“Better be…
Gryffindor!”
Almost everybody wants to be a Gryffindor...
but how many of us would be?
What does being a Gryffindor really mean,
and how would that translate in our world?
Hogwarts’ four houses embody different fundamental human qualities at play
in the Harry Potter stories.
To put it simply, Gryffindor represents bravery,
Hufflepuff loyalty, Ravenclaw wisdom,
and Slytherin cunning.
The series isn’t exactly subtle about who we’re supposed to root for.
“Excellent.
Ten points to Gryffindor!”
Pretty much all of our heroes are Gryffindors.
And J.K.
Rowling frames Gryffindor as the best house, which tells us that courage
and other Gryffindor qualities are the heart of the story she’s trying
to tell.
Because in this series, being a good, strong person ultimately comes down
to moral courage --
“If Voldemort’s raising an army, then I want to fight!”
it’s the daring to always do the right thing.
“To Mr. Harry Potter... for pure nerve and outstanding courage.”
So let’s look at what it takes to be a Gryffindor --
and how the house’s deeper identity is reflected in its colors, animal,
and the wizards and witches who are sorted into it.
“Welcome to Gryffindor.”
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Every student at Hogwarts is “sorted” into a house
shortly after they arrive...
it’s like a reading of who the students are at their cores.
“Plenty of courage I see.
Not a bad mind, either.
There’s talent, oh yes…
And a thirst… to prove yourself.”
The definitiveness of this sorting makes it seem at first like
the students are organized according to the innate qualities
they’re born with --
“Hah!
Another Weasley.
I know just what to do with you…”
but the story eventually teaches us
“It is not our abilities that show what we truly are.
It is our choices.”
The Sorting Hat is really trying to ascertain a person’s will --
it listens to what students are feeling and thinking,
and it considers their deepest desires.
Famous, special Harry could easily have excelled in Slytherin,
but he begs the hat not to put him there.
Then he worries that he’s only in Gryffindor because he pleaded with the hat.
“Sir, the Sorting Hat was right.
I should be in Slytherin.”
And Harry’s not the only Gryffindor who on the surface seems like a better fit
for another house…
Hermione comes across as a brainy Ravenclaw,
and we know from the books that the hat considered putting her there.
If genes or upbringing were the main things,
then Sirius Black would have been in Slytherin like his many ancestors.
Loyal and fair Ron and Neville could be Hufflepuffs.
In the books, Neville even asks the hat to sort him into Hufflepuff,
because he doesn’t think he has what it takes to be a Gryffindor.
But the hat can see that deep down, he wants to be a brave person,
like his parents.
“I’m quite proud to be their son.”
So the sorting is combination of what the students want
and what the hat knows they’re capable of.
All these Gryffindors have very different personalities and talents,
but what they share is the will to be brave, the choice to do the right thing,
and the determination to earn that great Gryffindor reputation.
Over time we’re most impressed by the character who overcome
their non-Gryffindor natural instincts to give into fears or do what’s easy,
“You’ll get Gryffindor into trouble again.
I’ll fight you.”
and instead prove what it means to be a Gryffindor.
“Why spiders?
Why couldn't it be ‘follow the butterflies’?”
So, if you really want to be a Gryffindor,
then you would be --
“If it really means that much to you, you can choose Gryffindor.”
but you’d have to really want it enough, for the right reasons.
Not just because you like the idea or sound of Gryffindor
or because it’s considered the best house by most Potterheads--
but because you desire to be a heroic, moral person so much
that you can overcome all the other instincts
that might keep you from being truly brave at heart.
Gryffindor’s house element is fire -- Gryffindors have a strong inner flame.
Their house colors, scarlet and gold, visually match fire.
Like Gryffindors, these colors are bold and unequivocal.
Rowling has cited red’s connection to passion and emotion --
and the Gryffindors are nothing if not passionate
and driven by their emotions.
Gold makes us think of being the best, as in winning the gold medal
or being the gold standard.
And of course, Gryffindors do think they’re in the best house.
There's also the idea of having a heart of gold --
and Gryffindors are known for their strong friendships
and love for one another.
In the first book,
the Sorting Hat defines the Gryffindor qualities
with the lines:
"You might belong in Gryffindor, Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart.”
We’ve already talked some about daring and nerve,
but chivalry is also an interesting addition.
In modern language, chivalry tends to be used
in the context of men being gallant towards women.
But originally this word had a broader meaning—
it referred to a knightly code of honor in medieval times.
And we can kind of see that Harry and his clan are like modern knights.
They hold themselves to a moral standard and code of conduct
that others don’t always see as necessary.
"I think we agree Potter's actions were heroic.
The question is, why were they necessary?"
Harry and his creator share the same birthday, July 31st,
which makes them both Leos, and that happens to be a fire sign.
So it’s almost like much of the Gryffindor imagery
is originally inspired by Rowling’s own zodiac sign.
Leo is also Latin for lion, which is the Gryffindors’ house animal.
The lion makes us think of leadership, courage, strength, and nobility.
In the same way, Gryffindors seem like the leaders of Hogwarts...
like when Hermione, Harry and their friends
create Dumbledore’s Army to go up against Dolores Umbridge.
A group of lions is called a pride, and Gryffindors show pride
in the positive sense of the word.
Gryffindors take pride in the strength of their community
and their shared values.
They know they’re most powerful when they team up and protect each other.
Sometimes, though, Gryffindors can come across as too proud
in the negative sense of the word, too.
They can be reckless or act like the rules don’t apply to them,
and not everyone finds this so charming.
Gryffindors are even accused of arrogance --
Harry’s father James was guilty of this
in the way he bullied Snape.
