Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Parenthood
Time, Mistakes, and the Past
Friendship, Family, Love, and Bravery
Reputation and Expectation
Death and Sacrifice
Summary
Analysis
Inside the Ministry, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco meet up, racked with worry about Albus and Scorpius. There haven’t been any incidents reported by Muggles, though they’ve alerted the Muggle Prime Minister. Hermione wonders if what’s happening is connected to Harry’s scar hurting. She says that they’re investigating anyone involved in dark magic, though Draco protests that this isn’t Death Eater-related.
In this exchange, Draco recognizes the weight of his own reputation as a Death Eater (a dark wizard and a follower of Voldemort). As such, the play acknowledges that Draco feels the burden of his past as he struggles to prove that he has become a better person.
Themes
Ginny agrees with Draco, looking at Harry pointedly and saying that she thinks Albus and Scorpius ran away. Catching her meaning, Harry explains that two days earlier, he and Albus had an argument and he told Albus there were times he wished Albus weren’t his son. After a silence, Draco starts to threaten Harry, but Ginny interrupts, saying that both of them are missing children. Draco says he would give everything he has to get his son back, and as he leaves, he says that Harry is a “constant curse” on his family.
In this exchange, the play illustrates some of the problems of fixating on the past. Both Harry and Draco are dealing with childhood traumas and are too focused on their past rivalry (Harry as a “constant curse” for Draco), rather than trying to work together in order to get their sons back and repair their relationships.
Themes
