Escape and Consolation: Narrative Voice and Metafiction in the Harry Potter Series

Abstract

espanolEste articulo analiza la voz narrativa y la presencia de elementos metatextuales y metaficcionales en las novelas de la saga Harry Potter (1997-2007), de J. K. Rowling, prestando especial atencion al diario de Tom Riddle, que aparece por primera vez en Harry Potter y la Camara Secreta (1998), y al libro de cuentos complementario de la serie, Cuentos de Beedle el Bardo (2007). Mientras que se ha hablado mucho de los siete libros que componen la saga, los libros complementarios que pretenden ser los mismos que los protagonistas leen en las novelas—Animales fantasticos y donde encontrarlos (2001), Quidditch a traves de los tiempos (2001) y Cuentos de Beedle el Bardo—no han atraido el mismo nivel de atencion por parte de los criticos. Sin embargo, estos y otros ejemplos de narrativas metadiegeticas nos permiten entender mejor la representacion de la relacion entre texto y lector, adulto y nino, a lo largo de la saga. Mediante el analisis de la voz narrativa y la metaficcion, argumento que, a pesar de que la historia que se cuenta es a veces oscura y perturbadora, la autora le otorga un marco narrativo que proporciona acompanamiento y seguridad a los lectores, ademas de una reflexion sobre la importancia de la literatura infantil y del arte de contar historias. Asi pues, la metaficcion aporta complejidad a la obra de Rowling y desafia al lector a viajar entre los diferentes niveles de la narracion y a reflexionar sobre el acto de leer. EnglishThis article sets out to examine narrative voice in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series (1997- 2007) as well as the presence of metatextual and metafictional elements in her novels. Special attention will be paid to Tom Riddle’s diary, which first appears in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), and the book of fairy tales and companion to the series, The Tales of Beedle the Bard (2007). While Rowling’s seven-book series has been extensively discussed, the companion books that purport to be the books that the main characters read in the novels—Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2001), Quidditch Through the Ages (2001) and The Tales of Beedle the Bard—have not received the same amount of critical attention. Yet these and other examples of metadiegetic narratives provide thought-provoking insights into the series’s commentary on the relationship between texts and readers, adults and children. Through a careful examination of Rowling’s narrative voice and her use of metafiction, I argue that the author gives her sometimes dark, disturbing story a narrative frame that not only provides the reader with consolation and reassurance, but also offers a commentary on the importance of storytelling and children’s literature. Metafiction thus makes Rowling’s work more complex than we might assume, challenging its readers to navigate through different narrative levels and reflect on the very act of reading.