ABSTRACT
Various scenes throughout the Harry Potter novels maintain that, like Muggles, witches and wizards respond to the death of loved ones with mourning and sadness, and both groups are uncertain of what their own death will be like and what, if anything, exists for them beyond death. Although witches and wizards have access to magical objects and abilities that can prolong life and avoid death, it is revealed throughout the series that cheating the natural order of death with magic is complicated and does not produce very desirable effects. Through cultural and social studies, this chapter explores how the Harry Potter novels address death in a way that readers can relate to, rather than portraying death as a problem that can easily be resolved by a magical spell or ability. Death is one of the most relatable concepts between the wizarding world and the Muggle world, the one instance where the fantastical inclusion of magic cannot effectively resolve a shortcoming of the Muggle world. This chapter also explores how the portrayal of realistic death and loss in the novels is one of the elements that has appealed to many readers and has contributed to the word-of-mouth marketing strategy, an early example of influencer marketing that was essential to the success of the series.
