While J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter stories might seem to be merely fantastic, with their cast of wizards, witches, Dark Lords, and magical spells, our suggestion is that they have a serious emotional core, and that it is this as much as their powerful elements of fantasy that explain why children become so deeply involved with them.

It is significant that Harry Potter, and several other major characters in the stories, have extremely troubled childhood histories. We shall suggest  that the stories represent ways in which the difficulties arising from such histories are experienced in the inner worlds of these characters, and that the stories can be understood as imaginative representations of different kinds of childhood and adolescent development. 

“There is no shame in what you are feeling, Harry,' said Dumbledore's voice. 'On the contrary... the fact that you can feel pain like this is your greatest strength.”

Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix