CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chamber of Secrets Ch. 13: The Very Secret Diary

[jelly92784]

No: HPFGUIDX 189081


1.  Ron is very attuned to Hermione's crush on Lockhart.  Is he merely disgusted with her infatuation, or is this one of JKR's "anvil-sized hints?  Did you pick up on this the first time you read CoS?

Janelle: I think there are two levels to what's going on here.  I think this could be considered one of Jo's "anvil-sized hints," but at the same time, I'm sure that Ron isn't secretly harboring feelings for Hermione at this point.  I think he's disgusted by it in general, and maybe a little bit more so because it's Hermione, but not because he has feelings for her himself- or maybe he's just not aware of the feelings that he has for her...  

2.  What do you think is the source of Lockhart's appeal to women and girls?  Is it his looks and charm, or is there magic involved?  Do you think he's capable of one of Flitwick's Entrancement Enchantments?
  
Janelle: Standard handsome-celebrity stuff.  A couple of people have mentioned the attraction of otherwise smart women/girls to a pretty face "with nothing behind it," but I want to point out that at this point everyone still believed that Lockhart had written all those books about his own experiences.  If he had actually done all of those things he might actually have been someone worthy of admiring and drooling over!  I don't think he uses any extra magic to charm witches.

3.  Ron's initial reaction that the diary was dangerous proves correct, and he also correctly guessed that Riddle murdered Moaning Myrtle.  Ron's apparent knack for this led to a longstanding theory that Ron was a Seer.  What do these comments tell us about Ron?
  
Janelle: I agree with what others have said about Ron having more knowledge about the types of things that can be cursed due to his life in the wizarding world and at home with his father, and so knowing when to be suspicious of things.  I also still tend to gravitate towards the "Ron as Seer" theory.  I don't believe that he is an all-out seer, or even whatever type of seer Trelawney is, I just think he has a knack for predicting things accurately (while not taking those predictions at all seriously himself- it usually is when he's making jokes that he gets things right).  I still think Ron has a touch of seer about him, even if it isn't a significant part of who he is or how his life turns out.

4.  What did you think of Riddle after reading this chapter?  
  
Janelle: I don't really remember my initial thoughts, but I think that I, like Harry, trusted him, even if I wasn't totally convinced that Hagrid was the bad guy.

5.  Do you think Riddle's memory is part and parcel of his soul bit, or is it a separate enchantment, like the curses on some of the other horcruxes?  Why did he incorporate this feature into a horcrux and not simply create a separate memorial?  And (really going off on a tangent here) does the Sorting Hat employ the same kind of magic?
  
Janelle: Good question!  I think that the memories in the diary are separate from the Horcrux, however, I think that the memories would have stayed within the pages of the diary without that soul bit.  Maybe Riddle originally put the memories there to prove that he was the Heir of Slytherin and he had the power to open the Chamber, and then decided to take it a step further once he started experimenting with horcruxes.

6.  There are obvious parallels between the memory Riddle showed Harry and the ones Dumbledore shows Harry in HBP; in fact, JKR once considered revealing much of Riddle's history in CoS.  How do you think she intended to handle the information, and what do you think of how Riddle's story was handled here?

Janelle: I find myself wondering whether Jo originally planned to reveal Voldemort's versions of some of those memories rather than Dumbledore's?  Could other memories have been stored in that diary as well?  Interesting how the Penseive shows up a couple books later with practically the same method of revealing memories...  All I know for sure is that, if Jo had chosen to reveal much more of Voldemort's back story here, it would've made for a very different journey to the end.
 

7.  Why does Harry believe that Hagrid opened the Chamber?
 
Janelle: I think he believed it because of what he saw- the monster and Hagrid hiding in the dungeons.  I don't think he would have believed it based solely on Riddle's word.  I think he doesn't find it too difficult to believe that one of Hagrid's "pets" could've gotten out of his control.

8.  The introduction of Tom Riddle in this chapter adds a dark and chilling element to the storyline, yet the chapter is also very funny, with visions of surly dwarfs carrying harps, Moaning Myrtle as a carnival contest, and Ginny's pickled-toad valentine.  What do you think of JKR's juxtaposition of humor and seriousness here?

Janelle: Like with the Writing on the Wall chapter, she diverts our attention from the serious stuff by throwing in a lot of comedy.  I think it's great! 

9.  (Paraphrasing someone's question): Why is Tom Riddle's award still kept in the trophy room?

Janelle: I think it could be customary just to keep everything in there, or perhaps Voldemort cursed it so that it could never be removed!  Personally, I was half-expecting that award shield to be the Hogwarts-hidden horcrux.