In every story, there are characters, ranging drastically from major protagonists to minor supporting roles. One of the best known pieces of modern literature for the exceptional development and use of interesting characters can be seen in J.K. Rowling’s incredibly well-known, "Harry Potter" series.

The characters within these books are known for their overarching development, depth and their abilities to break character norms. There is no question that Neville Longbottom fits into this category of exceptional characters. Although there has not been a lot of research or scholarship presented about Neville Longbottom specifically, this character is touched on by many literary critics, including works by Julia Boll and Annette Wannamaker. These critics all appear to see Neville as an exceptional character, focusing on his development and strength as a minor foil, taking on heroic and unexpected qualities that challenge societal norms within this literature.

Neville Longbottom is a forgotten hero in this series, necessary in a form of foil to the main protagonist of Harry Potter, but developed in his own minor character, fighting in roles of gender stereotypes, heroic archetypes and rising into his position as a potential messianic savior.

From the very start of this series, Neville is notable as an important minor character. He begins with a kind of sidekick or squib-like status, holding his own sort of underestimated or incapable position within this group of students, and functioning as a character of comic relief. However, as this character grows, we see the ways in which he breaks out of certain stereotypes and challenges the norms of literature in a paralleled structure to Harry. The development of Neville works to undo gender stereotypes specifically, taking on elements of femininity and heterosexuality within the later books of this series. In multiple different respects, this character displays feminine characteristics which tend to not fit into either the masculine role of a hero, or even of the close friend or sidekick of a hero.

Neville takes on feminine characteristics by gaining herbology, essentially the wizard form of gardening, as his favorite subject, and by failing at many masculine markers of wizarding culture, such as flying on a broom and excelling at practices of defense against the dark arts. In an article from children’s literature scholar, Annette Wannamaker, entitled “Men in Cloaks and High-heeled Boots, Men wielding Pink Umbrellas: Witchy Masculinities in the Harry Potter Novels,” it is explained that the fact that Neville Longbottom has a more feminine and “quirky behavior” makes him “one of the most interesting and admirable secondary characters in the novels” (3). Wannamaker also mentions that Neville is “not good at sports,” and notes again that he favors herbology, which gives him fewer traits of masculinity in this modern society (3). These traits can become a very important part of Neville’s character, as they are important because they are different, “portrayed sympathetically by Rowling," despite being “rarely stereotypically masculine” (Wannamaker, 3). Neville parallels Harry in this respect, being used here as a foil of sorts since Harry is also known to take on more feminine characteristics, if not in a less obvious manner. Harry’s primary focus throughout the entire series is on family, which reveals a more feminine side of this protagonist. In this way, it is important for readers to see a more feminine character like Neville become a hero, in order for them to entirely understand Harry as a hero.

Looking at Neville from a more heterosexual point of view rather than on the strict guidlines of gender, Neville could even be argued as being the hidden "gay hero" within these famous writings. Authors Tison Pugh and David L. Wallace write an interesting article entitled “Heteronormative Heroism and Queering the School Story in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series,” focusing on the ways in which Rowling’s writing relates to gender and holds heterosexual themes as a comparison to the norm. Neville fits into the arguments made in this article, working under “ultimately regressive gender roles” (Tison and Wallace, 263). This series does not include any openly gay characters, unless one includes Dumbledore’s sexuality, which is not explicitly stated within the actual texts of the series. Neville, however, does include these elements of femininity and a lack of interest in the female characters that could signify him as the homosexual hero that is missing here. In this way, Neville again works as a type of foil for Harry, as this protagonist holds a type of “heteronormative heroism” that inadvertently samples to “limit [his] development as a hero” (Tison and Wallace, 276). The fact that Neville can be seen as a type of "gay hero" helps readers to accept and understand certain aspects of Harry’s character, allowing them to consider him a true hero.

