JKR, Harry Potter, and the Nature of Evil

[catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk]

No: HPFGUIDX 19840

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Amanda Lewanski <editor at t...> wrote:
> catherine at c... wrote:
> 
> > He says that he is Voldemort's most faithful servant and that he,
> > personally, never dreamed of renouncing him.  I think that there 
is
> > some very selective memories going on here.  IIRC, BCJ, when being
> > sentenced by his father screams and pleads with him not to send 
him
> > back to Azkaban, protests his innocence and says that he never had
> > anything to do with torturing the Longbottoms.  This is in 
contrast
> > to the Lestranges, who are truly faithful, and who accept their
> > sentences and tell the court that the Dark Lord will rise again. 
They
> > certainly do not renounce Voldemort.
> >
> > I admit that BCJ does help them try and find Voldemort after he 
has
> > lost his powers, but he certainly denies his involvement.  
Therefore,
> > how can he say that he is Voldemort's most faithful servant?
> 
> Because he was LYING. He was reading the situation and playing for
> sympathy, trying to get off the hook, so that he could then go and 
aid
> his master. Why does anyone think Barty Crouch Jr. meant those 
words as
> a renunciation of Voldemort? He was doing his damnedest to get 
himself
> free so he could continue to serve. Voldemort knows about lying.
> Voldemort seems to be a firm "any means to an end" man. He 
understands
> Crouch Jr.'s motivation, applauds it. He condemns the motivations of
> those who lied so they could go back to their own lives. Intent.
> 
> --Amanda


You are probably right that he wanted to be free to go and find 
Voldemort, but I still think that there are issues of self-interest 
motivating him here.  His attitude towards the free death eaters is 
an indication of this.  You can say that he is angry with them 
because they do nothing to try and find Voldemort - but I think that 
he is also incredibly resentful and bitter towards them, because they 
were believed to be innocent, and he wasn't - he had already tasted 
life in Azkaban at this stage, and was desperate not to return.  This 
is why I am comparing him to the Lestranges.  They stoically accept 
their fate, and have enough faith in Voldemort to know that he will 
return and free them.  BCJ is more ambivalent about things than 
that.  He is young at the time, so a lifetime in Azkaban would seem 
like a fate worse than death - but it seems to me that he also 
doesn't trust that Voldemort can come back, or at least, not without 
help from him - which is why he pleads with his father to spare him.

Another thought about this whole issue.  I get a very strong 
impression that Barty Crouch Snr is making an example of his son.  
Depending on the strength of the evidence, do you think that if it 
had been someone else, and there was an element of doubt as to 
involvement, that BCS would have been more lenient?

Catherine