Petunia Dursley: Socialist and Marxist feminism is not overtly present throughout the Harry Potter series, but is still seen. The two examples of the stereotypical housewives present in the novels are Aunt Petunia and Mrs. Weasley. These two women are seen as stark opposites in the household setting and in their relationships with the other characters. In the muggle world, Aunt Petunia is the prime example of a woman that is oppressed because of her housework and dominated by her husband and son. Her home is always clean, and perfect and she is always cooking or doing laundry. Rowling uses Petunia to allow the audience to hate the idea women that are forced into domestic lives. In contrast, this idea those women who are stay at home moms are seen as less than their male counterparts is completely disproven because of Mrs. Weasley. She is a woman that chooses the domestic life in order to care for her children and controls her household but is not controlled by her husband.
Molly Weasley: In the Wizarding world, Molly Weasley is seen as a loving mother and a woman of power. Her home is slightly messy and she is not only seen in the kitchen. I disagree with the idea that because she follows some stereotype of a domestic woman, she is automatically oppressed. Mrs. Weasley is not oppressed because she chooses to work in the household, caring for her children are her priority.
One of the most well known scenes of the Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows is when Molly Weasley kills Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix underestimates her because she thinks that Molly is an oppressed woman, because of that, Molly is able to kill her almost easily. In Mrs. Weasley killing Bellatrix, it proves that she is not just a feeble little stay at home mom, but a powerful woman with a family.
Rowling shows two very different women that are associated with the household. The fact that these two women fit into the same stereotype but are complete opposites gives the audience the idea that all women are different. Socialist and Marxist feminism is seen through Petunia in the muggle world and Mrs. Weasley in the Wizarding world. Petunia is portrayed in a very negative light because her husband dominates her; she is weak because she holds no power in her relationship with her husband and thus easily oppressed. Some underestimate Mrs. Weasley of her domesticated role, but that does not oppress her. In her relationship with Arthur Weasley she is the more dominant. Marxist and socialist feminisms are seen in the series but are slightly disproven because of Molly Weasly. By having Molly, an important character throughout the Harry Potter series, negate the idea that women that choose to be domesticated are not oppressed allows for women reading the books to see that there are many forms of power.