“Right.
Who wants to see me take off Snivelly’s trousers?”
The Slytherins tend to see the Gryffindors as show-offs
who engage in heroic antics for the glory
“Clearly, fame isn’t everything.
Is it…
Mr. Potter.”
and who enjoy unfair favoritism at the school.
“Gryffindor wins the House Cup!”
“Yes!”
Another Slytherin criticism of Gryffindors is that their so-called “bravery”
can look more like stupidity.
“I’ve always admired your courage, Harry.
But sometimes you can be really thick.”
And to be fair, we can think of times when Harry’s attempts to be brave
make his situation worse.
“Where’s Sirius?”
“You know, you really should learn to tell the difference
between dreams… and reality.”
Despite their flaws, most Gryffindors eventually learn to channel
their proud or reckless energy in a positive direction.
Unofficially, the phoenix is another animal that’s connected to Gryffindor.
Dumbledore’s phoenix, Fawkes, embodies the element of fire
and the house’s colors.
In The Chamber of Secrets, Fawkes helps Harry defeat the basilisk,
and this feels explicitly like the Gryffindor creature
taking down the Slytherin one.
Fawkes’ closeness with Dumbledore also makes it seem like the phoenix
is an animal version of the man himself.
In Order of the Phoenix, Fawkes helps Dumbledore
avoid being sent to Azkaban.
And when Dumbledore created an organization to resist Voldemort back in the day,
he put “phoenix” in the name.
The phoenix is known for its ability to rise from the ashes
“They burst into flame when it is time for them to die,
and then they are… reborn from the ashes.”
And symbolically, Gryffindors have been known to do the same --
look at Harry and Neville, who became stronger
after the horrors they experienced as children.
The Gryffindor common room reflects the house spirit:
its defining word would probably be “cozy.”
It’s lit up with the warmth of fires, compared to the cold Slytherin common room.
It’s in a tower, just as the Gryffindors are high-minded,
whereas the Slytherins are near a dungeon,
not afraid to get into low-down, dirtier business.
The entrance to the Gryffindor common room is guarded by the unintimidating Fat Lady.
“Ahhh… oh, amazing!
Just with my voice.”
“Fortuna major.”
“Yes, alright.
Go in.”
So Gryffindor offers students a homey place where they feel
completely comfortable and safe --
and that reflects how the members of the house act like a family.
They welcome all members regardless of class background
or social importance, unlike some other houses.
“Red hair and a hand-me-down robe.
You must be a Weasley.”
So what’s in the name “Gryffindor” itself?
The name comes from the wizard Godric Gryffindor,
one of the four founders of Hogwarts.
A “griffin” is a magical creature that’s part lion and part eagle.
To Christians, this creature is the perfect symbol for Christ
because the eagle rules the sky while the lion rules the earth --
so the griffin captures Christ’s hybrid nature as both divine and human.
Gryffindors are hardly gods, but the griffin could symbolize
the way that Gryffindors strive to be their most virtuous selves,
to let higher values guide their human lives.
Finally there’s the suffix “d’or.”
In French, “d’or” means of gold or golden --
again making us think of having a heart of gold.
Godric Gryffindor’s greatest legacy might be going up against Salazar Slytherin
over the issue of whether non-purebloods should be allowed into Hogwarts.
“Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts.
He believed magical learning should be kept within all-magic families.
In other words, pure bloods.”
Godric Gryffindor’s mission of fighting evil
seems to live on in his sword,
which makes multiple appearances throughout the stories
to remind us of Gryffindor values.
“If you want proof of why you belong in Gryffindor,
then I suggest you look more closely at this.”
In The Chamber of Secrets, Harry unknowingly uses the sword
to kill the basilisk.
And in The Deathly Hallows, Hermione realizes that because the sword
is made by goblins, it has a special quality.
“It only takes in that which makes it stronger.”
So because Harry’s used it on the basilisk, the sword becomes powerful enough
to destroy horcruxes.
This idea of taking in only that which makes us stronger
also makes us think of the phoenix and of the way that Gryffindors
do rise up stronger after their traumas.
Even the Gryffindor ghost, Nearly Headless Nick,
reminds us of this scrappy Gryffindor fighting spirit --
he’s still going strong, despite being pretty close to decapitated.
All the most famous Gryffindors have to take down a big enemy:
Godric Gryffindor with Salazar Slytherin, Dumbledore fights Grindelwald,
and Harry fights Voldemort.
So Gryffindor’s greatest legacy -- and what the house is arguably all about --
is this commitment to standing up against evil.
“Join me… and live.”
“Never!”
So does Gryffindor deserve its reputation as the best house?
If you separated out the Gryffindor qualities and evaluated them in our world,
not everyone would say courage is objectively more important
than intelligence, loyalty, or ambition.
And maybe if you’re in a more peaceful period where there’s no big Voldemort to take down,
courage isn’t the most important thing.
But the fact is, our society today probably tends to overvalue
some of these other houses’ qualities, like smarts and worldly success,
and our society doesn’t place enough value on bravery and a strong moral code.
Ultimately Gryffindor doesn’t symbolize inherent or born heroism,
so much as a state of being we can aspire towards.
We can be Gryffindors if every day we work hard
to be our most high-minded and courageous selves.
Remember, all we’ve got to do is really want to be Gryffindors
badly enough, and make that happen, even if we don’t get to do it at Hogwarts.
“Good people and Death Eaters— we've all got both light and dark inside of
us.
What matters is the part we choose to act on.”
This is Susan Orlean.
Susan is a staff writer at the New Yorker and a New York Times bestselling author.
You might remember that Meryl Streep plays her in Adaptation.
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