Through understanding the ways in which Neville Longbottom represents a break in gender stereotypes throughout this series, we can gather that there are other aspects of this character that work to stretch into new depths of character development. Apart from simply making a point with Neville about gender in the wizarding society, Rowling also uses this minor character as a supporting hero, and a very important one to the entire overarching plot of this seven book saga. Author, Julia Boll describes the ways in which characters in the "Harry Potter" series can take on different roles in her 2011 article, “Harry Potter’s Archetypal Journey,” explaining that “archetypes are masks worn by characters” and that any one character “may have several different archetypal roles to fill over the course of a whole narrative” (89). This is a good point, showing that Rowling put multiple different “masks” on this character, to let him “take on the roles of different Jungian archetypes within the individual volumes” before growing up into a fully developed character over the course of seven novels (Boll, 87). Neville begins as an entirely underestimated character, being described as weak and incapable of simple spells. The only redeeming quality seen from Neville in the first book of the series is when he stands up to his friends, Harry, Ron and Hermione before they leave on their quest for the Sorcerer’s Stone. We see the progression of this character, though, throughout the next few books as he takes on these"‘different masks" to display different roles before taking on this heroic archetype that becomes so important to Neville as a character, and to the plot of the series overall. Neville takes on heroic qualities during the seventh book, completely shattering the notions that we, as readers, are given for his stereotype in the early books.

In some aspects, readers can look at Neville in more plain terms, realizing that there are many features within this minor character that are relatable, yet still fighting the standard norms of an archetypal hero. In a similar kind of article to Boll’s, entitled "Heroism at the Margins," scholar in children’s literature, Kathleen McEvoy, demonstrates the ways in which minor characters fit into the "Harry Potter" series, and the types of roles that these minor characters fulfill within the books. Neville, of course, constitutes as one of these minor characters, developing in his apparent primary role as a foil for our main protagonist, Harry. McEvoy points out this development that rises from Neville during the course of the books, stating that, “At the start of the series, Neville seems more comic relief than hero” (McEvoy, 217). This is a point that readers can often find for themselves, realizing that Neville becomes quickly famous in the first book for being the one who lost his toad. This is a comedic element introducing this character that lightens the mood of serious themes present within "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Neville does not stay in this role of comic relief for very long, however, as this heroic archetype was a plan of Rowling’s from the very beginning where she continued dropping “hints that Neville is, in fact, a hero” (McEvoy, 217). The first hint would be the fact that this character was placed in Griffindor in the first book, over a house like Hufflepuff.

Neville is clearly deemed as brave by the sorting hat, and again at the end of his first year when he is awarded ten points from Dumbledore to win Griffindor the House Cup. These are hints from Rowling from the very beginning of the series that, although Neville does not appear like much in the very beginning, he does have the potential to grow into something important. We see these changes the most prominently in the fifth book when Neville refuses to back down from the fight against the Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries, making a point of going with the others, claiming that they “were all in the DA together” (OP, 671). The power that readers can see in Neville at this point makes it clear that he is quickly progressing to be a recognizable force, embracing qualities of a Griffindor and mirroring Harry’s self-sacrificial attitude for the betterment of others.

There are definite ways in the "Harry Potter" series that Neville Longbottom breaks out of the stereotypical roles for a minor character, and this foil for Harry as a hero is one of the most prominent of these breaks. Looking at this series through the viewpoint of a mythic criticism and understanding that different texts can be very similar with similar kinds of heroes and characters, we can find that archetypes are present in most every piece of literature that we read. Heroic archetypes are some of the most common, and Harry Potter definitely fits this role. Neville, on the other hand, is a little bit less expected to fit into this archetype. Neville becomes a hero by the final book in the series, taking over leadership of Dumbledore’s Army at Hogwarts in Harry’s absence, and even being labeled by Wannamaker as “far more than a mere character foil for Harry or a stereotypical or conventional character” (Wannamaker, 3). Neville creates a new archetype for himself as a hero, rather than holding onto his original role as untalented sidekick. The mythic criticism here is broken, as a general kind of heroic archetype is formed in a reoccurring formula. Neville is unexpected in his initial role of comic relief and in his position of possessing feminine characteristics to fit into this general heroic archetype, but Rowling adds him in that role. Despite the fact that Rowling is using a fantastical world and characters that defy standards of literature in new in exciting ways, we can still fit Neville into this heroic archetype as a foil for Harry, and as an interesting twist on his own character development and growth over time.

