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
Harry watches from the church as Voldemort enters the Potter home, knowing that his parents are going to die. Draco and Albus comment that it’s heroic to know that Harry could stop him, but to do nothing. They all decide to watch together, to support Harry, and Ginny and Albus take his hands. Offstage, Harry’s father James tells his mother Lily to take Harry and run, and a blast goes off as Voldemort kills James. Harry flinches, and the others assure him that James did everything he could. Voldemort approaches Lily, who begs him to kill her instead of Harry. Voldemort kills Lily, sending Harry into a mess of grief as screams fill the theater.
This passage demonstrates the value of not trying to change the past, the valor of sacrifice, and the importance of friendship and love in overcoming obstacles. Harry recognizes the dangers in tampering the past by allowing Voldemort to kill his parents, knowing that—just as he told Delphi—being an orphan is part of him and it’s more critical to overcome his trauma in the present than to try and eradicate it altogether. And it shows how with Ginny and Albus’s love and support, Harry is able to be both vulnerable and strong as he watches his parents die.
Themes
