Much like its setting, Rowling's themes and characters in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone are both traditional and unconventional. Rooted deeply in British culture, the book features a delightful mix of classic fantasy elements and Victorian sentimentality, without veering into what a modern audience might find overly sweet. At their core, both classic British fantasy and Victorian literature explore grand themes of love and death, good and evil. This is evident in Rowling's novel, where the protagonist, Harry Potter, an orphan overshadowed by a harsh and ignorant world, grapples with issues of class and morality even after being taken to a more accepting and welcoming place.

This new and better place is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with the broader magical world. Here, Harry is encouraged to learn from his orphaned status and grow into his own greatness rather than being diminished for his differences and lack of "normal" advantages. Naturally preoccupied with death, Harry's heroic journey involves a quest to find, recover, and restore the Sorcerer's Stone, which can produce the Elixir of Life and grant immortality. It is a perilous object in the wrong hands, and Harry endangers his own life to secure the well-being of others.

Ultimately, Harry embraces and advocates for what Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts and co-creator of the Sorcerer's Stone, articulates: "to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." This acceptance brings Harry additional emotional support. While his parents are deceased, this represents a shift in fate rather than an irreparable loss. In her signature layered style, Rowling illustrates that Harry's parents not only left him behind but also bestowed him with a gift. At the novel's conclusion, when Harry inquires why Quirrell, Voldemort's accomplice, could not touch him, Dumbledore responds:

Your mother died to save you. If there's one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign ... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin.

Thus, Harry is marked not only by the literal and figurative scars of his orphaned status but also positively by it. This is something we hope the young adult readers, the target audience for Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, can learn to recognize as a theme in the real magic of their own lives.

The students of Hogwarts, fictional peers of the target audience, illustrate that significant themes like love and death, good and evil, are integral to every person's life. Whether it's the quintessential bully, Draco Malfoy (along with his sidekicks Crabbe and Goyle), or the overweight, clumsy, yet kind-hearted Neville Longbottom, each character's psyche and personality are influenced by their perception and reaction to these profound themes. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Rowling's characters are multifaceted and engaging precisely because they interact with these fundamental themes in their own lives.

Draco Malfoy, the bully, struggles with feelings of inferiority partly due to his father's success, expectations, and snobbery. Neville Longbottom, raised by his grandmother and unpopular due to his lack of style, harbors his own unique sense of inadequacy. Ron Weasley, one of seven children (with five older brothers), feels overshadowed by his siblings' accomplishments at Hogwarts, whether as head boy, Quidditch captain, house prefect, or popular pranksters. Hermione Granger faces the pressures of being a Type-A overachiever from a Muggle family.

Even the adults in the magical world grapple with controlling their lives and destinies—a theme in Rowling's fiction that may explain the Harry Potter series' widespread appeal among adult readers. Professor Snape battles with the guilt and frustration of being unable to repay his nemesis, Harry's deceased father, for saving his life. Rubeus Hagrid faces shame from being expelled from Hogwarts, having his wand broken, and being forbidden to use magic, making him an obvious misfit in both the Muggle world and the magical community.

Even the wise Professor Dumbledore, nearly perfect as a man and wizard, must confront the flaws and disappointments inherent in the human condition. When asked what he sees in the Mirror of Erised—a magical mirror inscribed with "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi" (I show not your face but your heart's desire) that reveals Harry's family to him and shows Ron Weasley as head boy holding the Quidditch cup—Professor Dumbledore responds: "'I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks. . . . One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.'"

Though delivered with a touch of humor, Professor Dumbledore's comment underscores a deeper truth: by acknowledging our tendency to desire what we lack, we may develop an appreciation for what we already possess. This insight echoes the lesson our young protagonist learns from the loss of his parents, benefiting both Rowling's characters and her audience, regardless of age.