Sometimes the need to make a spreadsheet overwhelms me and here we are: a data-informed examination of bowing in the wizarding world :)
Throughout the seven-book series, we see approximately 93* bows performed by about 35 characters. In analyzing which characters bow, to whom**, and the purpose these bows serve, I was able to pull out some interesting observations I wanted to share with you all.
Slightly greater than half of the bows in the series (51 of 93, or 55%) are performed by wizards, and most are made to another wizard or group of wizards. The only non-humans on the receiving end of bows from wizards are the leader of the giants (Karkus) and Buckbeak. It's worth noting that both have massive (literally!) physical advantages on wizards, and that bowing seems to be a critical part in how wizards can attempt to interact with them safely.
Of the 93 bows performed in a series that focuses mainly on wizards, it's notable that almost half (45%) of bows described in the series are performed by non-wizards (magical beings/creatures/entities), and all of these bows are directed towards wizards. The relatively high number of bows performed by these magical entities are driven mainly by house-elf bowing. Kreacher is the character who bows the most in the series; he alone bows 18 times and accounts for almost 20% of all bows performed. Kreacher bows mainly to Harry (12), though he also bows to Sirius, Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione. When taken together with Dobby’s bows (4) and other Hogwarts House Elves’ bowing (7), the house-elves make up almost a third of all bows performed in the series, and never receive a bow in return. I was also struck by how often Goblins are described as bowing to wizards in the series (5 times, more than Dobby and as often as Buckbeak, who must bow if one wants to interact with him in a safe manner). Given the relatively little page time that goblins are given in the series and their explicit disdain for servility to wizards ("I recognize no Wizarding master," Griphook says), the amount of bowing is a bit of a contradiction and could be interesting to explore in any fan work that centers goblins.
After Kreacher and the Hogwarts house-elves as a collective group, the character who most often bows is Albus Dumbledore:
Dumbledore’s fondness for the social niceties is even noted by Voldemort:
“We bow to each other, Harry,” said Voldemort, bending a little, but keeping his snakelike face upturned to Harry. “Come, the niceties must be observed. ... Dumbledore would like you to show manners. ... Bow to death, Harry. ...”
Voldemort is taunting Harry here, not necessarily characterizing Dumbledore, so we can forgive him for overlooking an underappreciated aspect of Dumbledore’s adherence to manners: Dumbledore often weaponizes politeness:
Harry looked around; all three of the Dursleys were cowering with their arms over their heads as their glasses bounced up and down on their skulls, their contents flying everywhere.“Oh, I’m so sorry,” said Dumbledore politely, and he raised his wand again. All three glasses vanished. “But it would have been better manners to drink it, you know.”
And so while Dumbledore's bows are always framed as courteous (the narration does not editorialize as with Snape’s bow to Umbridge), it more often than not serves as a placating gesture while he’s exerting authority over people that he does not particularly like, such as Rita Skeeter, Cornelius Fudge, and Dolores Umbridge:
“I will be delighted to hear the reasoning behind the rudeness, Rita,” said Dumbledore, with a courteous bow and a smile, “but I’m afraid we will have to discuss the matter later. The Weighing of the Wands is about to start, and it cannot take place if one of our champions is hidden in a broom cupboard.”
Dumbledore inclined his head in a little bow. “Then undoubtedly the Ministry will be making a full inquiry into why two dementors were so very far from Azkaban and why they attacked without authorization.”
As High Inquisitor you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to send them away from the castle. I am afraid,” he went on, with a courteous little bow, “that the power to do that still resides with the headmaster, and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continue to live at Hogwarts.”
It’s also notable that Dumbledore does not bow to any Death Eaters; Lucius Malfoy bows to Dumbledore twice in Chamber of Secrets, but the bow is never returned.
We've already mentioned Buckbeak and the unnamed Gringotts goblins, so let's take a second to look at the only other character who bows 5 times in the series: Harry. His bowing is driven by his bows to Buckbeak in Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, and Half-Blood Prince (sorry, Witherwings):
The only other character to whom Harry ever bows is Voldemort. He is magically forced to do so before Voldemort initiates their duel in Goblet of Fire.
Harry is, unsurprisingly, much more often on the receiving ends of bows.** As our main character, a renowned name in the wizarding world, and generally adored by house-elves (one of whom he… owns), Harry is on the receiving end of a bow about 40 times:
Almost three-quarters of the bows Harry receives come from Kreacher, the Hogwarts house elves, Buckbeak, Dobby, or Gringotts goblins. Wizards who bow to him include shop owners in Diagon Alley (Madam Malkin, Ollivander, and Tom the Barman), and Order members such as Dedalus and Kingsley.
