Microsoft Word final-current Developments at the Intersection of British Children-online-version doc

Jessica
Haggerthwaite - Witch Dispatcher or Whispering to Witches do not comply with the 
general trend to adolescent heroes.
Rowling’s Harry Potter series is the prime example of a fantasy hero who develops 
from pre-pubescent boy unaware of a magical world to a grown-up wizard who, by defeating 
his arch-enemy Voldemort, saves the wizarding world. As the series is designed like a long-
term study, its scope of seven volumes permits to portray the complex development of the 
hero clearly and in great detail. On the occasion of his eleventh birthday, the prepubescent 

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Harry is suddenly confronted with his true origin and heritage and introduced to the world of 
the wizards and witches. This discovery – in combination with the ensuing radical changes in 
his life – plunges the boy into a crisis of identity, from which he recovers only slowly. He has 
to find out who he truly is, and where his place is within the wizarding community. As long as 
the traumatic loss of both his parents paralyses him, this process of development from 
childhood to maturity is
hindered. It is only when he realises that their loss has also been his 
gain that Harry comes to accept his life fully. Over the years, he grows older and wiser 
through making his own experiences. On account of the series’ special feature of a long-term 
study, the young reader almost grows at the same speed as Harry. Far from being detrimental 
to grown-up readers, this feature still works for them, as they have already experienced this 
stage of development and can still remember the process of maturation. Educational and 
private tests are spread out over the school years and allow enough scope for improvements of 
ability.
One could therefore assume that the longer a series, the more complex the detail. 
Whereas this may apply to Harry Potter, the large amount of trilogies among the corpus 
novels demonstrate
that a tripartite concept suffices for an in-depth study of a child 
character’s crisis of identity, transition and maturation. For instance Nix’ Abhorsen trilogy, 
Nicholson’s The Wind on Fire, Stroud’s Bartimaeus or Pullman’s His Dark Materials portray 
their main characters’ complex development condensed in three volumes without having to 
renounce important phases or incidents.
In Northern Lights, Pullman’s Lyra starts out as an alleged orphan. In the care of 
Oxford’s Jordan College, the tomboy
appears to be treated more like a mascot rather than like 
a girl in want of education. At the beginning of the trilogy it is very difficult for any authority 
to get her under control. Carefree, wild and thoughtless, she lives from day to day. Mercurial 
as Lyra is, she cannot sit still and is always out for mischief. However, in the course of the 
trilogy the girl does not eventually succumb to a taming from the outside as one might 
suspect, but rather opens up herself from the inside and contributes actively to her 
socialisation. Through the experiences she makes on her travels across the worlds and the new 
impressions she gathers, the heroine undergoes a radical change of her personality with 
consequences for her attitude. The focus shifts from the microcosmos of Lyra’s closeness 
with her soul-daemon Pantalaimon over her relationship with Will to the macrocosmos, the 
larger perspective of humankind. Having discovered that there are innumerable parallel 
worlds interdependent on each other, Lyra realises the enormous responsibility of the people 
in each world. At the end of the trilogy Lyra has come a long way from the self-centred girl 

