On Reenchantment Of Celtic Culture And Contemporary Significance Of Harry Potter

The English Literature Harry Potter, sweeping over the modern world, which closely related with the New Age Movement, is an important sign of the enchantment of the Celtic Culture. The New Age Movement, originating in late 20th century, is an anti-traditional nongovernmental social movement. Its important feature is rebelling modernity as well as one of its basis—the western Christianized civilization, and thus to allow the over all revival of heathenism and marginal culture. Therefore this movement possesses a revolutionary significance of enriching the cultural patterns. Situating in the European base camp of the New Age Movement, namely, Edinburgh, Rowling took the ancient Celtic culture as its carrier, with the series works of Harry Potter, and created a"magic world"that is different from the secular society. This not only makes the"Celtic Tradition", which was oppressed and ignored in the long cultural history, anew its huge power and cultural value in the aperture of"Greek and Hebraic"culture, but also provides a plain original thought for the modern men who were caved in the constraint of pursuing material interests and were oppressed under the patriarchy culture basing its value center on violence and sense. And through this, it resists various kinds of psychological unbalance and psychological-crisis caused by the negative effect of"modernity"and possesses a nature of spirit rescue and culture cure.There are five parts of the whole thesis: introduction, three chapters of the text body, and conclusion.The introduction part introduces the popularity of the series of Harry Potter and the main contents of each volume. This part also makes a brief review of the recent researches of Harry Potter both home and abroad, and then it also states the angle of view and significance of the thesis.Chapter one defines and explains"the New Age Movement", and reveals that the marginal challenge center and the cultural trend of the nonmainstream topples down the mainstream caused by this movement are the first requirement and important learning background of comprehending Harry Potter this"new age"representative cultural text's deep connotation and the decoding of its rich and colorful cultural symbol code. It also analyzes another root of western culture—Celtic Culture, which has been oppressed by"Greek and Hebraic"culture for a long time.Chapter two discusses how Rowling constructs a magic world by skillfully adopting Celtic tradition as its producing soil in the series of Harry Potter, and thus makes the Celtic Culture, which has a long history, require modernized reconstructing and reviving.Chapter three analyzes the modern cultural meaning of Harry Potter, and states that Harry Potter is a piece of soul oasis created by Rowling, basing on the mortal beings who were infatuated in materialism and secular enjoyment and on the patriarchy cultural malady of today's society that advocates violence and rationality. It also analyzes that in the cultural situation of multi-culture coexistence of the new age, the compatible situation of Celtic Culture and the world's mainstream culture.The conclusion part states that, by metamorphosing and regrouping of the nonmainstream Celtic Culture in Harry Potter, Rowling realizes the tenet of rebounding marginal heathenism and re-sanctifying female caused by the New Age Movement. The magic world, described by Rowling, which is full of spiritualism and love and strengthens more on the value and significance level of spirit, it has the sense of calling back the soul of human beings that wallow in material interest and power, as well as incarnates the contemporary significance of multi-culture coexistence.