I used to say Chamber of Secrets was my favorite Harry Potter book, because it was the last one that ended happily. I have gotten over that desire for a happy ending, for the most part, but it was interesting reading this one with horcruxes in mind. Very interesting indeed.
We first read this book in a snowstorm. It snowed a lot that year, so I can’t remember if this is the one where I had to go rescue Mike because he’d locked his keys in his car or the one where he got stuck at my aunt and uncle’s house because the roads were worse than he thought. Either way, we read it and ate snow cream . . . and I remember reading part of it in the kitchen as we cooked our dinner. I was definitely on the Harry Potter train at this point.
Two things stuck out at me this time through. The first was that RON LIKES HERMIONE. I didn’t realize it started so early, but every time Hermione needs defending in this book, Ron is the one who steps up (that is partly because Ron has a temper and partly because Harry didn’t yet know what “mudblood” meant, but it’s so consistent that it must also be because RON LIKES HERMIONE). Additionally, Ron is the one who consistently notices Hermione’s affection for Gilderoy Lockhart, and is much more irritated by it than Harry. This is because, sooner than I expected or realized, Ron likes Hermione. Hee. Hee hee.
The other thing is that, knowing that the diary is a horcrux makes for some interesting reading. Harry is really drawn to the diary. Is this because that was how this horcrux worked, getting people to use it, or is it because of Harry and Voldemort’s link? Most tellingly, at the end, Harry knew exactly how to destroy the diary, knew without thinking. How did he know? Is it further evidence that Voldemort deposited some of his powers in Harry? I think it might be. I have been fairly worried about how Harry could possibly be skilled enough to believably destroy the horcruxes, but his lnk to Voldemort makes that much more understandable. I like that. I like it a whole lot. I also think that Voldemort has seriously underestimated the effects of Lily’s sacrifice, STILL. It’s not just a simple charm, as he refers to it in this book. I don’t know what else it will mean, but I still think it’s key to the story.
I remember JKR saying that Chamber of Secrets was originally titled Half-Blood Prince, and I tried to keep that in mind as I read it. I actually think that the HBP story, Snape’s story, is one of the weaker A-plots the series has. I think it worked better to have it pushed back to the sixth book, because Snape was no longer the potions master and the story needed things like the Room of Requirement. I can’t yet decide how much it matters knowing that Snape is a half-blood who is the head of Slytherin. I will keep it in mind as I read the rest of the books.
I was going to quote an anvilicious sentence, but I mentioned it above, and I don’t have the book right in front of me. But the most anvilicious thing to me, at this point, is that Harry knew exactly how to destroy the diary, and he knew it without thinking. Verrrrry interesting.
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7 Comments
I am going to point out something obnoxious … so, y’know, warning.
But you should totally have a spoiler alert on this post! OK, maybe I’m the only person who needs it. But I only finished this book last night, which yes, means I have several Harry Potter books to go … which means I did not know that this is the last one that ends happily!!!!!!!
Now I’m scared to read the rest of the entry.
Well, I kind of figured that everyone knew this is my . . . fifth time reading them through, and I am reading them with the last book in mind. (I also thought that everyone who would actually read what I have to say about Harry Potter has already read the series. hehe.) I always feel stupid putting spoiler alerts on stuff. But I’ll try to remember for the future.
(It’s not that the others are uber-depressing. This one just wraps up more neatly than any of the rest do.)
That’s interesting, Kari, because I sort of think of PoA as the last one with a happy ending… not IDEAL, but, you know, more or less okay.
Also… I TOLD you that you would get ahead of me! Mostly because I decided to read Blue Like Jazz before going back to HP…
(Book 3 discussion below.)
Oh, that one breaks my heart, because he thinks he is going to get to stay with Sirius and then, no, Sirius has to go into hiding. BRUTAL. I remember the first time we read it, everything seemed great with Sirius and they had taken Peter captive and then I realized there were still 100 pages yet and my heart sank. And, indeed, it all went to pot.
That one is probably so sad to me because it makes a point of having Harry think about how great it is that he doesn’t have to go back to the Dursleys. And then it is all ruined.
See, your (book 3 discussion below) totally prevented me from reading something I probably shouldn’t.
Thanks.
(Also, I totally meant to grab book three from Susan’s house yesterday! Oops. Must get it Tuesday!
So, I just finished this, and 2 things stuck out to me that hadn’t before.
1) Hair color. I know this probably isn’t important AT ALL, but I just think it’s interesting, the people in the book who are specifically described as having red or auburn hair: the Weasleys, Lily, Dumbledore. Am I right in thinking that they’re the only ones? Again, not sure it means anything, I just think that it’s interesting.
2) Dumbledore was a transfiguration teacher before he was headmaster. Is that mentioned in any other book? Does Dumbledore have an animagus like McGonagall does?
Some other people have noticed that, and JKR has said that Dumbledore isn’t Harry’s grandfather/relative. But, yeah, I do wonder if it is significant. We really know very little at this point about Lily.
I think that Dumbledore being the transfiguration teacher is mentioned again in HBP, when he goes to find Tom Riddle. Since Dumbledore has ways to make himself invisible, I always kind of assumed he could also turn himself into an animal, but I never really thought about it. Whether it’s official/registered or not, I don’t know.