In this essay, J.K. Rowling’s series about Harry Potter is analyzed by the use of feminist theories and gender studies. The main aim of the essay is to examine how Hermione Granger is portrayed. The analysis is based on three of the novels, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’sstone, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This essay argues that Hermione, in the first novel, is depicted as a stereotyped female character, but that she develops and grows over the course of time, which leads her character to deviate from the traditional gender stereotypes. The results are supported by different examples from the novels, which relate to the used theories and previous research. / I denna uppsats analyseras J.K. Rowlings serie om Harry Potter med hjälp av feministiska teorier och genusstudier. Huvudsyftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur Hermione Granger är porträtterad. Analysen är baserad på tre av romanerna Harry Potter and the Philosopher’sstone, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban och Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Uppsatsen argumenterar att Hermione, i första romanen, är skildrad som en stereotypisk kvinnlig karaktär, men att hon under tidens gång utvecklas och växer vilket leder till att hennes karaktär senare avviker från de traditionella könsstereotyperna. Resultaten stöds av olika exempel från texterna som relaterar till de använda teorierna och tidigare forskning.

Uppsatsen analyserar tre karaktärer i J.K Rowlings bok Harry Potter och fången från Azkaban (2017) ur ett genusperspektiv och vänskapsperspektiv. Syftet med analysen är att se hur karaktärerna beskrivs utifrån könsroller och vad vänskapsrelationen har för betydelse för de tre karaktärerna och hur det kan kopplas till genus. Uppsatsen utgår från olika perspektiv kring genus och vänskap, bland annat Maria Nilsons (2010) tankar kring genus i barnlitteratur och William M. Bukowski (2001) som skriver om fyra olika vänskapsfunktioner. Analysen visar att alla tre karaktärerna har både manliga och kvinnliga egenskaper och därmed bryter mot traditionella könsroller till viss del. De tre karaktärernas egenskaper påverkar vänskapen på flera sätt då karaktärerna kompletterar varandra.

Harry Potter-serien har kommit att bli en väldigt populär serie både hos barn och vuxna över hela världen. I både böckernas originalform och de adapterade filmerna har människor förälskat sig i berättelserna om Harry Potter och hans magiska värld. Det har gjorts flertalet studier om Harry Potter, där olika perspektiv behandlas utefter böckerna och/eller filmerna. I denna studie är syftet att jämföra den tredje boken respektive filmen i serien, Harry Potter och fången från Azkaban (2001; 2004), för att se vilka likheter och skillnader som finns mellan boken och den adapterade filmen.Studien tar hjälp av två analysmetoder: narrativanalys och komparativ analys. Med hjälp av dessa analysmetoder har en resumé skrivits som behandlar både boken och filmen i sin helhet. Analysmetoderna har även använts till att redogöra för och jämföra bokens respektive filmens uppbyggnad och genre, men också tre av de viktigare karaktärerna i de olika medierna.Analysen visar att karaktärernas viktigare egenskaper inte påverkas i adaptionen, detsamma gäller för berättelsens handling och genre. Vissa händelser och egenskaper som finns med i boken finns inte med i den adapterade filmen, vilket kan förklaras av att filmskaparna var tvungna att göra flera val i produceringen av filmen för att behålla kärnan i berättelsen.Uppbyggnaden påverkas i adaptionen genom att de olika medierna för berättelsen vidare genom skilda sätt, men berättelsens kärna hålls intakt. I undervisningssyfte går det att dra slutsatsen att denna berättelse, både som bok och film, går att arbeta med i undervisningen i årskurs 1-3.

This essay explores how adolescent girls in two pieces of children’s fiction are portrayed in children’s literature from the start and end of the 20th century to examine how they perform their gender in relation to expectations as informed by the Angel in the House discourse. Anne of Green Gables and the Harry Potter series were published at the start and end of the twentieth century, and both texts engage with the discourse. Using Judith Butler’s theory of Gender Performativity, this essay demonstrates that the Angel in the House discourse continues to influence expectations of how adolescent girls should behave, particularly with regards to being responsible for upholding the moral code to ensure the social standing of their family. However, they differ in regard to other aspects of the discourse, indicating that parts of the discourse appear to have lessened over the course of the 20th century.

