Voldemort to the Midgard Serpent and Fenrir the wolf, you can see what might happen.
In this myth, the Aesir (good guys) fought the monsters and giants led by the god Loki (bad guys). The bizarre thing is, everyone knew what was going to happen beforehand because of a prophecy (sound familiar?), the deaths of Odin, Thor, Fenrir and the Midgard Serpent (and many others) were foretold. Odin is slain, and then, in an epic battle, Thor and the Serpent kill each other. They had battled each other before and it ended in a stalemate (SS, CoS, GoF). What will happen at the end of book 7 is still up in the air, but with this parallel we might just have proof that i one way or another, Harry will take Voldemort out, even at the cost of his own life.
With the same theory, we look to Dumbledore and his counterpart, Odin. Odin is slain in Ragnarok, and it is quite likely Dumbledore will also die before the end of the series.
How do they relate? First, Dumbledore fell from grace with the public, like Odin. They are described similarly, both wearing peculiar hats, having long beards and being very wise. Odin basically is the template for the design of the contemporary wizard. He also paid for his incredible wisdom by losing the faith of his followers, just as Dumbledore's knowledge of Voldemort and certain things about Harry, scared a lot of people off or annoyed them.
Also, remember "Dumbledore's Army" from OotP? Odin had an army of the dead which he kept in his great hall, Valhalla, kind of like Hogwarts under Dumbledore, which he would use against the dark forces at the end of all things, Ragnarok. Now, excuse me, but isn't this why the kids are all there? To learn magic and how to protect and defend themselves from the dark powers that be? Remember also, that Odin is a god of magic as well as a warrior. Dumbledore is leading the opposition against Voldemort, which has resulted in two wars, and he is one of the foremost members of the magical community.
Next, the thestrals. Odin had under his command the Valkyries who rode winged horses. The Valkyries were the "choosers of the slain," and who can see the thestrals? People who have seen death! While it's true that living people could see the Valkyries and their steeds in myths, the horses in OotP are related to death, much like the Valkyries and their mounts.
Finally, we come to the infamous Peter Pettigrew, who we will relate to yet another god who fell in Ragnarok. In Norse myth, the sky god, Tyr, sacrificed his hand so that the gods could bind Fenrir the wolf. If we consider that since Fenrir and the Midgard Serpent are the spawn of Loki we might as well consider them to be all the same entity and relate them both to Voldemort. Tom Riddle was a "wolf" in sheep's clothing after all.
Peter, like Tyr, also gave up his hand, but this was to bring Voldemort back to life. While this might seem like a counter productive thing to our heroes, let's remember that Harry's blood was also needed to bring Voldemort back, and because of this, Voldemort is now mortal. He can now die and is bound to that fate, just as Fenrir was literally bound by the Aesir.
On a final note, if you haven't already guessed, Fenrir was the one who slew/ate Odin. Dumbledore is getting older as we all saw in OotP. He was hard pressed to match Voldemort in their duel. Depending on which side of the "will Dumbledore die and how?" debate you're on, he's either going to die of old age or at Voldemort's hand. If the Norse myth theory is used, it's definitely going to be the latter.
I haven't seen too many Norse myth based theories floating around out there, though there are many based on little snatches of other mythologies. This theory, however, uses a myth that easily relates to several important aspects of the series, mainly the characters who will most affect the end of the series. Only time and JK Rowling will tell how closely this myth parallels the Harry Potter books.
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| Cornelius Fudge |
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| 2006.01.28 |
Interesting point-of-view. Now that book VI is out we know that fenrir is a...
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| Danielle Radcliffe |
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| 2005.12.07 |
exellent!
i'm almost sure that this will really show us the final outcom...
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| mrs.potter07' |
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| 2005.11.25 |
How you figured all of that out, I don't have a clue but, It was genius. I ...
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| kahlilah |
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| 2005.07.26 |
look who's mrs. smary pants. i've never heard a theory like that. now that ...
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| Samantha |
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| 2005.07.10 |
Wow! I never knew anything about this mythology, but I can see the aspects ...
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| Laura Blogg |
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| 2005.06.22 |
Very interesting! I don't know anything about Norse mythology, but it is ve...
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