CHAPDISC: HBP 2, Spinner's End

[Beatrice23]

No: HPFGUIDX 142221

Thanks for the excellent questions!  I think that most of these 
questions generated great responses therefore I will limit my 
answers to a few points I didn't see covered and a couple of 
questions of my own.



> 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 is a combination of Bella's cruelty and her paranoia at 
being in Azkaban.  I think JKR has now established Bella as a shoot 
first ask questions later character.  She tends to act in violence 
without considering the consequences.  This probably means that as a 
DE one of the biggest attractions for her may have been inflicting 
pain on others.  Also I would look for this kind of behavior to lead 
to her ultimate downfall, although she make take someone we care 
about with her.  Either she will die in the same way she lived, or 
her carelessness will have LV get rid of her as damage control.

Question:  Could the fox be an animangus?  If so whose?

> 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?
> 
Krista, I loved your answer here about being "locked in."  It brings 
to mind Virgina Woolf, although these texts bring her to mind often.
 
> 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 agree this is about Narcissa's desperation.  Although it probably 
condemns her and her son a bit more as it demonstrates that she is 
capable of love and that Draco has received love from at least one 
source.

Question: Why does Narcissa refer to Draco as "her only son?"  Are 
there other children?  Are they hidden?  Why? Have they died? How?  
Perhaps an answer is not possible now, but it may be something to 
keep in mind.
 
> 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?
> 
Mood and symbolism.  Calls to mind the idea of Christian notions of 
sacrifice (Christ's blood) and darker images also as others have 
mentioned.   A layering of images here, if you will, to keep us 
guessing about Snape's real loyalties.  
 
> 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 actually had problems with this chapter and the previous one that 
I haven't quite reconciled.  As a knee jerk reaction, I didn't like 
them because they were such a drastic departure from the normal 
narrative style.  I felt that JKR used Chapter one because she liked 
it and wanted it to work somewhere in the series, but ultimately it 
didn't work for me.  This chapter had much the same feeling for me, 
although there would be much less debate about Snape being ESE or 
not without it.

I think I will have to read book 7 to determine if these chapters 
really work or not.
  
> 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?

Well, you have me there.  I hadn't considered this parallel before.  
This is a great observation.

Beatrice