Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Information, Rumors, and Fear
Prejudice vs. Respect
Friendship, Loyalty, and Bravery
Fate, Choice, and Identity
Rules, Rebellion, and Doing the Right Thing
Summary
Analysis
At breakfast on Harry’s twelfth birthday, Harry’s uncle, Vernon, scolds Harry because his owl, Hedwig, woke him up with her screeching. Vernon insists on keeping Hedwig locked in her cage, which Harry complains about because it prevents him from sending mail to his friends. When Harry’s cousin Dudley asks Harry to pass the frying pan, Harry says he’s “forgotten the magic word,” at which Vernon and Petunia explode in fury over his use of “the ‘M’ word.” Vernon and Petunia treat Harry as though he is “a bomb that might go off at any moment”—though Harry is not allowed to do magic outside of school.
The opening moments of The Chamber of Secrets return once again to the Dursley household. Harry’s failure to tell the Dursleys that he is not supposed to do magic outside of school is an early demonstration of the way in which lack of information can inspire fear. Without this information, the Dursleys live in constant terror that Harry will use magic to hurt them.
Themes
Harry misses Hogwarts, a magical school where he has just completed his first year. He misses eating in the Great Hall, visiting Hagrid, the gamekeeper, and playing Quidditch (a wizarding sport played on brooms). All of his magical possessions have been locked in a cupboard under the stairs.
Harry’s love of Hogwarts, and his hatred of spending the summers with the Dursleys, will ultimately become a connection between himself and Tom Riddle, highlighting the similarities between them.
Themes
A year ago, Harry’s life was changed when Hagrid revealed to him that he and his parents were wizards; at one year old, he had somehow survived a curse from the greatest Dark sorcerer, Lord Voldemort, while his parents Lily and James had died protecting him. Harry is famous in the wizarding world, but with the Dursleys, he is treated like a dog.
Harry’s fame throughout the wizarding world has a great impact on how other people view his identity, and on how he is treated throughout the school year. Rowling reminds readers that Harry has a far humbler background than most wizards believe.
Themes
Vernon and Petunia are hosting an important business dinner that night for a couple named the Masons, and Harry is instructed to stay in his room and not make any noise. While they prepare for the dinner, Harry slumps in the front lawn and sings happy birthday to himself. He hasn’t received any letters from his best friends, Ron and Hermione, all summer, and he hasn’t been able to send Hedwig to them either.
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Dudley comes over and begins making fun of Harry for not having any friends. Harry pretends to curse Dudley, and Petunia punishes him by making him do a slew of difficult chores. Dudley’s words get him thinking: maybe he doesn’t have any friends. He viciously thinks, “Wish they could see famous Harry Potter now” as he spreads manure on the flowers. Harry is then made to eat dinner very quickly, and he is sent upstairs before the Masons arrive.
Rowling shows the vulnerability that Harry experiences from not hearing from his friends as a way of contrasting later points at which the loyalty and friendship Harry receives from Ron and Hermione spur him to bravery. It is notable, too, that Harry comments on his humble upbringing, observing the irony that many people deeply admire him in the wizarding community, in contrast to how he is treated at the Dursleys.
Themes
