Emotional Development in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Jeremy Hester College

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban is an important book in the series due to its transitional nature, both in the maturity of the overall plot of the series, and in Harry Potter’s emotional state. While both Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets were generally very lighthearted, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the point in which the story begins to mature. Similarly, the character of Harry Potter turns thirteen in Prisoner of Azkaban, officially entering adolescence. Harry and his friends begin to experience various emotional changes in this book, such as mental illnesses and overcoming phobias. This signifies a major step in the series’ progression from childhood to adulthood.

One of the major emotional changes that new teenagers often experience are mental illnesses such as depression. Depression is often described as “a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest...You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn't worth living” (“Depression (major depressive disorder)”). According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, approximately twenty percent of adolescents have a diagnosable mental health...