Highlights
- The worlds of Muggles and wizards intersect in surprising ways, such as through intermarriage and the Ministry of Magic overseeing their protection.
- Some wizards hate Muggles due to their perceived superiority and pure-blood heritage, while others see them as tools to be dominated.
- Wizards study Muggles to understand their everyday lives and to better interact with them, despite some negative opinions on both sides.
It’s likely that almost everyone who’s engaged with the Harry Potter series has wished they’d received a letter to attend Hogwarts at some point. The life of a wizard seems so much more thrilling than the life of the average Muggle, though how those two worlds intersect has always been a point of interest for many fans of the series.
Those who love Harry Potter may be wondering exactly what tensions were like between the wizarding world and the plain world of morning coffee and bagels. The film series does touch on a few interactions throughout, but there is much more tucked away for the biggest Harry Potter fans to learn.
How Did The Muggle And Wizarding Worlds Intersect?
There are plenty of surprising ways that the worlds of Muggles and wizards overlap, with one of the more obvious being that the two often marry, and one of the less obvious being that the Ministry of Magic directly oversaw their protection in certain ways. Additionally, the secrets of the wizarding world would become known to Muggles if they happened to have a magical child with a witch or wizard, which isn’t an uncommon occurrence in the Harry Potter series. An example of this would be Hermione Granger’s parents, who were both Muggles but knew of Hogwarts and even traveled to Diagon Alley.
One of the most shocking ways the worlds came together was through their governmental connection. Acting as a secret from the wider Muggle world, at the very least, the Minister of Magic and Prime Minister of England would often meet in order to solve issues impacting both sides of society. Issues such as the rise of Voldemort or Grindelwald were likely the only times in which the wizarding world felt the need to consult with high-ranking Muggles, but even that isn’t confirmed.
Why Did Some Wizards Hate Muggles?
Unfortunately, it just seems like some witches and wizards believed that they were simply better than Muggles due to their magical abilities. The history that tied into the pure-blood wizarding families likely only aggravated that fact further, adding a deep history of magic into entire families and furthering their disdain for those who were likely all taught that Muggles were beneath them. Some wizards would go as far as to consider Muggles akin to animals, while others would see them as even less than that, simply tools to be used and people to be dominated.
The extreme beliefs of figures like Gellert Grindelwald and Lord Voldemort likely gave new life to hatred for Muggles. Both figures wished to dominate Muggles and weren’t exactly shy about that fact. Those wizards, along with many of the pure-blood wizarding families throughout history would even go as far as to call those willing to fraternize with or marry Muggles as blood traitors. Some witches and wizards plainly believed that they were better than all Muggles, not quite detecting the irony of a sentiment like that.
Why Did Wizards Study Muggles?
Those familiar with the Harry Potter series may have come across the Hogwarts class of Muggle Studies. This elective was essentially a way to educate young witches and wizards on the history of the Muggle world, making it more or less the average history class with a unique focus. One of the biggest draws of the studies was that witches and wizards could learn how Muggles managed to live their everyday lives without magic, something that many Hogwarts students might not have ever experienced.
Electricity is something that many people take for granted every day, but a witch or wizard is likely to have no need for that kind of thing, making it an everyday occurrence for Muggles that is simply alien to wizards. This is the exact purpose of the study, although some students see further value in that it helps magical folk understand Muggles better for when they get out into the world and have to interact with them in some form.
What Was The Relationship Between Wizards And Muggles Like?
While there certainly were plenty of problems between the wizarding and Muggle worlds (primarily from the wizarding side), the relationship between both sides of the magical coin was relatively mixed. For every wizard who viewed themselves as superior to Muggles for their prowess with magic, there were just as many who were fascinated by the non-magical people and advocated for their protection from the dangers of the wizarding world. It’s worth noting as well that, over the years, the world of Muggles has been viewed quite differently thanks to the different and somewhat sinister schools of thought that cropped up. Most notably, figures like Grindelwald and the always-evil Lord Voldemort certainly would have done terrible things to the Muggle world.
The pure-blood craze of some wizards is on full display for many witches and wizards throughout the Harry Potter films, most of which tend to end up in Slytherin at Hogwarts. Those witches and wizards value their lineage more than anything else, viewing Muggles and magical folk who’d settle down with Muggles as far less than them. At the same time, it’s made clear that there are just as many humans who don’t love the idea of magic existing. Harry’s own aunt Petunia is a prime example of this as she refused to speak to or even see her sister after her magic abilities manifested. While it is sad, negative opinions of both worlds weren't hard to come by.
Things weren’t all bad, as was already mentioned, the Ministry of Magic actively worked to keep Muggles safe from darker magics (including during the rise of Voldemort), classes on Muggles were taught at Hogwarts, and many wizards were fascinated by Muggle culture. Fans of the series will no doubt remember Arthur Weasley and his fascination with all the strange things that Muggles do, especially when it comes to the function of those little yellow rubber ducks. While the interest in Muggles might be a bit odd to some, it really does just seem to be a group of people trying to understand how another group lives since they are so different despite being in contact quite often. The wizarding world was never afraid to adopt Muggle culture, and that was only made easier when major figures like Dumbledore, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter openly accepted Muggles as they are.