Professor Trelawney Character Analysis in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The Hogwarts Divination professor. Harry describes her as looking like a "glittering insect," as she wears lots of jewelry and drapes herself in scarves. An eccentric woman, most people at Hogwarts don't take her (or Divination, for that matter) seriously and believe that she's a fraud. Hermione is the most vocal in this regard and, in the spring, walks out of Trelawney's class. Lavender and Parvati, however, take Trelawney very seriously and note that all the predictions she makes come true--Trelawney predicts that a member of the class will leave around Easter, and Lavender sees her rabbit's untimely death as a manifestation of one of Trelawney's other predictions. Harry finds her classes trying primarily because Trelawney predicts his death during their first class, constantly sees the death omen the Grim when she reads Harry's fortune, and starts sniffling whenever she sees him. This leads him to agree with Hermione until the day of Harry's final Divination exam, when Trelawney makes what Dumbledore believes was a real prediction. Trelawney predicts that Voldemort's servant will rejoin him later that evening, though she seems to be in a trance while she does so and doesn't remember making the prediction when Harry asks her about it when she returns to normal.

Professor Trelawney Quotes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban quotes below are all either spoken by Professor Trelawney or refer to Professor Trelawney. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Scholastic edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban published in 2001.

"THE DARK LORD LIES ALONE AND FRIENDLESS, ABANDONED BY HIS FOLLOWERS. HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED THESE TWELVE YEARS. TONIGHT, BEFORE MIDNIGHT...THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE AND SET OUT TO REJOIN HIS MASTER. THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT'S AID, GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN EVER BEFORE."

Related Characters: (speaker), , , ,

Page Number and Citation: 324

Explanation and Analysis:

Professor Trelawney Character Timeline in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The timeline below shows where the character Professor Trelawney appears in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...with armchairs, poufs, and a pervasive sickly perfume. When everyone is in the classroom, Professor Trelawney moves into the light. She looks like a glittery insect and asks everyone to sit.... (full context)

Trelawney warns them that if they don't have the Sight, they won't get far, and then... (full context)

...their tea. Harry deciphers that Ron will suffer, but happily. They try to not let Trelawney see them giggle and then Ron studies Harry's cup. Ron sees an acorn, which means... (full context)

...who's going to die. Upon learning that Harry is supposed to die, McGonagall says that Trelawney predicts the death of a student every year, adds that Divination is imprecise, and tells... (full context)

...story of Snape's appearance as a boggart gets around. Harry hates Divination the most, as Trelawney starts to cry every time she sees him. Nobody enjoys Care of Magical Creatures much,... (full context)

...Transfiguration, Harry notices Lavender Brown crying. Hermione asks Lavender what's wrong, and Lavender explains that Trelawney's prediction came true—it's the 16th of October, and she just got news that her rabbit... (full context)

...a twinkle, suggests that Harry has probably had enough of tealeaves. McGonagall informed him of Trelawney's prediction and he asks Harry if he's worried. Harry tells Lupin he's not, but decides... (full context)

As the group begins to eat, Trelawney comes into the Great Hall. Dumbledore draws up a chair for her, but Trelawney refuses... (full context)

Two hours later, Ron and Harry get up from the table at the same time. Trelawney shrieks and asks who stood up first, but McGonagall drily says that the boys will... (full context)

The next day, Hagrid teaches an enjoyable lesson on salamanders that love fire, while Trelawney introduces palmistry and tells Harry his life line is very short. After Defense Against the... (full context)

Responsibility, Morality, and Time Theme Icon

...joins the boys for Divination and they sit at a table around a crystal ball. Trelawney greets the class and says that "the fates have informed her" that they need to... (full context)

...ball means that there's going to be fog tonight, which makes Harry and Hermione laugh. Trelawney reprimands them and then sits down at their table and breathily says that she sees... (full context)

After lunch, Harry and Ron head for Trelawney's tower while Hermione leaves for Muggle Studies. The boys find the class sitting on the... (full context)

As Harry heads for Gryffindor Tower, he wonders if Trelawney made an actual prediction. In the common room, he finds Ron and Hermione to tell... (full context)

...innocent man and discovered the truth. This jogs Harry's memory and he tells him about Trelawney's prediction. Dumbledore seems impressed, but Harry is distraught. He says that since he stopped Sirius... (full context)

...feels awful. His entire class is sad to see Lupin go, and he fixates on Trelawney's prediction. He also hates that he has to go back to the Dursleys, especially after... (full context)