H.D.'s autobiographical novel HERmione is phenomenological in texture. It portrays both sides of a dynamic process: the individual "creates" the world by adjusting a "psychic lens," projecting a mental space in which objects can appear; yet at the same time, the world imposes itself on the sensing subject. The framework within which this dynamic process occurs is the body; as the novel portrays, the body is the site of juxtapositions and transformations as it comes into contact with the world. In this article, I discuss the ways in which H.D. explores the boundaries and intersections between the human body and the world around it. I will draw on several influential feminist critiques of the novel, exploring how these critiques illuminate the social and sexual forces at work behind Hermione's experiences, and I will in turn introduce phenomenological theory to expand upon the prevailing critical view of the novel. I assert that Hermione's body is both the setting and the subject of HERmione. Even as she is objectified by both specific individuals and by the social forces at work in her world, her body reacts in unique ways to counteract this tendency. Her body transforms, and her perceptions blur the lines between subject and object, person and thing. As Hermione begins to develop an understanding of the way she encounters the world, she also develops the ability to act within it. Her body becomes prosthetic, encompassing otherness and ultimately allowing her to move beyond the relationships and expectations which threaten to confine her in a solely "decorative" life.

Hermione Granger is the most prominent female character in the Harry Potter series. She is also the only one in the trio of herself, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley who is muggle-born. She is, therefore, most likely to be discriminated against in two aspects – on the basis of her sex and race. This essay examines Hermione with the help of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex and Edward W. Said’s Orientalism to show how she is represented and portrayed as “the Other” in these two aspects. In which aspect is she more likely to suffer from discrimination, or is it the combination of the two that is essential? As discrimination on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, and other aspects continues to grow in Western societies, it is important to look at how this widely popular literary series handles these issues.

This project explores the narrative arcs of strong female characters in Young Adult (YA) fantasy literature. Taking up Rosemary Jackson’s assertion that fantasy literature can ‘subvert patriarchal society,’ this thesis examines the fantasy ‘legacy code’ of strong and subversive female characters who settle into a stereotypical performance of gender after finding fulfillment in the heteronormative roles of lover, wife, and mother. This pattern is exemplified by Lady Éowyn of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Two Towers (1954) and The Return of the King (1955), and reproduced by Hermione Granger of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series – consisting of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007). In contrast Keladry of Mindelan in Tamora Pierce’s Protector of the Small series – consisting of First Test (1999), Page (2000), Squire (2001), and Lady Knight (2002) – demonstrates the impact ‘refactoring’ fantasy ‘legacy code’ has on the narrative conclusions of female characters. Using Judith Butler’s theory on the performative nature of gender and building on Farah Mendlesohn’s computer programming analogy of ‘legacy code,’ this thesis illustrates the ways in which fantasy literature often fails to be the literature of subversion Jackson envisions, and demonstrates how refactoring aspects of a female character’s narrative exemplifies subversive narrative conclusions for young adult readers of fantasy literature. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / This thesis examines the ways in which a heteronormative ‘legacy code’ – exemplified by Lady Éowyn in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings – has been perpetuated in literature marketed towards young adult readers by Hermione Granger in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series and ‘refactored’ by Keladry of Mindelan in Tamora Pierce’s Protector of the Small series. Starting with Rosemary Jackson’s analysis of fantasy literature as a genre with subversive potential and with Judith Butler’s assertion that gender is performative, this thesis analyses the narrative arcs of Éowyn, Hermione, and Kel and demonstrates how the continual representation of strong female characters finding fulfillment in the roles of lover, wife, and mother is limiting, and highlights the subversive potential in ‘refactoring’ heteronormative ‘legacy code.’