Neville begins Hogwarts as a minor character who is untalented at magic with almost “squib” status, following a group of more talented children. In the first book of the series, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" Neville is described the first several times as simply “the boy who kept losing his toad” (SS, 111), and even writer, Annette Wannamaker claims that “Neville is not popular or handsome” (3). According to scholar, Heather Hass in her article regarding proverb use, “The Wisdom of Wizards-and Muggles and Squibs: Proverb Use in the World of Harry Potter,” personality psychologists “emphasize the power of the dispositional influences that affect behavior, even across a relatively wide variety of situations” (42). This could give an explanation for readers on why Rowling began Neville in this role. Personality is important when understanding Neville’s character because it influences the choices that Neville makes, and the choices that Neville had the potential to make had he been in a different position within this series. Neville is also well-known for standing up to his friends in the first book, yelling at them for sneaking out, threatening that he would “fight them,” despite the fact that Harry, Ron, and Hermione could clearly overtake them. Going back to Hass’ argument for why characters act in the manners in which they do, we can contrast the personality psychologists to the social psychologists, who “tend to emphasize the power of the situation in determining behavior, even when the people have very different personalities” (42). These social psychologists explained by Hass argue that it is not a character’s mere personality that governs the choices that a character might make, but instead that it is the ways in which they are socialized and treated. Harry Potter would have been a very different character had he not been orphaned and raised in the Muggle world, just as Neville Longbottom would have been a very different character had he not been orphaned and raised by his grandmother. The question then becomes how Neville’s character might have been developed differently had he been the chosen one over Harry Potter. Using this theory of personality vs social psychology could explain the reasons behind Rowling’s choices for Neville and the direction that she took him in, focusing on who he might have been in different fictional circumstances.

This question is a very important one to take note of when understanding the character of Neville Longbottom. This minor character had the potential to be the savior of this story, the hero behind the entire series, and the name in the title of each of these books. Looking back to McEvoy’s article, one can understand clearly the argument that Neville Longbottom is a sort of “Shadow-hero” for Harry Potter. He follows the same backstory as Harry, orphaned and raised by a family member, his parents taken out by Lord Voldemort. They were the same age. Either boy could have fulfilled the prophecy. Just as we know that Harry is the chosen one within the series, we also know as readers that “Harry becomes the ‘Boy Who Lived’ only because Voldemort chose Harry as the more likely adversary” (McEvoy, 218). Neville could just as easily have been the chosen opponent for Voldemort, able to win in the end as the savior of this story in both literal and religious concepts. This is displayed in subtle hints from Rowling throughout the entire seven book series, however is truly embedded in the final book, as Neville is the one who kills the snake. Neville is the one who Harry leaves in charge, and Neville is the one who stands up to Voldemort when everyone believes that Harry is dead (DH, 733). Neville could have been the hero that this story required instead of Harry. One must factor in the choices made by both Harry and Neville to understand if the outcomes in this series might have ended up the same with Neville as the sacrificial hero, however there is no question that he was a foil to Harry in his undeniable potential as a possible savior after Voldemort returns to the wizarding world.

J.K. Rowling is famous for coming up with some of the most interesting and complex characters in modern literature, and Neville Longbottom is an incredible example of the ways in which one character can grow and develop to break all expectations and progress into a fundamental piece of a children’s story filled with depth and importance. Neville breaks gender stereotypes by possessing feminine and potentially heterosexual elements, and helps to make these types of characters acceptable within the literature. He opens up standards of heroic archetypes, as Rowling pushes him from the role of minor comic relief into true hero of the series. Finally, Neville plays his most complex role by being a foil for the main protagonist, Harry, in his self-sacrificing feature as the potential savoir for this wizarding world. Through understanding all of these arguments, there can be no question that Neville Longbottom is a forgotten hero within the "Harry Potter" series, and one that can be undeniably classified as exceptional in our world of contemporary literature.

Sources for Further Reading

Boll, Julia. “Harry Potter’s Archetypal Journey.” Heroism in the Harry Potter Series. Katrin Berndt and Lena Steveker, eds. Ashgate Studies in Childhood, 1700 to Present. Surrey, UK :Ashgate, 2011.

Haas, Heather A. “The Wisdom of Wizards-and Muggles and Squibs: Proverb Use in the World of Harry Potter.” Journal of American Folklore. 124 (492):29-54.

McEvoy, Kathleen. “Heroism at the Margins.” Heroism in the Harry Potter Series. Katrin Berndt and Lena Steveker, eds. Ashgate Studies in Childhood, 1700 to Present. Surrey, UK :Ashgate, 2011.

Pugh, Tison and David L. Wallace. “Heteronormative Heroism and Queering the School Story in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly. 31.3. Fall 2006): 260-81.

Wannamaker, Annette. “Men in Cloaks and High-heeled Boots, Men wielding Pink Umbrellas: Witchy Masculinities in The Harry Potter Novels.” The Looking Glass 10:1 (Jan 2006). On-line. 7 October, 2015.