Regulus Black / Significance of DD & Sirius having

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 147413

Carol:
> Does anyone else think that these pairings may have some thematic
> significance and, if so, any ideas on what that significance might 
be
> (or why the heck Rabastan is in the books)?

Ceridwen:
Just off the top of my head, and after the revelation about the Gaunt 
family which made Tom Riddle seem doomed to become an Evil Overlord 
by genetics, maybe they are there to show that blood, or nature, 
doesn't play as great a part as people think?  That each person has 
independent choices?

Sirius never became a DE, and never went along with his family's 
views on blood purity.  Regulus did, but then he repented.  No one 
would suspect, let alone accuse, Albus of strange spells on goats, 
but Aberforth was so charged.  Lily and Petunia couldn't be any more 
different if they were not related - from magic to personality to 
looks.  Rodolfus got married while it seems that Rabastan remained 
single.  Or was it the other way around?  I mix them up terribly!  
And while both Black sisters married - I see why Narcissa did, but I 
have to wonder about Bellatrix, she is completely and fanatically 
devoted to LV, even over her husband - could they be there to show 
familial expectations and trying to fit two different sizes of feet 
into the same pair of shoes?

Even Harry and Dudley can be seen as a brother pair.  They were 
raised together.  One was favored, and fed well (I think Petunia 
equates food with having and lack of food with not having, or with 
love), one was in disfavor and not fed well.  Harry's life with the 
Dursleys has a Cinderella, or a Wart (Arthur) flavor to it.  And in 
his case, as with Cinderella or the young Arthur, the 'have-not' gets 
the goods, becomes the hero of the story, while the 'have' is 
belittled by the story.

Could all of this be about family expectations?  Sirius didn't meet 
his family's expectations, while Regulus did, to disastrous 
consequences.  Lily was doted on, according to Petunia, while Petunia 
was, at least in her view, shoved aside.  If I'm right about the 
Black family's expectations for their daughters, then they expected 
each of them to marry well whether or not the girl wanted to marry.  
If we find out about Albus's early life, we might find him the 
favored brother over Aberforth, who is now taciturn and sullen and in 
trouble over a goat.

But again, siblings play a part in mythologies.  There always seem to 
be pairs, even if they're not really related.  Like Haman and 
Mordecai in the story of Esther.  Not related, but very much related 
in the storyline.

Now I'm interested in the three Black sisters.  There are triple 
goddesses in some mythologies.  Most are for the phases of the moon, 
and at least in modern Celtic Paganism are Maiden, Mother and Crone.  
Youth, maturity and wisdom?  Or whatever else can be attributed to 
those ages.  I'm pegging Narcissa for the Maiden aspect, and 
Bellatrix for the crone (a very negative plug for the spot, she's 
supposed to have the wisdom of age and experience).  But, I could be 
wrong.  Bellatrix may be a negative view of the maiden, someone who 
has no life experience and no wisdom.  I don't know if JKR had this 
in mind, but it's prevalent enough, at least in modern practice, that 
it may have its roots in some archetypal sort of role.  Maybe I ought 
to look into that?

Ceridwen.