The Fallen Fathers of Goblet of Fire

Jo’s portrayal of mothers in the HP books is fairly straight-forward: mother’s love is the be-all end-all of the series, so we can move right along. But her portrayal of fathers, on the other hand, is incredibly nuanced and intriguing. The turning point appears to be the middle book of the series, Goblet of Fire, where we trade in saintly fathers like James and Arthur for the archetype of a bad dad: Barty Crouch Sr. The fact that this is the book Jo dedicated to her father, Peter Rowling, falls somewhere between “ironic” and “yikes!”

On the subject of fathers in the fourth book, I found a fascinating common thread: there is a theme of fathers losing control, and being unable to help their offspring. Almost every father of note in the series falls victim to this in the book, in increasingly dramatic fashion.

We open with a light, even comical, example: Uncle Vernon and Dudley. In the report Dudley brought home from Smeltings, “there were a few well-chosen comments from the school nurse that not even Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia could explain away.”(GF3) The school nurse pointed out Dudley’s obesity, leading the entire family to assume a diet of, in Vernon’s words, “rabbit food.”

As much as Vernon sympathizes with Dudley, he cannot overrule the dieting mandate. Someone else is making decisions about Dudley, which puts him in a uniquely powerless position here.

Keeping things light, in the next chapter, Arthur Weasley is “looking angrier than Harry had ever seen him.” (GF5) His sons – the twins – had just given Dudley a Ton-Tongue Toffee as a practical joke. In addition to disrupting Arthur’s attempt at being civil to the Dursleys, Arthur feels that it flouts the aim of his life’s work, which is improving wizard-muggle relations. But then, trying to maintain control over the twins was always going to be a fool’s errand. And it should be noted that the twins vehemently protest against the accusation that they targeted Dudley for being a muggle – their choice of prank victim wasn’t bigoted, but entirely personal. (GF5)

For Arthur and Vernon, the loss of control is minor. But, unbeknownst to the reader at the time, soon after that a much more serious instance occurs, one that sets into motion all the events of the book. At the Quidditch World Cup, Mr. Crouch loses literal control over his son. Barty Crouch Jr. had been under the Imperius Curse for many years. But as he tells it, “There were brief periods when I seemed outside his control. It happened, there, in the Top Box.” (GF35) Later that evening, when the Death Eaters ran amok at the Quidditch World Cup, “The sound of their voices awoke me. My mind was clearer than it had been in years.” (GF35)

There are few things more crucial to the events of Goblet of Fire than Crouch Sr. losing control over Junior. But after over a decade, Crouch Sr. finds himself utterly powerless, put under the Imperius Curse in turn as the son he desperately tried to tame is set free to commit all manner of heinous misdeeds. Later in the books, Crouch Sr. manages to regain a small bit of control over himself, and flees Pettigrew to alert Dumbledore. But here, again, he finds himself powerless before his son. Junior kills his father and transfigures him into a bone, leaving him buried in the earth near Hagrid’s. It’s an ignoble end for Mr. Crouch: the victim of patricide, lying anonymously in the Hogwarts grounds as nifflers dive for leprechaun gold all around him.

Next on the roster is Lucius Malfoy, whose influence has always ensured that Draco had an easy time of it. In the first week of classes, Draco gets a very rude awakening: his father is powerless to help him against Professor Moody.

Malfoy, whose pale eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation, looked malevolently up at Moody and muttered something in which the words “my father” were distinguishable.
“Oh yeah?” said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. “Well, I know your father of old, boy… . You tell him Moody’s keeping a close eye on his son. . . you tell him that from me. . . . (GF13)

This is quite the change of pace for Draco, especially since he had just spent a summer reveling in his father’s influence: sitting in the Top Box at the Quidditch World Cup, gloating over the fact that he knew all about the upcoming Triwizard Tournament. Previously, whenever something unpleasant happened (like the “attack” by Buckbeak or Harry’s placement on the House Quidditch team), Draco could count on Lucius to provide an assist. But Lucius cannot do anything to protect Draco from Moody.

Let us note that Barty Crouch Junior just got a buy-one-get-one special on making fathers lose control in this book, since he is responsible for both his own dad and Lucius being powerless!

Though not strictly a father, Sirius Black still serves as a father figure for Harry during Goblet of Fire. It’s easy to forget, given his petulance in Order of the Phoenix, but Sirius was actually a very good father to Harry in his fourth year. That said, Sirius is nevertheless unable to protect Harry as he wishes he could. Harry is still entered into the Triwizard Tournament. He still has to compete. Sirius cannot even help get Harry through the Triwizard Tasks – his advice on the First Task is interrupted by Ron’s late-night stroll, and he never advises on the Second Task because he’s too busy puzzling out The Egg and The Eye episode. All Sirius can do is comfort Harry, and advise him (contrary to his nature) to stay out of trouble.

Returning to the macabre, Tom Riddle Sr. is unable to control what happens to his remains. “Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!” (GF32) Echoing the Crouches, Tom Riddle Sr.’s death is full of indignity, as part of his remains are used to create a new body for the son he never wanted and never knew about.

It’s clear that the theme of powerless fathers builds throughout the books. It starts with trivialities like diets and pranks, but escalates into questions of life and death. Of course, it climaxes in the biggest and most gut-wrenching of ways.

Amos Diggory, who is insufferably proud of his son, experiences every parent’s worst nightmare: seeing his son dead. As we know, no magic can awaken the dead, so Amos is utterly helpless when he sees Cedric’s corpse arrive on the Hogwarts grounds. This is the worst powerlessness of all.

Some fathers are unable to protect their sons, others are unable to protect themselves from their sons. But all the fathers in the Potter series, up to that point, found themselves unexpectedly powerless. And lest we doubt this was intentional, note that this theme extends to exactly seven fathers in the book – the most powerfully magical number, and a signature of Jo’s when she wants us to pay attention!

Why this specific book to explore the theme, given how much else the fourth book has going on? Because, as Jo often says, Goblet of Fire is a turning point in the series. That’s true in many ways, but it also marks the point where Harry and his peers have to stop relying on their parents to fix things for them, and have to fight their own battles. In service of that, Jo put all her dads through the absolute wringer in Goblet of Fire. So, um, have a happy Father’s Day this year?