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The Mirror of Erised
The Sorcerer’s Stone of the novel’s title epitomizes how power can easily corrupt people, particularly those who are already hungry for power and have selfish leanings. The Sorcerer’s Stone is a rare and infinitely valuable object that can turn any metal into gold, and perhaps more temptingly, can create the Elixir of Life, which makes the drinker immortal. This makes the Stone an incredibly powerful object, and as such, it becomes an object of fixation for Voldemort, who is also obsessed with gaining eternal life. Voldemort’s return to power largely hinge on his ability to obtain the Stone, as he tells Harry that it will allow him to regain a body of his own. The quest for the Stone and for unbridled power allows Voldemort to corrupt Professor Quirrell and enlist him as a follower (Quirrell essentially becomes Voldemort’s host body), even though this quest eventually leads to Quirrell’s death. Harry, on the other hand, tries to gain the Stone not for his own power, but rather to prevent others from misusing it. Thus, the Stone intensifies the greed and desire that fester in those who already flirt with the idea of having absolute power, while demonstrating how those who are more humble and virtuous (like Harry, Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione) remain untempted by its power.
The Sorcerer’s Stone Quotes in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
The Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Sorcerer’s Stone. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
Quotes
“He’ll be famous—a legend—I wouldn’t be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter Day in the future—there will be books written about Harry—every child in our world will know his name!”
“Exactly,” said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. “It would be enough to turn any boy’s head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous tor something he won’t even remember! Can’t you see how much better off he’ll be, growing up away from all that until he’s ready to take it?”
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Chapter 16
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“SO WHAT?” Harry shouted. “Don’t you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort’s coming back! Haven’t you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won’t be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He’ll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! […] I’m going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?”
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“Oh, come off it, you don’t think we’d let you go alone?”
“Of course not,” said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you’d get to the Stone without us? I’d better go and look through my books, there might be something useful…”
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“That’s chess!” snapped Ron. “You’ve got to make some sacrifices! I’ll make my move and she’ll take me — that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!”
“But —”
“Do you want to stop Snape or not?”
“Ron —”
“Look, if you don't hurry up, he’ll already have the Stone!”
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“Harry — you’re a great wizard, you know.”
“I’m not as good as you,” said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.
“Me!” said Hermione. “Books! And cleverness! There are more important things — friendship and bravery and — oh Harry — be careful!”
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Chapter 17
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“A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it.”
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“Your mother died to save you. If there is 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. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good.”
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“You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone — find it, but not use it — would be able to get it, otherwise they’d just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life.”
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Get the entire Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Sorcerer’s Stone Symbol Timeline in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Sorcerer’s Stone appears in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 13: Nicolas Flamel
...few weeks earlier and reads that Flamel “is the only known maker of the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
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Ron and Harry don’t know what the Sorcerer’s Stone is. Hermione explains that it transforms any metal into gold, and that it also produces...
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...Quirrell has found out how to get past Hagrid’s dog and get to the Sorcerer’s Stone yet. Snape concludes their conversation by saying that they will have another chat soon, when...
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...have a party for him. Harry breathlessly tells them that Snape’s trying to steal the Stone, and trying to force Quirrell to help him get to it. They worry that the...
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Chapter 14: Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback
...to Hagrid’s hut. They start to ask Hagrid more about the other enchantments guarding the Stone, revealing that they know what Fluffy is hiding. Hagrid doesn’t tell them, but he does...
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Chapter 15: The Forbidden Forest
...it all up to get Snape fired. Also, they’re not supposed to know about the Stone in the first place. Harry resolves not to do anything.
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...both Ron and Hermione what he saw, concluding that Snape is trying to steal the Stone for Voldemort so that Voldemort can then kill Harry. Hermione tries to comfort him, saying...
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Chapter 16: Through the Trapdoor
As Harry completes his exams, he constantly worries that Voldemort is going to get the Stone. He is plagued by nightmares, and a little frustrated that Ron and Hermione don’t seem...
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...urgent business. Harry is frantic, revealing that they need to see him about the Sorcerer’s Stone, as someone is going to try to steal it. McGonagall is shocked that they know...
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...Snape sent the owl summoning Dumbledore, and that he’s going to try to steal the Stone that night. Harry resolves to get to the Stone before Snape. Hermione and Ron warn...
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...protest, but Ron argues that they have to “make some sacrifices” to get to the Stone. He moves and the white queen pounces on him, striking him hard across the head....
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Chapter 17: The Man with Two Faces
...behind Quirrell. Quirrell examines it, knowing that it must be the key to finding the Stone. In the Mirror’s reflection, he sees himself proudly presenting the Stone to Voldemort, but doesn’t...
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Harry realizes that his deepest desire at that moment is to find the Stone before Quirrell. Thus, if he looks in the Mirror of Erised, he should see himself...
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...the Mirror. When Harry sees his reflection, it smiles at him and pulls the blood-red Stone out of his pocket. When his reflection puts the Stone back, Harry can feel the...
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...him to create a body of his own. He demands that Harry hand over the Stone.
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...not to let their deaths be in vain, commanding him again to hand over the Stone. Harry runs, screaming, “NEVER!” but Quirrell grabs him. But when he does so, pain shoots...
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...that Harry’s been out cold for three days, and that Quirrell does not have the Stone. Dumbledore had arrived just in time to rescue Harry, after realizing that the message from...
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...he thought it would be useful. Harry’s asks a final question: how he got the Stone out of the Mirror. Dumbledore explains that only someone who wanted to locate the Stone,...
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...saw Dumbledore in the entrance hall, who somehow knew that Harry had gone after the Stone. Harry realizes that Dumbledore wanted to give Harry a chance, teaching him just enough to...
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