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pauraque_bkFor those just joining us, in the past year and a half I've done chapter-by-chapter discussions of Prisoner of Azkaban, Chamber of Secrets, and Philosopher's Stone. Today I'll be starting Goblet of Fire. I plan to do a post every other day (in my experience, comment discussion on each chapter needs at least that much time), which should leave about a week between the end of the re-read and the release of the movie.
Goblet of Fire is a book with 37 chapters. That's 74 days of GoF discussion. Hold me.
Things to note:
-All six books are fair game for discussion. I would like to avoid discussion of the leak about the identity of RAB, though, for now.
-Everyone is welcome to participate! I don't have to know you, and you don't have to agree with me. But...
-Be courteous. This hasn't been a major issue in the past, but I think occasionally people have gotten carried away and forgotten that this isn't a public forum, it's my journal. There's no excuse to be rude to me or the people who comment.
Now, with that out of the way, let's get started. I'll be reading the UK paperback edition, so that's what page numbers will refer to. *cracks knuckles, dons wrist braces*
GoF 1: The Riddle House
The short scene in the pub is interesting in that it shows the villagers first in complete disbelief that Bryce could be a murderer ('Never!'), then succumbing rapidly to vicious gossip. "By the following morning, hardly anyone in Little Hangleton doubted that Frank Bryce had killed the Riddles" (9). The theme of false gossip will be revisited later in this book, and certainly in OotP.
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aithopa and I have spent time wondering where Peter got the robes for resurrected!Voldemort. Apparently when he went shopping, he treated himself as well.
This is also where we stop calling him "Pettigrew" in the narration (as was the case in PoA), but always "Wormtail". It seems to be a strategy for dehumanizing him, one both Voldemort and Harry employ.
There are several possible reasons Peter may be willing to question V. He's quite right that the plan is unnecessarily circuitous and time-consuming; if his primary concern is resurrecting V, his advice is reasonable. But his preemptive denial that he's worried for Harry suggests that he's either uncomfortable killing someone to whom he owes a life debt (from PoA), or is emotionally attached to Harry (which I suspect is also true).
It's also interesting that Peter tries to _reason_ with Voldemort, which is probably a mistake. It does point up the fact that while V is a madman and beyond reason, many of his followers are not.
Then:
That interrupted "if I curse--" seems to refer to placing the Imperius Curse on Barty Crouch, Sr. V wishes he could do it himself, he says, but he's not strong enough. When Peter lets Crouch Sr go later on, it doesn't seem to occur to V that it might have been intentional sabotage of a plan he'd openly criticized! Oh, Voldie.
The discussion posts will be saved in memories here.
Goblet of Fire is a book with 37 chapters. That's 74 days of GoF discussion. Hold me.
Things to note:
-All six books are fair game for discussion. I would like to avoid discussion of the leak about the identity of RAB, though, for now.
-Everyone is welcome to participate! I don't have to know you, and you don't have to agree with me. But...
-Be courteous. This hasn't been a major issue in the past, but I think occasionally people have gotten carried away and forgotten that this isn't a public forum, it's my journal. There's no excuse to be rude to me or the people who comment.
Now, with that out of the way, let's get started. I'll be reading the UK paperback edition, so that's what page numbers will refer to. *cracks knuckles, dons wrist braces*
GoF 1: The Riddle House
The villagers of Little Hangleton still called it 'the Riddle House', even though it had been many years since the Riddle family had lived there. (7)GoF and HBP are the only two books in the series that don't start with Harry, although GoF cheats a little -- Harry is observing this chapter in a dream. [Edit: Beg your pardon -- of course, PS/SS doesn't start with Harry either, but with Vernon!]
Every version of the tale, however, started in the same place: fifty years before, at daybreak on a fine summer's morning, when the Riddle House had still been well kept and impressive, and a maid had entered the drawing room to find all three Riddles dead. (7)So it was during summer break. Didn't HBP suggest it was Christmas break, or am I imagining things?
The Hanged Man, the village pub, did a roaring trade that night; the whole village had turned out to discuss the murders. (8)The Hanged Man is also a Tarot card. We know from HBP that Tarot is something to be taken seriously in the Potterverse.
The short scene in the pub is interesting in that it shows the villagers first in complete disbelief that Bryce could be a murderer ('Never!'), then succumbing rapidly to vicious gossip. "By the following morning, hardly anyone in Little Hangleton doubted that Frank Bryce had killed the Riddles" (9). The theme of false gossip will be revisited later in this book, and certainly in OotP.
The wealthy man who owned the Riddle House these days neither lived there nor put it to any use; they said in the village that he kept it for 'tax reasons', though nobody was very clear what these might be. The wealthy owner continued to pay Frank to do the gardening, however. (10)Huh. Should we wonder who the "wealthy man" is, or is he just a convenient reason for Frank to still be here?
[Wormtail] was wearing a long black cloak, and there was a bald patch at the back of his head. (12)I laughed here, but only because
aithopa and I have spent time wondering where Peter got the robes for resurrected!Voldemort. Apparently when he went shopping, he treated himself as well.This is also where we stop calling him "Pettigrew" in the narration (as was the case in PoA), but always "Wormtail". It seems to be a strategy for dehumanizing him, one both Voldemort and Harry employ.
'Your Lordship is still determined, then?' Wormtail said quietly.A couple of interesting things are happening here. It takes guts to question Voldemort, even in a weakened state. Peter may be superficially in control of the situation, acting as a father of sorts to baby Voldie, but V still has control of Nagini, who is _not_ weak and could attack Peter at any time.
'Certainly I am determined, Wormtail.' There was a note of menace in the cold voice now.
A slight pause followed -- and then Wormtail spoke, the words tumbling from him in a rush, as though he was forcing himself to say this before he lost his nerve.
'It could be done without Harry Potter, my Lord.'
Another pause, more protracted, and then--
'Without Harry Potter?' breathed the second voice softly. 'I see...'
'My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy!' said Wormtail, his voice rising squeakily. 'The boy is nothing to me, nothing at all! It is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard -- any wizard -- the thing could be done so much more quickly! If you allowed me to leave you for a short while -- you know that I can disguise myself most effectively -- I could be back here in as little as two days with a suitable person--'
'I could use another wizard,' said the second voice softly, 'that is true...'
'My Lord, it makes sense,' said Wormtail, sounding thoroughly relieved now, 'laying hands on Harry Potter would be so difficult, he is so well protected--' (13-14)
There are several possible reasons Peter may be willing to question V. He's quite right that the plan is unnecessarily circuitous and time-consuming; if his primary concern is resurrecting V, his advice is reasonable. But his preemptive denial that he's worried for Harry suggests that he's either uncomfortable killing someone to whom he owes a life debt (from PoA), or is emotionally attached to Harry (which I suspect is also true).
It's also interesting that Peter tries to _reason_ with Voldemort, which is probably a mistake. It does point up the fact that while V is a madman and beyond reason, many of his followers are not.
Then:
'And so you volunteer to go and fetch me a substitute? I wonder ... perhaps the task of nursing me has become wearisome for you, Wormtail? Could this suggestion of abandoning the plan be nothing more than an attempt to desert me?'I don't think Peter is really trying to desert him, but I do think V is right on the money that Peter came looking for him as a last resort. He only took off looking for him _after_ his cover as Scabbers was blown, and his life was in danger. His motivation for going through such trouble and suffering to resurrect V appears to be self-protection -- gaining the favor of a powerful wizard to hide behind. (Which seems to be working, as of HBP.) It would make no sense for Peter to leave now -- V is paranoid.
'No! My devotion to your Lordship--'
'Your devotion is nothing more than cowardice. You would not be here if you had anywhere else to go[...]' (14)
'I have my reasons for using the boy, as I have already explained to you. [...] All that is needed is a little courage from you, Wormtail -- courage that you will find, unless you wish to feel the full extent of Lord Voldemort's wrath--'Balls of steel, this guy has! Again, he's right that this isn't really a good plan, and I'm impressed that he's willing to argue with V about it, but V doesn't listen to reason.
'My Lord, I must speak!' said Wormtail, panic in his voice now. 'All through our journey I have gone over the plan in my head -- my Lord, Bertha Jorkins's disappearance will not go unnoticed for long, and if we proceed, if I curse--' (14-15)
That interrupted "if I curse--" seems to refer to placing the Imperius Curse on Barty Crouch, Sr. V wishes he could do it himself, he says, but he's not strong enough. When Peter lets Crouch Sr go later on, it doesn't seem to occur to V that it might have been intentional sabotage of a plan he'd openly criticized! Oh, Voldie.
Something was slithering towards him [...] it was a gigantic snake, at least twelve feet long. [...] in seconds, the tip of its diamond-patterned tail had vanished through the gap. (17)What kind of twelve-foot-long diamond-patterned snake lives in the Albanian forest?
'[A]nd I'll tell you this, too,' [Frank] added, on a sudden inspiration, 'my wife knows I'm up here, and if I don't come back--'Either Legilimency is possible without eye contact (V is facing away here), or V is exaggerating his abilities. I got the feeling repeatedly in this chapter that V was telling Peter and Frank that he knew what they were thinking when in reality he was merely making good guesses based on their demeanor and things he already knew to be true.
'You have no wife,' said the cold voice, very quietly. 'Nobody knows you are here. You told nobody that you were coming. Do not lie to Lord Voldemort, Muggle, for he knows ... he always knows...' (18)
The discussion posts will be saved in memories here.
