“Potterversity” Episode 55: “The Murky Marshes of Memory – Part 1”

Explore how memory operates in Harry Potter in magical ways that might be quite unlike the Muggle understanding of memory.

Regular contributor Louise Freeman is a professor emerita of psychology at Mary Baldwin University and a licensed behavior analyst and service provider for special needs individuals. She considers the implications of being able to store and share memories in a Pensieve. While the basic premise seems somewhat similar to the psychological process of encoding, storing, and retrieving memories, there is almost an element of time travel, in which the user can access details that the initial viewer surely would not have been able to see or remember. But can such details be trusted, or are they part of the viewer’s subjective reconstruction and reinterpretation of the memory? While it is obvious that Slughorn has tampered with his memory of Tom Riddle, it is less clear how accurate Snape’s memories of the Marauders are.

Upon his death, Snape manages to show Harry a clear montage of memories explaining everything – had he been preparing all of the necessary information in order to hand it off so neatly? How difficult is it to show memories smoothly? Could Harry’s memory of the Dementor attack in Little Whinging have been used as evidence in his hearing, or would Fudge not have allowed or trusted it, particularly if presented by Dumbledore?

What happens when memories are lost to a Memory Charm? Are they fully removed, or just hidden? Victims of such charms seem to have varying degrees of success in recovering their memories. While taking memories can be portrayed as a terrible crime, like what Lockhart intended to do to Harry and Ron, modifying them is often depicted as humorous or necessary, such as when the Ministry of Magic performs Memory Charms on Muggles who have witnessed magic.

Hermione alters her parents’ memories without their consent, albeit for a noble purpose, but the full consequences are unknown. If they were to be captured and interrogated by Death Eaters, could their memories be forcibly extracted? There are ethical issues surrounding memory in both the wizarding and Muggle worlds. Stay tuned for Part 2 to hear more from Louise on the complicated nature of memory.

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