J.K. Rowling's latest literary endeavor is via "Harry Potter & the Cursed Child." Delivered as a play in London, the author released the book version of the play's script last July 31. It has since become a best-seller worldwide, just like the rest of Rowling's "Harry Potter" novels.
"Harry Potter & the Cursed Child" presents the previous series' main characters -- Harry, Hermione and Ron -- as adults and parents this time around. The new story highlights the different parenting styles of these three wizards and below is a breakdown of what they are like as mother and dads.
Harry Potter ends up marrying Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, on "Harry Potter & the Cursed Child," and together, they become parents to three kids -- James II (after Harry's father), Albus Severus (after Dumbledore and Snape) and Lily II (after Harry's mom).
Much of the focus on "Harry Potter & the Cursed Child" is on the conflict between Harry and his second child Albus. As the boy becomes good friends with Scorpio Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's son - a red flag for Harry - tension grows between father and son. Harry tries hard to parent and guide Albus, but he ends up becoming a bad dad. He also keeps getting rejected by Albus, per Romper.
“I feel very honoured to be taking this journey forward and telling the Potter story onwards." @sam_clemmett pic.twitter.com/VwOm33SJRr
— Pottermore (@pottermore) July 30, 2016
Radio Times describes the Potter dad and son's relationship conflict as a lot similar to Kylo Ren and Han Solo in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," as the son rebels against his father. But to "Harry Potter & the Cursed Child's" credit, the Potters agrees to sort and work out their differences in the end.
Harry realizes in "Harry Potter & the Cursed Child" that his struggle as a parent comes from refusing to understand how different his second-born is. Many parents in real life can understand this struggle all too well and perhaps the main message of the play is for parents to let their kids make mistakes or come up with wrong decisions, so that they can grow.
Meanwhile, Hermione Granger marries Ron Weasley and they have two kids in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" -- a daughter named Rose and a son named Hugo. Hermione becomes a workaholic as an adult, and at one point doubted if she might have made the mistake of putting more focus on work than her children. Hypable describes Hermione as a distant mother to her kids.
Ron as a parent isn't clearly defined in the book, but Hypable questions the fact that he gave his nephew Albus, then 14, a love potion, in an attempt to become the cool adult. Neither Hermione nor Ron can be tagged as bad parents, but their parenting style certainly mirrors real-life parents as well.
Have you read the book version of "Harry Potter & the Cursed Child" or perhaps seen the play? What are your thoughts about it? Let's discuss in the comments!
