CHAPDISC: HBP 2, Spinner's End

[krista7]

No: HPFGUIDX 142205

I'm so excited about these fantastic questions! But I'm away from 
home on research, ergo I don't have my text in hand, so I'm 
begging your pardon in advance about not having specific quotes for 
you. 

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?

I think this established:

1.) The life-or-death stakes surrounding the meeting, given that Bella IS 
ready to kill first and think later--in other words, a tension-builder;

2.) A character clue about Bella, that she *will* kill even an innocent 
animal and not have the slightest grief;

3.) A larger metaphor for what's about to happen between Snape 
and Bella, that because of her unthinking recklessness, Snape, "the fox,"
 is going to come to harm. (Likewise with the whole "Spinner's End"
 title, but that can be read on so many levels it is almost useless for
 arguing the meaning of the chapter.)

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?

The shock I felt was not that Snape--I want to say "came from," but 
to avoid the whole childhood home argument, I'll say "is attached to"
--a pitiful little house vs. Snape Manor of Lord!Snape fanfictions,
 but that he's attached to an area so obviously *industrial* and *modern*. 
If the first chapter didn't do the job successfully, this one hammers on 
the same theme: there is no line of delineation between the Wizard 
and Muggle worlds anymore. This creates a contemporary sense in
 the story and helps to rev up the overall anxiety level in the text, I think. 

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 agree with all of those who have argued Snape likely *wouldn't* 
bring any of his Slytherin peers around to a Muggle home. (If this is
 his childhood home, which I tend to think it is, just because the poor 
man hasn't had a lot of time to go cruising for real estate, shall we say,
 he's *definitely* not one to let go of the past easily, and if he wants 
a place apart from Hogwarts and the whole wizarding world, this suits.
 Plus, the books. No bibliophile in his right mind moves his library 
around lightly.) It's very believable that Snape wouldn't have just anybody
 around, if he didn't like his homelife much. Harry's only had Dumbledore 
to the Dursleys', and a crash visit by the Weasleys, right? Nobody he 
invited, and he has much less reason to fear a critical backlash 
from his friends. 

I would also point out that Bella is older than Snape and between that 
and considering the fact she has nothing else in common with Snape 
other than Slytherin, therefore likely wouldn't have been on his home 
invite list even if he *had* one. 

It's certainly telling about the closeness of their relationship--or should
 I say, lack thereof--that Bella says "our kind" about Snape--given her 
fanaticism about Voldemort and anti-Snape feelings, you'd think she 
would be the first to say something nasty about his background here.

My bet is that Snape set up shop there sometime as an adult and not 
full-time. (Hence the only things in the house of a personal nature 
are his books, which are all in the front room, giving a sense that he
 hasn't quite "entered" the house himself, to ditch his stuff in the front
 room.) I'm betting he took up slightly active residence there when 
he needed a place to hang out with Malfoy etc. away from Hogwarts--
can't be seen together too often at the local TGI Friday's, y'know. 
Plus, Malfoy can't come visit over at Hogwart's, and it wouldn't look
 good (either to Dumbledore, if he didn't know, or to Voldie, if he
 believed Snape was trying to be a good spy and *not* let Dumbledore
 know) if Snape was actually *seen* as a constant guest at Malfoy 
Manor, especially at sensitive moments. 

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?

I've answered part of this above, but I'll add, I wanted to yell, "Yes!" 
at the sight of all those books. Arguments aside, just from my heart, I 
have to say I can't believe JKR is going to make an unspeakable villain
 out of somebody who is so clearly a book nut. 

As for the "padded cell" comment--I think this *is* a cage of sorts for 
Snape. It represents his life as a spy, with PP in turn spying on *him*. 
It takes him, and us, back to the little boy shooting flies in his bedroom,
 suffering from neglect and boredom. (And gives us the additional 
image that not only is Snape "locked in," but he doesn't have a lot of 
space to move anymore, again giving us a sense of urgency.) Not only 
is Snape stuck in a life that really gives him the options of just life or 
death (compare to the Malfoys, who at least have family), he has to 
wait this situation out from, of all places, a site that probably represents
 (even if it isn't the actual place) a pretty hateful part of his life, for him.

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?

Just desperation, desperation throughout. I get the sense that 
everybody in that room is desperate for some reason.

(Someone had a problem with Narcissa's nickname; I'd just throw
 in I didn't think it was too sugary. She IS the baby of her family, and 
her name is Narcissa--there aren't a lot of ways, otherwise, to expect 
them to shorten it. I think the use of the nickname is JKR jerking us a 
bit by the collar, to remind us, a la Dumbledore, that even our villains 
in this piece *are* human.) 

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...
Do you think this was just 
setting the magical mood, or was JKR waving a flag?

I vote mood (vampire, the fates that befall humans trying to be too 
tricky, various myths--didn't Isole fall in love with Tannhauser via 
a spiked wine?), an attempt on Snape's part to play Suave!Snape, 
and perhaps an attempt to portray himself in a good supremacist 
light by having wine made by a group held to be subservient. 
(Can you imagine Hermione willingly drinking elf-made wine? 
Unless she personally paid the elves for it?)

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? 

I can't come back to the text to pinpoint anything, but I thought
 the whole chapter made a wonderful piece to read on a stormy 
night. It was chock-full of melodrama! (In a good way.) Which 
brings me to mention something I haven't seen before on this list: 
HBP strikes me as different from the other books because it is 
verging on what I'd call opera at times. I don't think we've ever 
seen anything as dramatic and powerful in an extended fashion 
in the series as the whole Tower/Snape retreat sequence in the 
other books. (Esp. the whole Harry/Snape exchange.) My guess 
for why this stylistic change takes place is because we *are* 
reaching The End, and JKR is setting us up not just for the big 
bang to end the story, but the big bang to send off her themes, too.
 Whereas we had breakout moments of drama before, JKR has 
been holding back on us to close Book Seven with the 
power the series deserves. 

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?

I think JKR uses this UV to raise our anxiety level and bring us, like 
Harry, to a more adult viewpoint: some things *can't* be undone. 

9. 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, 

I had a sense that we *did* have a sort-of narrator in the scene, in the 
form of Bella. If I recall correctly, although the narrator doesn't 
speak in Bella's voice, we seem to have a greater knowledge 
of Bella's feelings than of any of the other characters. If I 
could compare this to a movie, the camera would be 
moving right over Bella's shoulder. (And I think *that* is 
because she is, like us, and like Harry in his scenes, 
generally the outsider, the one with incomplete knowledge.) 

10. Here's a question to think about when we move into chapter 
3: "The Other Minister" begins with a Muggle receiving two visitors. 
It's an informative, yet humorous chapter. The dreary "Spinners End" 
begins with two visitors coming to a very different Muggle 
location. "Will and Won't" begins with someone waiting for a visitor 
and returns us to a more humorous mood. How do these three chapters 
work together?

I love the fact you pointed out here that all three move around 
sets of guests/visitors. And I think you've caught the important 
point by mentioning that "Will & Won't" takes us into a more 
humorous mood--between the three of them, they effectively 
re-introduce us to the world of HP, jack up the tension level, and 
then bring us back down to a workable level of dramatic tension 
for the "ordinary," humorous HP text.

Krista