CHAPDISC: HBP 2, Spinner's End

[Collin M]

No: HPFGUIDX 142060

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "potioncat" <willsonkmom at m...>
wrote:

*snip summary*

> 1. Bellatrix kills a fox, thinking it could be an Auror. Does she 
> suspect Snape's home is being watched, or is she always looking over 
> her shoulder for an Auror? Do you think all DEs would be this trigger 
> happy, or is it just Bella?

Others have pointed out already that Bellatrix has some extra reasons
to worry, and I agree.  On the other hand, I really get the sense that
DEs are the sort of people who will use magic, especially the
unforgivable curses, whenever it is convenient to them, sort of as an
act of bravado.  They like the appearance of power after all.  But in
this case, it may be more caution than hutzpah since the only one she
has to show off for is her sister.
 
> 3. Bella knows Narcissa is going to visit Snape, but she is caught by 
> surprise (equaling that of many from this list) at the location. She 
> calls it a Muggle dunghill and doubts that any of "our kind" has ever 
> set foot there. In fact, Snape, Pettigrew and Narcissa all seem 
> familiar with the area. Yet it was Bella who was supposed to be part 
> of young Severus's gang. What do you think is going on here? How long 
> do you think Snape has been using this location?

I didn't get the impression that they were all familiar with it. 
Bellatrix was the only one that commented on it, but I think Narcissa
was too distraught with her own thoughts to think much of it and it
seemed Pettigrew had been there awhile so I don't think either would
comment on it.  I'm not sure how long Snape's been using the location,
but I think it's a detail that helps set him apart from the other
DEs--that he seems to live in run-down neighborhood of poor
muggles--and thereby carries the suspsense surrounding his true
allegiance.  If this was Snape's childhood house, I don't imagine him
bringing his cohorts around to it out of either shame or at least
distaste for his home life.  Bellatrix's reaction to it, I think,
demonstrates why.
 
> 5. Narcissa is described as having a note of hysteria in her voice 
> and the look of a drowned person. She then enters a room that has the 
> feeling of a padded cell.  What does that tell us about Narcissa?  
> How does that fit with her actions later in this chapter?

I think she's desperate and this is the image JKR is trying to create
for her with the "drowned person" image.  It shows the strength of her
feeling for his son.  I remember a comment once that villains who love
someone or something are far more interesting  (It was Joss Whedon
talking about the relationship between the Mayor and Faithe and Spike
and Drusilla, for any Buffy fans out there ;)  ), and I think that
this really comes through here.  Her concern about Draco outweighs
everything, even her allegiance to LV, and I find her to be a much
more appealling and well-rounded character because of this.

> 6. Snape, Narcissa and Bella drank a toast with blood-red wine. I'm 
> not sure which image came sooner to my mind at that point: Vampire!
> Snape or Sir Patrick Spens and his wrecked ship. In English ballads, 
> nothing good comes after drinking "bluid-red" wine.  Elf-made wine 
> doesn't sound too safe either. How many stories involve some danger 
> at drinking something made by elves or fairies? These are magical 
> folk, so perhaps it's not so dangerous. Do you think this was just 
> setting the magical mood, or was JKR waving a flag?

I like the idea of this!  But I think the portrayal of elves in the
sort of stories where elf-made wine is treacherous is much different
from the house elves of the potterverse.  JKR's elves are sort of
simple, toiling creatures.  The sort of  elves that bewitch wine are
often the kind that steal away children and seduce men and women and
trick mortals into losing their loves or fortunes or lives--not the
sort of behavior I envision the house elves participating in!  Imagine
Dobby trying to seduce someone?  :)   But the image of  'bloodred
wine' is a potent one and I think it helps enhance the mood of the
chapter.
 
> 7. This is a serious chapter, with lots of dark images. It's 
> informative too, but it's difficult to decide which information is 
> truth and which is deception. What images or feelings made an 
> impression on you? How do they affect your interpretation of the 
> story? 

What really strikes me about the chapter is that it's the most
intimate look into relationships within the DEs that we've seen yet, I
think.  Up until now, most DEs have been sort of single-mindedly evil,
maniacal laughter, "Fools! Curse you!"  types.  The emotions being
displayed here between everyone (except Pettigrew who continues to be
spineless and simpering) are remarkably sensitive ones for characters
who are capable of such evil:  Bellatrix's concern for her sister,
Narcissa's love for her son and her trust of Snape, and even I think
some feelings (rekindling of feelings?) of affection or camaradarie on
Snape's part for Narcissa.  Clearly there's plenty of animosity as
well, but it's all a very complex interaction in a group of mostly or
wholly villains.  JKRs constant development of all her characters is,
I think, one of the qualities that makes it so enduring.

> 9. (Thanks to Carol for this question): Like "The Other 
> Minister," "Spinner's End" is written from a point of view other than 
> Harry's. But while "Minister" uses the usual third-person limited-
> omniscient narrator, who sees through the eyes of the Muggle Prime 
> Minister rather than Harry's, "Spinner's End" dispenses with a point-
> of-view
> character altogether. Narcissa, Bellatrix, Snape, and Wormtail (if 
> we're counting vermin) are presented from the third-person dramatic 
> or third-person objective
> point of view, meaning that they are seen from the outside with a 
> minimum of commentary and no direct insight into their thoughts. It's 
> as if both the
> narrator and the reader are invisible, silent witnesses to the scene, 
> much like Harry on the tower. How does this change in the point of 
> view affect our reading of this chapter? Why do you think JKR chose 
> this point of view rather than letting us into, say, Narcissa's or 
> Bellatrix's mind? How does having a chapter written from a point of 
> view other than Harry's affect your reading of HBP or the series 
> itself? Should JKR have omitted the first two chapters in order to 
> maintain a Harrycentric view throughout the book? Why or why not?
> Related link about Point of View:
> http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/fiction/elements.asp?e=4

Other have pointed out that the point of view JKR chooses is used to
limit the reader's access to information, and I agree completely.  I
think it's also important to note that whenever we do see through the
eyes of an actual non-Harry character, it is either someone
inconsequential (Frank the gardener in GoF and the PM in the previous
chapter) or LV/snakes and we are unable to hear his thoughts, simply
see what he sees through Harry's dreams.  The GoF ch.1 one is weird
because we see it from Frank's POV but then learn that Harry was
dreaming.  I don't think he literally dreamed it from Frank's POV
though, because he never does this in any other dream connected to LV,
so that chapter still counts I think.

But I think that apart from providing information, the non-Harry POV
chapters add some suspense because we are left at the end to wonder
what will come of what we see.  HBP ch.1 introduces Scrimgeour and
sets up some expectations for him that influence our perception of him
later.  GoF ch.1 not only sets up some new suspense regarding LV, it
initiates the LV-connected dreams that become so consequential in OOP,
and Spinner's End, with its frustrating combination of revelation
(Draco's task, LV's anger, The charges by DEs against Snape) and
denial of information (Snape's allegiance, the nature of Draco's task)
sets up a good deal of suspense for the novel.

Collin