CHAPDISC: DH1, The Dark Lord Ascending

[littleleahstill]

No: HPFGUIDX 176252

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Ceridwen" <ceridwennight at ...> 
wrote:
>
> Ceridwen:
>> Questions:
> > 
> > 1.  Snape and Yaxley "raised their left arms in a kind of 
salute."  
> > Is this a reference to World War II and the likening of the 
Death 
> > Eaters to the Nazis, in Deathly Hallows?

Leah:
Yes, the first of many. It becomes much clearer with the Muggle 
registration committee, resistance movements with radio broadcasts 
etc. Those scenes individually were very well done, but to me, it 
seemed as if part of a novel about Nazism had been transposed into 
one which already had problems in combining the levels of reality 
and symbolism/s on which it was operating.

 
> > 2.  Saluting the gate with their left arms makes them able to 
>pass through the wrought iron gate.  Is this a tacit confirmation 
>that  there was indeed a blocking spell on the tower in HBP which 
>only allowed Death Eaters to enter?

Leah:
I think that was quite possible.



> > 3.  The peacock at Malfoy Manor is mentioned at least twice in 
the  book.  What is its significance?

Leah:
I think having peacocks on the lawn is a stereotype of English 
stately homes.  They are symbolic of pride and vanity. They can alos 
symbolise immortality and are on a yew hedge, another symbol of 
immortality, so symbolise the DE's cravings. Their paleness 
reflects the paleness of the Malfoys themselves.  They are noisy 
birds, so may function as a warning device against intrusion.  In 
Greek myth, the peacock's tail displayed the hundred eyes of Argus, 
used as a guardian by Juno, so that might also refer to a 
guarding/caretaking role.  In alchemy, the peacock's tail 
represented the turning point in the process- beginning of the final 
stage.      

 
> > 4.  On the first reading of Deathly Hallows, who did you think 
> might 
> > be the person hanging unconscious above the table?

Leah:
I had no strong view.  I did wonder if it was Trelawney.  I did 
expect it to be someone we knew.

> > 5.  Only one person already in the room looks up at the 
>unconscious revolving body above the table: Draco Malfoy.  Once the 
>body is resuscitated, he no longer looks at her.  Why?

Leah:
The looking is horrible fascination; I think he is repulsed but 
can't tear himself away.  There were times during HBP when he 
thought he was going to fail in his task (his weeping in the 
bathroom) and he must think that this could so easily have been 
him.  Once Charity becomes a 'living person' again, Draco can't bear 
the reality of the situation.  I suspect the others have seen this 
before. They don't want to look, because then they will eventually 
have to look away and betray any feelings of pity etc to VM. In the 
case of others, Charity's simply part of the furniture.  
> 
> > 6.  Voldemort gives Snape the seat of honor at his right hand.  
>Is  this because Snape is his "right-hand man"?  Or is 
> Voldemort "keeping  his friends close, and his enemies closer"?

Leah:
Mainly, it is the place of honour, I think, but Voldemort trusts no 
one completely.  Anyone who can dispose of the 'only one Voldemort 
ever feared' with a flick of the wand will need watching. 
>.
> 
> > 7.  Yaxley's information is different from Snape's.  Is anyone 
>in  the Ministry who is not a member of the Order of the Phoenix 
>aware that the Order will move Harry earlier than expected?

Leah:
I don't think so.

> > 8.  Several things that happen later in the book are alluded to 
in 
> > this chapter.  When discussing the Imperiusing of Pius 
Thicknesse, 
> > Yaxley suggests that Thicknesse can subjugate the other heads of 
> > departments at the Ministry to bring down Minister Rufus 
> Scrimgeour.  
> > Was Scrimgeour killed by the Imperiused heads of the various 
> > departments under Thicknesse's direction?

Leah:
My impression on a first read was that he was killed as part of an 
outside attack on the Ministry, though the above reading is quite 
possible 



>> > 9.  Who is Snape's informant?  Who does Voldemort think it is?  
>Is it the same person?

Leah:

I think Voldemort thinks it is Mundungus, and I think Snape probably 
does use him.  But of course Snape also discusses matters with DD, 
something that LV is blissfully unaware of.

> > 10.  Lucius and his family are clearly not happy with 
Voldemort's 
> > presence.  Is this because Lucius is still disgraced from his 
> botched 
> > mission at the Ministry and his use of the diary Horcrux?  Does 
> their 
> > apparent discomfort at the situation foreshadow their lack of 
> > involvement in the Battle of Hogwarts?

Leah:
I don't think Lucius had any interest in getting Voldemort back. He 
was doing very nicely, thank you, when Fudge was Minister, able to 
dabble in the Dark Arts and have a top box at the Quidditch world 
cup.  I don't think Lucius' position with Voldemort ever fully 
recovered from the loss of the diary horcrux, and his chance to 
redeem himself at the MOM was lost.  Furthermore, Draco failed 
either to kill DD or die trying. I think the Malfoys see themselves 
on a very slippery slope and want out.

> > 11.  Wormtail is described as sitting so low that his chair 
>looks  unoccupied.  Is this further sign of his physical 
>deterioration as seen in HBP?  Is this because he would rather not 
>be there?  Is itjust that he is a small man?  Or is it symbolic in 
>some way?

Leah:
I think that it's a combination of those factors.  He is small, and 
spent twelve years as a small animal.  I think those years in the 
wrong body took their toll.  He's insignificant in Voldemort's eyes, 
and Pettigrew would like to keep it that way. He's doing the 
equivalent of blending with the wallpaper.  
> .
 
> > 12.  The Malfoys do not make much eye contact with Voldemort.  
When Voldemort looks at Snape, other Death Eaters look away.  Are 
all of the Death Eaters at the manor happy with Voldemort's return?

Leah:
It's  no fun working for a psychopath, you never know when you will 
put a foot wrong.  I think there are some, Bellatrix and the Carrows 
for example, who see this as a further chance to indulge both their 
sadistic streaks and pure blood mania, but others who didn't go to 
Azkaban, who were doing ok in their lives during his absence and 
would really rather prefer LV to be still in Albania- not something 
they would want him to read in their eyes.    

> > 13.  Snape looks comfortably into Voldemort's eyes when the 
other 
> > Death Eaters turn away. We see an example of Voldemort's 
> Legillimency 
> > later in the book.  How strong is Snape's Occlumency?

Leah:
I wouldn't think Occlumency could get much better than this.  

> > 14.  Why does Voldemort praise Bellatrix, then humiliate her?

Leah:
That's how psycho tyrants work. No one is sure where they stand or 
when they will fall and therfore is grateful for any crumb of favour 
which suggests they are safe for the time being.  

Leah:
> > 15.  Where were the Lestrange brothers?

Don't know, and don't particularly care.  They have always been 
complete nonentities, allowing the spotlight to be on Bellatrix.  I 
assume they are probably at the table, but not mentioned. I don't 
think Bellatrix has any feelings for her husband. 
>
> 
> > 16.  When Harry reviews Snape's memories later in the book, 
Snape 
> > tells Dumbledore he has only watched people die whom he could 
not 
> > save.  Yet he looks dispassionately at Charity Burbage as she 
> pleads 
> > and cries.  Was Snape lying to Dumbledore?  Was this the first 
time 
> > he could not save someone?  Was Charity Burbage someone Snape 
could 
> > not save?

Leah:
What could Snape do that would not betray him to Voldemort?  
Charity's pleas to Snape are an echo of Dumbledore's on the 
Astronomy Tower.  I think they are used here to initially reinforce 
Snape as ESESnape, but when we look back after 'The Prince's Tale' 
we can see that Snape is following through on DD's plan here, just 
as he was on the Tower.   I don't think Snape's words to DD were a 
lie.  I thought they were an indication of how, though he believed 
he was still motivated by love for Lily, he had in fact gained in 
compassion - the words are part of Snape's redemption.  
Unfortunately, I don't imagine this is the first time the plan has 
forced Snape to sit through occasions like this. It must have been 
appalling for him and have taken tremendous self-control.



> 
> > 17.  Voldemort refers to "Mudbloods" as "thieves" of the 
Wizarding 
> > World's "knowledge and magic."  This charge is repeated later in 
> the 
> > book.  Is it possible for a witch or wizard to have her or his 
> magic 
> > stolen?  Is it possible to steal knowledge without leaving that 
> > knowledge for others as well?

Leah:
I don't think so, and we are given no indication elsewhere in canon 
that this can be so.  I think it is meant to be similar to the way 
lies are told about minority hate groups- like Jews allegedly 
poisoning wells in the Middle Ages.

 
> > 18.  When Charity Burbage's body falls to the table, several 
Death 
> > Eaters jump back in their chairs.  Draco falls off his chair to 
the 
> > floor.  Is this symbolic of some Death Eaters not being fully 
> behind 
> > Voldemort's agenda?  Or was it simply surprise?

Leah:
Surprise, and shock. I think the majority of people at that table 
are tense, living on the edge of their nerves, and would react to 
any sudden happening. A body falling is just an extreme.

> > 19.  Why are the Purebloods dwindling?

Leah:
As Ron explained once, there are not enough purebloods for them to 
marry without interbreeding - all the pureblood families are 
related. Anyone who is not a pureblood fanatic is therefore likely 
to marry a muggle-born, or even a muggle, because there is a wider 
choice of partners.  Inbreeding can also cause infertility.  As the 
pureblood population dwindles, the proportion of muggleborns in the 
WW will rise.

> > 20.  Voldemort has no issues with "pruning" the family tree of 
> > undesirables, even though they may be pure-blood or half-
bloods.  
> > Yet, he is displeased with Burbage's article and her assertion 
that 
> > the dwindling of Pureblood families is a good thing.   Voldemort 
> > says, of Charity Burbage, "She would have us all mate with 
> Muggles... 
> > or, no doubt, werewolves..."  He includes himself with the 
> Purebloods 
> > here.  Does he think his Muggle father's family doesn't count?  
Or 
> is 
> > he actively enforcing the idea that he, too, is a Pureblood?

Leah:
I think in his own mind he is a pureblood.  He has exterminated 
all trace of his father's family.
> 
> > 21.  Why does Voldemort think that Lucius does not need his wand 
> > anymore?

Leah:
It's an emasculation of Lucius.  All power has been removed from 
him.  Not a great move - now Lucius has only one thing to lose- his 
family.  


> > 22.  Do you think Voldemort is planning on dispensing with the 
> > Malfoys eventually?

Leah:
They are very expendable, but there might be some use for them. If 
at any moment they can serve him better dead, dead they will be. 

> > 23.  Voldemort invites Nagini to dine on the corpse of Charity 
> > Burbage.  What do you imagine the reactions of the others around 
> the 
> > table might be?  This idea has been presented in the books 
before.  
> > When do you think Nagini has disposed of the evidence before?  
Is 
> > this part of her value to Voldemort, or is Voldemort giving his 
pet 
> a 
> > treat?

Leah:
I would think everyone with the possible exception of Bellatrix is 
repulsed, and also terrified.   I expect Bertha Jorkins was a snack 
back in Albania and others we don't know.  Hope nice Mr Fortescue 
didn't end up as snake meal.  I think this a treat for Nagini; she 
is after all closely linked to VM.  It is also a final domination 
over the enemy.  

Leah, thanking Ceridwen for her questions.