![]() ![]() The problem? We’re still skewing too young to let that darkness loose. It becomes quite clear that the world Harry Potter lives in isn’t all wizard candy and quidditch this is a world that is crackling with danger. But once the Chamber of Secrets has been opened, Rowling begins to considerably darken things up and focus. The answer is that it both had and hadn’t.įor the first hundred pages Chamber is about as plotless as Sorcerer’s Stone was, and the plot makes about as little sense. Revisiting the book for the first time in several years, I was curious to see if my memory of the film adaptation (which I consider to be very shoddy) had colored my memory of the book. So while Sorcerer’s Stone was the first full Harry Potter book I read, my journey actually began here, in the Chamber of Secrets. I had to force myself to put the book down to rejoin the group, and the first opportunity I had I ran to a book store and purchased the three Harry Potter books that were available then ( Goblet of Fire was five or six months away from publication at the time). I got so engrossed that I was a hundred pages in before I realized everyone else had long since woken up and been bumping about the kitchen. Lo! and behold, there was a copy of Chamber of Secrets on the night table. Too timid to wander the house on my own, I looked around the room for something to kill time until everyone else woke up. Everyone spent the night at the friend’s house and in the morning I woke up first. Fifteen years ago I was 18 years old and attended a birthday party for one of my older sister’s college friends. Though it's only a theory, it's one that easily enhances the larger story.Although it’s the second book in the series, Chamber of Secrets was actually my first experience reading Harry Potter. Having it be a defense that got out of hand works well, as it also shows how twisted and obsessed Voldemort was to achieve his goals. Therefore, while Salazar Slytherin may not have been a good Wizard to Muggles, it's possible his Chamber wasn't initially a part of a larger revenge plot. Each graduate's fate is decided based on their choices and nothing more. History can be as cruel as it can be informative, and as Severus Snape and Leta Lestrange have shown, the Slytherin house isn't a place of evil wizards. But, of course, as Slytherin's reputation grew and was embellished, so was the purpose of his chamber, now a place of myth that houses untold horrors. ![]() Therefore, it's possible that the main purpose of the Chamber of Secrets was to protect the school. ![]() There's also the reality that history is only as true as those that retell it. But having housed villains like Bellatrix Lestrange, the Malfoys and even Lord Voldemort, it makes sense that many see the house as evil. History hasn't been kind to Slytherin house, especially given the reputation of its founder. However, it could equally be plausible that Slytherin still had a master plan to unleash the snake on the school with its defenses designed to give the snake a taste for Muggles. Therefore, the Chamber of Secrets was created, and the Basilisk within was trained to kill any Muggle threats that crossed it. As a result, those that attended the school likely had to risk being taken or killed by Muggles trying to uncover Hogwarts' secrets. It's hard to say how dangerous the world was at the time of the founders, but it could be assumed that Muggles were potentially more privy to magic than before. It could be that the chamber wasn't made as a weapon against Hogwarts but as a tool to protect it from Muggles that wished to do Hogwarts harm. But there may be more to his intentions than previously thought. While Slytherin's beliefs were never in question, even history has shown that he likely made the Chamber of Secrets so that, if he could not, someone else would open it to release the Basilisk and kill all the Muggle-born Witches and Wizards. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |