J. K. Rowling is
an amazing story crafter. She ties in
points from all over the Harry Potter
series, weaving them together to form an intricate plotline with highly
developed characters and enticing twists throughout every book. Part of this craftsmanship comes from an
element of literature than can be highly hit-or-miss with many authors: names. Character names can be anywhere from so
subtle as to barely draw attention to so over-the-top that readers
automatically know what is going to happen to that character. Rowling, in my opinion, blends together these
two extremes—and the spectrum that falls between them—in a way that works
perfectly well for people who grow up with the books.
The character
whose name I would like to discuss is Draco Malfoy. His name reveals the essence of his character
and his portrayal.
Draco Malfoy is
the main fellow schoolmate antagonist of Harry.
His first name suggests magic—“Draco” comes from the Greek word for “dragon”
(the word “draco” is present in the Hogwarts motto, as well: “Draco dormiens
nunquam titillandus,” meaning “Never tickle a sleeping dragon,” but that is
more of a fun fact than a point of this post).
Draco’s name is inherently more magical than Harry’s, reflecting his
pureblood status and magical upbringing.
His last name, however, is the subtle part, where Rowling gets
sneaky. “Malfoy” can be broken up into
two parts, becoming “mal foy,” which, ignoring some grammar conventions and
spelling, means “bad faith” in French (“foy” is spelled “foi”). Having “bad faith” for a last name implies
that Draco is not to be trusted (people should avoid putting their faith in
him), and that he believes in the wrong things (his faith is bad). And indeed, he does—he believes in the
supremacy of purebloods and focuses on power and prestige more than compassion,
kindness, and friendship (all lessons that are good for young readers).
The meaning and
implications of Draco’s name are not available to children who are reading the
book or are having the book read to them, but as those children grow older, the
meaning may become clearer, and a second (or third, or fourth) read through the
books has the chance to reveal more insight into the character of Draco (and
other characters) when emphasis is placed on character names and the meanings
of those names.
I love that you mentioned the importance of names in Harry Potter, because it's one of my favorite recurring things in the book. Rowling is such a smart storyteller that she foreshadows most of the characters' futures through their names. I also did some research (crazy, right?) to see what some of the other names might foretell about the protagonists. One of the best, right off the bat, is Harry Potter. It may seem like the most simple, but "Heri" in Old German actually means army, which comes into play later in the series when Harry creates an army to take down Voldemort. Also, Harry is the middle english form of Henry, which is one of the most prevalent names in kings. Harry's name projects him as royalty and an important person, which he obviously is in the books' canon. Perhaps my favorite, however, is Hermione. Even though I still say it incorrectly almost every time I utter it, it's a fascinating name. Hermione was the Daughter of Helen of Troy, signifying her importance and crucial role in the books. Also, in middle english, this particular name means "bailiff," which is very funny when considering all of the trouble she gets into and how she has to help Ron and Harry out constantly from almost-certain death. These are just two of my favorites. If you look at any name in these books, there's almost certainly a hidden meaning that will help you better understand the story.
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