Harry Potter and PTSD
By Sean T Lewis
VeteransToday.com Staff Writer
As the parent of two teenage girls, and partner of a bookseller, I naturally was pulled into J. K. Rowling's wizarding world of Harry Potter several years ago. Recently, in preparation for the release of the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we in the family have been rereading the previous six books to refresh our memories of the trail the saga has taken us over the past several years.
Amid this, while working on soldiersheart.org last week, what with the rest of the family all immersed in Harry Potter, I couldn't help but think about how the character of Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody serves as a prime example of PTSD. In fact, I believe this is the reason that he is my favorite character in the series. "Constant Vigilance!" What a guy — a man after my own heart! I wouldn't want to be Mr. Moody, but I do admire him, and think that he is a darned fine example of what happens to a good person with "Shell Shock", "Battle Fatigue", or whatever name you want to give it, when the shooting stops.
In the years after the war, Mad Eye was left alone in his house, with old friends nearby keeping watch on him, and special spells cast over his home to notify the authorities if there were ever any incident. But he was still alone, with most wizards considering the act of checking in on him a chore or a duty, rather than a visit with an old chum. More people came to know him as "Mad Eye" than as "Alastor". Parents cautioned their children to steer clear of him. When he landed himself a teaching position at a prestigious boarding school through his friendship with the headmaster (it was really an imposter, I know), many — even his friends — questioned his fitness to teach, and worried about the safety of the school with him in it.
But the war was left unfinished, and the villains of the First Wizard War (WWI) have come back to restore their former glory in WWII, the Second Wizard War. Now who, along with the great wisened leader Dumbledore, are they turning to? Mad Eye Moody. But they have started calling him "Alastor" again, and it is only his friends, his compatriots from WWI, who will still tease him with "Mad Eye" chatter. Young Aurors and would-be Aurors alike turn to Alastor for advice and training. He is being relied upon as a top advisor — his paranoia and his magical eye (symbolically the same thing), and experience proving very valuable assets to the Order of the Phoenix in this new war against old enemies.
This is the state of many a warrior: regaled in wartime, reviled in peace.
How J. K. Rowling gained her insight into the veteran's condition, I do not know, but she has fleshed out a great character to reflect this particular aspect of war and society.
Finally, a prediction for the final installment of the Harry Potter series. Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody's courage will spark as he is once again gravely injured, perhaps killed, while saving the life of one of his young protegés.
Sean T Lewis is a disabled veteran of the Persian Gulf War now living in Portland, Oregon as a single parent, activist, and writer. Sean is a member of several veterans' organizations, a local officer of Veterans for Peace, board member of the Northwest Constitutional Rights Center, and webmaster for soldiersheart.org.
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