To anyone who knows me at even the cursory level, this would come as no surprise: I am a Ravenclaw. This revelation is usually met with responses like “Of course you are,” sarcastic “Shocker”, and knowing nods of affirmation. Facts just seem to stick in my head for no particular reason and remain easy to recall years later when they should be past their usefulness. Some see it as a blessing. Sometimes, it seems a curse.
This is perhaps why I found myself identifying most with
Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter
books. She was probably the character most like me growing up. When I was
sorted on Pottermore, I thought for sure that I would likely end up in
Gryffindor the way that Hermione had. Yet, I found myself in Ravenclaw. Not
entirely unexpected because other characters in the book often wondered why
Hermione had not been sorted into that house.
This got me thinking about what lies beneath the Sorting
Hat’s placement of students. We tend to think about the Sorting Hat
distributing students according to their strengths, but what if it’s really
according to their weaknesses? I know on the surface this seems a silly
proposition. But what if the Sorting Hat is categorizing students according to
the defense mechanisms they use to hide their true selves.
When I look at myself over the years, it is my intellect
that I use to keep others from seeing the insecurities I have about myself. If
I am able to have some abstract conversation about an obscure film, no one can
see that I feel uncomfortable around people and am just trying to hide my fear
that those who get to know me won’t really like me. My identity becomes my
intellect rather than the whole person with all of my flaws. This is perhaps
why I find comfort in research. When I am most stressed, I will dive into
tinkering on my undergraduate thesis or do more reading and research for the
novel I am working on. It calms my mind by giving me something simple and true
to focus my energy on. As a Ravenclaw, I hide behind my knowledge to try and
keep people from discovering that I don’t really belong.
How might this theory work with the other houses?
Let’s begin with the much maligned house, Slytherin. The
main traits of this house are pride, ambition, and cunning. These are traits
that certainly have both a dark and light side to them. In order to explore
this, let’s look at Draco Malfoy. Sure, in the beginning of the books, he is a
jerk. He takes such pride in being a Pure Blood and a Slytherin that he looks
down on all of those who aren’t. Yet, inherent in this bravado is a need to
prove himself. His father had been involved in Voldemort’s rise, and although
Lucius Malfoy escaped imprisonment in Azkaban, there is still mistrust of
Draco’s family. This is perhaps while he constantly finds himself in
competition with Harry. He uses his ambition as a means to hide his own
insecurities about where he belongs. This is why in the end we can see Draco as
a tragic figure who is being used in Voldemort’s plot to kill Dumbledore.
Moving on to Gryffindor. This house values courage, bravery,
and determination. On the surface all of these seem like virtuous traits. How
might these manifest in being used as a defense mechanism? Ron Weasley seems to
exemplify how this might occur. From the moment we meet Ron in the books, he is
scared that he will end up in a house other than Gryffindor and that he isn’t
quite Gryffindor material. This causes him to exaggerate the traits of
Gryffindor in certain circumstances. Ron chooses to sacrifice himself in the
game of wizard’s chess to allow Harry to go on to find the Sorcerer’s Stone.
It’s why in the Mirror of Erised Ron sees himself as Head Boy and winning the
House Cup. This desire to be seen as being worthy of Gryffindor also enflames
his desire to compete in the Triwizard Tournament and his subsequent jealousy
when Harry ends up in the tournament. Through his acts of bravery, he tries to
hide his insecurities about not belonging.
Now we finally turn to the house that many joke about:
Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs value hard work, patience, loyalty, and fair play.
Members of this house are perhaps most themselves. They are known to be good
friends to all. Yet, even this can be a way of masking insecurities. Now, this
may come across as more cynical than it is intended. It is through their
unsurpassed loyalty that Hufflepuffs hide the feeling that they don’t belong.
We’ve all come across that person who seems to try too hard to be everyone’s
friend, so much so that we may begin to doubt their sincerity. This can be the
problem with Hufflepuffs. Everyone wants to be liked. There’s nothing wrong
with that, but sometimes in the pursuit of that, we can lose ourselves. This is
the danger that someone in Hufflepuff might face. It’s why when in the maze at
the end of the Triwizard tournament, Cedric Diggory acted in ways that were not
always in the interest of fair play until just before grabbing the cup with
Harry so that they both might win.
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