Hermione and Ron are often bowed to as well, but many of these instances reflect bows made to them while they are in Harry's company. Independently of Harry, Hermione is bowed to by Slughorn, an unnamed Hogwarts house-elf, and a Gringotts goblin, though the latter thinks she is Bellatrix. Ron is bowed to by Dobby and Kreacher.
Besides Harry and those receiving bows in his company (e.g. Ron, Hermione, & Hagrid), the wizards who receive the most bows tend to have power, status, and/or lineage: Voldemort (6), Umbridge (4), Fudge (3), Sirius (3), Dumbledore (3), and Draco (3):
What purpose do bows serve?
In marking each bow made in the series, I attempted to draw some conclusions about the types of bows typically made in the wizarding world and came up with the following five categories. I've attempted to define and characterize the main features of each grouping below, but as this process of classification was subjective I'd love to hear anyone else's take!
Service bows: service bows are made by shopkeepers to their patrons, deferential employees to their superiors, Death Eaters to Voldemort, and subservient magical creatures/beings/manifestations to wizards. These bows are made by the subordinate (willingly or unwillingly) to demonstrate respect for their superior’s status and a willingness to serve, due to the power dynamic that exists between them. Service bows make up the majority of bows made in the series (53%), and the high rate of bowing is driven by house-elves.
Courtesy bows: courtesy bows are made by formal, upper-class wizards to one another as a sign of politeness. Most courtesy bows are made between relative equals and thus the receiver of the bow may even bow in return. About a fifth of the bows made in the series fall into this category, and our main man of the courtesy bow is none other than Albus Dumbledore (see above). One thing that stood out to me was that about half of courtesy bows were made to female characters, a notably high ratio. Five of Dumbledore’s courtesy bows are to female characters, and other wizards who bow at least once to a female character upon addressing them or taking their leave include Slughorn, Ollivander, Fudge, and Karkaroff. This group of wizards, who are most of them from an older generation, status-conscious, and/or highly formal, suggests that making courtesy bows to witches may be a somewhat old-fashioned habit among higher-class circles. However, while it is much more common for female characters to be bowed to than it is for them to bow to other characters, Madame Maxime and Umbridge both make courtesy bows to other professors.
Scripted bows: scripted bows are made as part of formal or otherwise rigidly-adhered-to codes of interaction (i.e. between wizards and hippogriffs or giants, or between wizards in formal dueling scenarios—willing or unwilling). These bows are highly symbolic, conveying less real information about power hierarchies or politeness. About another fifth of bows made in the series fall into this category, with the greatest number being made by Harry, Ron, or Hermione to Buckbeak in order to approach him, who often bows in response. It's interesting to me how few of these bows are between wizards in dueling scenarios. In fact, I only counted three: Lockhart bowing to Snape in COS (which Snape does not return), Voldemort "bending a little" towards Harry, and Harry bowing (forced) to Voldemort in GOF. In Harry and Draco's formal duel in COS, they "barely inclined their heads," which I did not count as a bow.
Performative bows: performative bows are taken in recognition of a feat respected by an assembled crowd. In the HP series, these celebratory gestures are not made not proactively out of a sense of self-importance, but in response to a crowd’s already expressed approval. Performative bows are relatively rare (we only see 3 in the series). Characters taking a bow in front of a group of people in recognition of a job well done are Ron, Ludo Bagman, and the Sorting Hat—relatively jovial, upbeat, charismatic characters who enjoy being the center of attention.
Mocking bows: Mocking bows are made rarely in the series (again, we only see 3), but I wanted to carve them out because although they do convey information about how bows are used in the wizarding world, it's often in the negative. Mocking bows are made by sarcastic characters to ridicule the pompousness of a courtesy bow (Fred to Harry) or the deference of a service bow, conveying contempt for the idea that the person on the receiving end would be their superior (Fred to Ron, Snape to Umbridge).
Anyway, thank you for indulging me and my spreadsheets and sticking with me through this post that no one asked for. Hope this has been in any way thought-provoking for anyone else re: wizarding world/HP world-building!
*This analysis was conducted by searching for “bow,” “bowed,” and “bowing” in the text via Pottersearch (my beloved). I excluded “bowed heads” or instances used to describe a posture as opposed to a gesture (e.g. "heads bowed against the wind" or when Ron pulls at the front of Harry’s robes in OOTP) This is not intended to be the singular, definitive analysis and I welcome anyone else to replicate this analysis and/or provide your own commentary, corrections, or suggestions! :)
**Note: Because more than one person can be the recipient of a single bow, the N total number of bows I've identified = 93, but the N total number of recipients I've identified = 125. I've tried to be clear which set of data I am referring to for each analysis but it is important to keep in mind that these are not 1:1 datasets.
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