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that she was at the beginning. Through the heroine’s metamorphosis her understanding, 
reason and social competence have developed enormously and she has
broadened her horizon. 
Having left the unconscious mastering of the alethiometer behind, the heroine has become 
conscious of her responsibility and potential. Furthermore, she now has a fixed mission, a 
new quest,
namely to build the republic of heaven. In order to be able to do so she has come 
to the conclusion that “you must not put yourself first”.
228
As the child she was at the 
beginning of the trilogy, she would not have been mature or prepared enough to do this. Now 
she is able to selflessly sacrifice her love for her vision.
The second hero Will, who makes his entry in the second volume of the epic trilogy, 
does not fully manage to catch up with the lead that Lyra has since the first volume as far as 
strength of character and sympathy are concerned. As her male counterpart, Will 
complements her development through a further point of view and a different potential. Like 
Lyra, he has not got any stable family background, but cares for his mother who is incapable 
of looking after him. Will’s and Lyra’s paths to maturation have fused
for a mutual
stretch in 
their biographies. During this time, they learn a lot from each other, give mutual support and 
grow together until they have to part again. Both succeed in overcoming their crisis of identity 
after a phase of transition and in finding not only their true selves, but also their individual 
place in society. An unmistakable sign for their maturity is the fact that Lyra and Will, despite 
having fallen in love with each other, consciously abandon the possibility of a joint future in 
one world. Instead, they deliberately decide on living apart, each in their own world, united by 
their joint quest. Whereas a future together would have been possible, Lyra and Will prove 
their courage and willpower by taking a very adult decision of self-denial for the benefit of 
the cause. No child would choose this path.
In Keepers and Seekers, one fine day the boy Peter is confronted with his heritage as a 
Stone Keeper. As with the long line of Keepers before him, his life is predestined for this task 
and does not leave him much choice. This knowledge and the dangers this new situation 
exposes him and his family to bring about a crisis of identity: Peter’s old and new life clash. 
He feels uprooted and thrown in at the deep end – and it takes him some time before he can 
truly accept his legacy. Once he has taken this hurdle, numerous tests and hardships are 
required before he fully identifies himself with his quest. Peter’s mentor Myroy always makes 
sure that Peter does not forsake his quest. Isolated, the hero finds that gaining responsibility 
228
Pullman, The Amber Spyglass, p. 548.

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means that he has to come to terms with loss and the ensuing feelings of pain, sufferance and 
grief. In retrospect he learns that everything was part of a higher plan. The harsh methods 
were chosen to clear all possible distractions and to make him concentrate fully on his task. 
Yet it remains questionable whether such draconian measures are necessary in order to reach 
the goal.
Stroud’s Bartimaeus trilogy also deals with the subjects of crisis of identity, transition 
and maturation. Illustrated by the controversial hero Nathaniel, the process of growing up and 
development is traced. Taken away from his parents at a very early age, the boy is raised in 
the household of a wizard. This rupture troubles him deeply but he soon develops strategies to 
hide and sometimes even to suppress emotions. Having to fend for himself, Nathaniel 
becomes more independent than other children at his age. However, this costs him dearly. His 
cruel master deprives him of his freedom and childhood, traumatises the boy and punishes 
him harshly for the smallest mistake. Caused by this severe lack of love, affection, respect and 
understanding Nathaniel’s personality changes towards bitterness and selfishness. As a result, 
he develops a strong hate which is expressed by Nathaniel’s urge for revenge and his inability 
to forget and to forgive. Unable to define himself through social values and competence, the 
boy strives for recognition through ambition and outstanding
achievements. Therefore the 
reader increasingly feels that the boy is heading the wrong way. It is only at the very end of 
the third novel that the boy, now visibly grown up, has overcome his crisis of identity and has 
left behind the phase of transition and orientation. However, Nathaniel’s purgation is short-
lived: As soon as he realises his mistakes, he dies. The final step to maturity, brought about by 
his own conscious decision, stands in a sharp contrast to Nathaniel’s usual arrogance. 
Nevertheless, even on the brink of death the wizard cannot truly admit his feelings. Instead, 
he dies with a final sideswipe at Bartimaeus.
229
Due to his emotional frigidity making 
Nathaniel put tactics before emotions, his death does not have anything heroic.
With Nathaniel lacking a kindness, the reader’s sympathy inevitably turns towards the 
cowardly but charismatic djinn Bartimaeus, who has everything that the boy lacks: A positive 
personality, cheerfulness, humour, impulsiveness, spontaneity, bonhomie, coolness and a 
loose tongue. In contrast to his cold and calculating master Nathaniel, he appears more human 
even though he is a djinn. What is more, he has so much genuine affection, respect and maybe 
229
Stroud, Bartimaeus: Ptolemy’s Gate, pp. 514-515.

