Azkaban
Azkaban has not played a direct part in the series, but lurks in the shadows. In
Chamber of Secrets,
Hagrid is placed under temporary imprisonment there, an experience so traumatic that he refuses to talk about it after being released.
Sirius Black becomes the first wizard known to escape (
Prisoner of Azkaban), although it is later discovered that
Barty Crouch Jr. escaped with the help of his parents while Sirius was still imprisoned (
Goblet of Fire).
Albus Dumbledore once declared in front of the then Minister for Magic,
Cornelius Fudge, that he could easily break out of Azkaban. However, this remark should be seen in the light of who made it—Dumbledore was probably the most powerful European wizard alive, and the only wizard Lord Voldemort ever feared. What is impossible for most wizards would usually be easy for him.
At the present moment Azkaban has been severely compromised;
Professor Dumbledore has always been vocal in declaring that it was a mistake to guard Voldemort's greatest supporters with those creatures who have the most to gain if Voldemort returned to power. In
Order of the Phoenix he's proven right as the Dementors leave their posts at Azkaban and join ranks with Voldemort. The prison is still in use, but greatly weakened by the revolt of its wardens. Presumably
Aurors are the only ones who stand between the convicts and their freedom.
Prisons are often put on islands because escape is made more difficult. It has been often suggested that Azkaban is based on
Alcatraz Island in
San Francisco, as one of the most famous island prisons. Similarities include:
* The names are similar
* They are both located on an
island* Both were believed escape-proof, until it was proved otherwise (though it is still believed that no one has escaped from Alcatraz and lived)
* Both are/were for high offenders, such as those who have committed
murderPhonetically, the name Azkaban might be a conflation of
Alcatraz and Baskerville.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban contains echoes of
Conan Doyle's
The Hound of the Baskervilles. Both feature escaped convicts (Sirius and Selden) and sinister hounds supposedly portending death.
J.K. Rowling's hound is named "the Grim";
Conan Doyle's marshy location is "Grimpen Mire".
The place may also be inspired partially by
Angband, the fortress of
Morgoth found in the works of
J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as
Devil's Island, the horrendous French prison. (Alcatraz has been called "America's Devil's Island").
