ABSTRACT
All fictional heroes are representations of the reader’s emotions, and Harry Potter is no different from his predecessors. His journey is replete with adventures that allow the readers not just to vicariously experience the promise of triumph but also to explore the emotional toll that is connected with Harry’s labours. Harry is a perfect example of a champion who is familiar with pain and suffering, crucial requisites in his development as a hero-in-progress. This chapter examines how Harry Potter articulates his suffering, focusing on his cumulative pain in the entire series and how his language of pain reflects the trajectory of his transformative journey as a hero. How does Harry react to pain and, in turn, how is he shaped by his suffering? By gathering the various figurations of Harry’s pains in the series, this chapter illustrates how Harry’s education is geared towards developing his facility to explicate the value of his suffering throughout the seven books, allowing him to understand how to transfigure the knowledge gleaned from his tragedies into power and eventual triumph.
