CHAPDISC: HBP 2, Spinner's End

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 142136

> >>Potioncat:
> CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,       
> Chapter 2, Spinner's End.

Betsy Hp:
So I'm a little late to the party, but I can't resist commenting.    
Good summary and questions, Potioncat!
(FYI: I'll try and avoid well-trodden ground, and I'll be mixing and 
matching the questions.)

> 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?
>
> 4. Snape's tiny sitting room is lined with leather bound books and 
> contains a threadbare sofa, an old armchair and a rickety table.   
> It had the "feeling of a dark, padded cell." A padded cell is used 
> for someone who needs protection from himself. What does this     
> room, or the house and neighborhood, tell us about Snape? Do you   
> think this is his usual home away from Hogwarts?
>
> 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?

Betsy Hp:
I think Bella's paranoia, the Snape's "padded cell" of a sitting 
room, and Narcissa's appearance of drowned desperation all go 
towards a general feeling of claustrophobia.  All four characters 
(including Pettigrew) seem very closed in upon.  Which is especially 
interesting after reading the first chapter.  Voldemort seemed to 
have the upper hand, but these particular Death Eaters (and 
sympathizers) don't act at all victorious.  One would think we were 
peeping in on the losing side.  There's something very "French 
Resistance circa WWII" about the shadowed streets and clandestine 
meetings and accusations of treachery being flung around.

> 2. The neighborhood sounds deserted, except for some streetlights 
> that are still lit and the presence of food wrappers at the       
> river's edge. What can our RW sociologists tell us about this     
> neighborhood in the late 90's? 
>
> 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?

Betsy Hp:
I like to think that this is Snape's childhood home.  (Actually I 
was so sure of it I was a bit shocked when Neri called for canon in 
another post awhile back and I couldn't find any. <g>) I got the 
sense, from the books and the wine, that this was Snape's usual home 
away from Hogwarts, but that he generally didn't leave Hogwarts - 
hence the somewhat neglected air. 

I love the idea that Snape was very much working class and that he 
came to Hogwarts not only a bit weird in his social behaviour, but 
also with an accent that would have given Sirius Black (possibly 
James?) another reason to sneer.  I also love the image of Snape 
working very hard to conceal his roots, both the blood and the 
class, from his more connected classmates.  Which would explain why 
a school age Snape would not invite his peers back to the old 
homestead anytime soon.

As to Narcissa being familiar with the area, I think it speaks 
towards the current closeness between the Malfoy family and Snape.  
I think that once Voldemort returned there may have been a few night 
time visits between Snape and Lucius, and Narcissa may have come 
along for one or two of them.

As an aside: I question whether Eileen Prince took a step down class-
wise to marry Tobias Snape. (You know, assuming that Spinner's End 
tells us something about Tobias Snape <g>.)  I get the sense from 
the Weasleys and the Gaunts that blood is no real indicator of class 
rank (despite Black and Malfoy propaganda) so the Prince family 
could have been from the neighborhood.  
 
> 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?
> 
> 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? 
> 
> 8. Narcissa asks Snape to make an Unbreakable Vow and Bella 
> is "astonished" that he agrees. It looks like a wedding ceremony, 
> and is obviously very serious. We've seen that magical contracts   
> have serious consequences--the Goblet of Fire in GoF, and the     
> SNEAK hex in OoP. None of us can really understand why Snape       
> agreed, but is this just Business as Usual in the Wizarding World? 
> How does this vow compare to magical deals in fairy tales and     
> myths?

Betsy Hp:
The wine, the Vow, and the atmosphere all speak to Snape playing a 
very dangerous game, IMO.  It's a noticable contrast to Harry's part 
in the books, which tend to be more two parts school-prank to one 
part actual danger.  And I think it signals that the books are 
moving away from that sort of mix into the more grownup game of all 
out war.  So perhaps this could be considered a bit of forshadowing 
to Harry's leaving school at the end of HBP (though I could well be 
stretching it).

It's also interesting to think about (at least IMO <g>) who is most 
hurt in this scene.  When I first read the chapter Snape seemed to 
be in total control.  Bellatrix and Narcissa and Pettigrew danced to 
*his* tune.  It was *his* wine the sisters were drinking, in *his* 
home.  (IIRC there are stories about the dangers of drinking or 
eating anything in a magical being's home.) Snape certainly appeared 
to be operating with a home field advantage. 

It all gets turned around by the Vow, but I wonder what Narcissa 
really gains?  Because while Snape is certainly trapped in the Vow, 
when Dumbledore is killed a method of escape for the Malfoy family 
seems cut off as well.  I wonder how we'll see this scene after book 
7?
 
> 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.
> <snip>
> 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?

Betsy Hp:
I'm not a huge fan of third-person objective (it generally reads a 
bit cold to me) but it worked for me here.  For one, I think it adds 
to the claustrophobic atmosphere.  The reader can't be sure of any 
of the characters, just as the characters seem so unsure of each 
other.  

And there are so many delicious undercurrents running through the 
room!  By their nicknames we're shown that Bella and Cissy really 
were sisters from an actual family, and yet I totally felt they both 
were willing to kill the other if pushed to it.  There was certainly 
*some* sort of relationship between Narcissa and Snape, and someone 
(can't remember who or where) postulated an old heated relationship 
between Bellatrix and Snape based on their interactions here.  And 
of course there's the Snape/Pettigrew dynamic to play with.  Third-
person objective keeps all those undercurrents swirling away without 
limiting or eliminating any of them.

Betsy Hp