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even love
230
for his former master Ptolemy that he frequently takes on the Egyptian boy’s 
outer appearance. By contrast, Bartimaeus would not even dream of doing something similar 
for Nathaniel. However, even the djinn’s behaviour alters in the course of the trilogy. Under 
the positive influence of the courageous, morally steadfast and convincing girl Kitty and the 
mostly negative impulses he gets from his master Nathaniel Bartimaeus becomes more 
mellow and serious.
As for Kitty, the third member of the hero trio in Bartimaeus, the girl distinguishes 
herself right from the start by her charisma, intrepid nature, courage, sense of justice and 
steadfastness. For this reason, she does not experience such a crisis of identity like Nathaniel. 
Rather, she is already in an advanced phase of transition as she is portrayed as the most 
mature of the three heroes. Against any prevailing clichés it is Kitty who is the most 
responsible and serious of the trio, not the two male members. A commoner and a girl at that, 
Kitty has to fight against many prejudices and discrimination in a world dominated by – 
mostly male - wizards. Her origin and her own problems help her understand Bartimaeus and 
the other demons that rebel against their masters and servitude. Her belief in justice and 
equality for all beings
231
cannot be shaken by setbacks. Rather, they strengthen her self-
confidence even more. Intrigued by Bartimaeus’ special relationship to Ptolemy and the trust 
the boy summoned up for the djinn by stepping through the eponymous gate and crossing 
over into the demons’ world, Kitty forms her own vision. Impressed by Ptolemy’s deed, the 
girl undertakes the transition through Ptolemy’s Gate into the demon world on her own 
initiative. Kitty’s initiation is successful, even if she has almost given her life for it. Aged 
visibly, she is now
trapped in a marked body but has also gained enormous wisdom. By 
pursuing her vision and not shying from the consequences, Kitty demonstrates that she is 
already very mature at the outset. Her return makes her wise. In contrast to Nathaniel, the girl 
has a backbone and is capable of respect and trust. This is why she succeeds in establishing a 
relationship with the djinn and Nathaniel fails.
Delaney’s The Wardstone Chronicles are set entirely in a secondary fantasy world 
which resembles closely a medieval England but for its magical beings. It is against this 
background that the twelve-year-old hero Thomas Ward is taken on as an apprentice by a 
spook, whose task is to bind evil spirits and witches. In order to take up his new position, 
young Tom has to leave his home and family behind and has to travel with the necromancer. 
230
Ibd., p. 214.
231
Ibd., p. 217. 

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This rupture causes a crisis of identity for the young boy, who is no longer a real part of the 
farmer family Ward and still far from being a spook himself. Torn between family bonds and 
vocation, he has to decide for one or the other. In the ensuing phase of transition Tom needs 
to become aware of the path he wants to tread in his future life, find his true self, choose as 
well as accept his new situation and set his goals. He is emotionally supported by his mother 
and practically by the Spook. The latter passes on his knowledge and prepares Tom well for 
his future tasks. With his father dead, his mother returned to her home country and the Spook 
leading a hermit’s life, the boy must concentrate on his education and personal development. 
Once the seventh son of a seventh son has mastered his tasks and successfully completed his 
apprenticeship, he has not only reached maturity but has been fully initiated into society. Then 
he can be released from his articles and become an independent spook.
Representative of the general trend of the genre, the fantasy heroes of our corpus 
novels go through a pronounced crisis of identity and a phase of transition from childhood to 
adulthood. Either the heroes have become fully independent by the end of the novel or
series 
or at least they are well on their way. They all have to tackle far-reaching changes of their 
situation, both concerning their social contacts and their own personality. Without their quest, 
the heroes’ development would have been either delayed or could have taken an entirely 
different path. Therefore the quest serves the function of a catalyst and impulse-giver
for their 
successful individualisation and initiation into society.
During the phase of their development, the fantasy heroes are repeatedly challenged 
over time. At least one particularly demanding test has to be mastered by them, for example 
the defeat of an arch-enemy as in the Harry Potter heptalogy or The Looking Glass Wars, a 
conscious decision for a global, even transworldly vision and against individual desires as in