Here’s my theory for why students were sorted into their houses in Harry Potter - the student’s deepest motivations were what the Sorting Hat pinged.
I narrowed down the four motivations between the houses as these: Gryffindor is for justice, Ravenclaw for truth, Hufflepuff for love, and Slytherin for power.
Gryffindor is commonly known as the ‘courage’ house. Basically any quote associated with it on HP blogs has the word ‘courage’ or ‘fear’ in it. But courage isn’t a goal or motivation, courage is a reaction to a circumstance. My theory is that Gryffindors are motivated to pursue justice despite difficulties. In a seedy crime serial TV show, the Gryffindor character would be the grizzled cop. Righteous and spiteful.
While fighting against injustice is usually good, it can also go too far. Whether it’s against perceived injustice that is taken out of context, or simply punishment for wrongdoings taken to extreme violence, it can become twisted into revenge or cruelty.
Harry, for example, is elated when Sirius Black is rescued from an unjust fate in PoA. He’s practically gleeful when Aunt Marge is blown up like a balloon. He’s beyond irate when questioned in the Wizenmagot for saving himself and Dudley from dementors in a farce of a trial. He’s also beyond pissed when he unfairly doesn’t get to go to Hogsmeade because his uncle wouldn’t sign his stupid form. But… Harry also gets so angry at Bellatrix Lestrange for killing Sirius that he successfully Crucios her with cruelty on his mind. He wants to hurt her - punish her - for what she’d done.
Hermione campaigns for house elves to be freed in her S.P.E.W. program for years after she learns about them being mistreated and oppressed. She also starts up the resistance group Dumbledore’s Army. But… she gets so angry at Marietta Edgecombe for snitching on the group - betraying them to a corrupted authority - that she permanently scars Marietta’s face with a nasty hex.
Ron is the most laid back in the Golden Trio, but even he gets Fred and George to help him break Harry out of Privet Drive in CoS with the Ford Anglia. He yells at Snape for calling Hermione a know-it-all after he’d done it to her a thousand times as a friend. But… He also gets so mad he doesn’t talk to to Harry after Harry gets picked in the Triwizard Tournament, because he thinks Harry went behind his back to get in.
Ravenclaw is known for being the scholarly house, all about books and learning. But I think the motivation underlying is for the student to find truth. Not all truth is in books, after all. In a seedy crime serial TV show, the Ravenclaw would be the nosy reporter. Uncovers the truth, but can be unfeeling or callous towards victims or people they deem stupid.
Luna Lovegood is the perfect example of this. Even though she is in Ravenclaw, she doesn’t ascribe to the by-the-book way of looking at things. She explores the world around her without preconceptions. She reads her Quibbler upside-down, which seems mad to other people until they know that the Quibbler’s articles are printed upside down. She believes in magical creatures like nargles that nobody can see, she loves thinking about complex riddles, she believes Harry when nobody else does… Luna searches for truth in the world around her, even if she doesn’t fit the stereotype of the put-together scholar. She’s the dreamy philosopher your mother warned you about. It makes sense that her father runs a newspaper the way he does, as he was also in Ravenclaw.
Hufflepuff is known for hard work and loyalty. I think the underlying motivation here is love. If you love something, you work hard at it, whether it’s an art piece or a sport or a musical instrument. You want it to succeed. Loyalty is love, of a sort; steadfastness, absolute devotion, unquestioned support. In a seedy crime serial TV show, the Hufflepuff would be the consoling, sympathetic profiler. Caring, but sometimes too fragile for the realities of life.
Newt Scamander, for example, rolls up his sleeves and gets messy in the dirt to take care of his magical creatures. He travels all over the world to find them or transport them, gets into incredibly dangerous situations to help them, and spends all his time taking care of them. He wholeheartedly cares for and toils for them, to the point of sacrifice. He’s also unfailingly loyal to magical creatures in general - even though many of them are dangerous, he argues to anyone that will listen that humans are the problem. He writes a book to help people understand the creatures a little better, so as to stop hurting them. He equally loyal to his human friends, like when he gifts the silver shells to Jacob at the end of Fantastic Beasts. Everything he does, Newt does out of love for someone. Even if it hurts him, in the end.
Slytherin is known as the ‘ambitious’ house that strives for ‘greatness.’ I take this to mean power is the main motivation. In a seedy crime serial TV show, the Slytherin would be the police chief, or possibly a lawyer, someone influential in the goings-on of the plot’s conclusion. Whether the character is positive or negative depends on the characterization and which side they’re on. Power is not inherently bad - it is only as bad as the people that wield it.
Individual agency, for example, is a good thing. I can easily imagine an abused child coming to Hogwarts such as Snape, wanting to assert their newfound agency. Someone wanting to protect the vulnerable with the authority they earn, someone wanting to use their platforms or successes to let silenced people be heard, someone just wanting to protect themselves from any more suffering; these are worthy ambitions.
On the other hand, power is easy to abuse once it’s been acquired. The climb to power can also be corrupt. Using people as stepping stones, throwing loyalties aside for a promotion, feeding lies about the opponent… you get the idea. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and all that.
So yes, Voldemort was a prime example of power abuse. And manipulation. And warmongering. And racism. Etc. So is Lucius Malfoy, on a lesser scale, with all his politicking in the Ministry and constant one-up-manship games against Arthur Weasley, not to mention his additional Death Eater status.
But Merlin was also in Slytherin, as in the King Arthur’s court Merlin. A great wizard, who made amazing discoveries and advancements in magic while advising the king at the time. He had influence, both in his own time and down the line. His name is known even now. Merlin wasn’t evil, but he was unquestionably powerful.
In the end, there are pros and cons for every house. Everyone wants at least a little bit of every four of these motivations; what determines the house is the leading motivation for you.
Hope this helps when you’re trying to find out your house and you hit a wall! It definitely does for me. Tag yourself I’m the grizzled cop :P
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