Post by Kahlessa on May 23, 2007 22:42:20 GMT -5
(I wrote this for an online Barnes & Noble discussion of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in October 2005.)
Upon reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince a second time recently, I noticed something I hadn’t caught the first time. Narcissa Malfoy, whatever else she may be, is a mother terrified of losing her child, and that may have serious implications in book seven.
In the chapter “Spinner’s End”, she goes to Snape, against Voldemort’s orders forbidding her to speak of the task set for Draco. When Snape points out that if he had not known about the matter, she would be “guilty of treachery to the Dark Lord”; she makes no effort to affirm her loyalty to Voldemort. She is relieved that Snape knows about the matter and she can ask for his help freely.
Contrast Narcissa’s manner with that of Bellatrix. Narcissa is distraught at the thought of losing Draco. As for her sister: “You should be proud!” said Bellatrix ruthlessly, “If I had sons, I would gladly give them up to the service of Dark Lord.”
Bellatrix has all the maternal instincts of Medea. Anything she can do for Voldemort, she will. But for Narcissa, if it comes down to a choice between Voldemort and Draco, she’s choosing her son. She keeps sobbing and saying, “My son…my only son,” and fears that Voldemort has set this task for Draco to kill him in punishment for his father Lucius failing to retrieve the prophecy. As she points out, Voldemort himself couldn’t kill Dumbledore, how can he expect Draco to succeed? She says, “In other words, it doesn’t matter to him if Draco is killed!”
Well, it certainly matters to Narcissa, more than Voldemort’s wishes or even perhaps his survival. With Lucius in Azkaban, and possibly never getting out, Draco is all she has left. As Draco’s father is no longer around to protect him, it is all up to her. I think that leaves her feeling very vulnerable, but determined. When, on their way to Snape’s house, she draws her wand on Bellatrix, her sister says, “Cissy, your own sister? You wouldn’t—“Narcissa replies, “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do anymore.” These words may be prophetic.
Later on, at Madame Malkin’s shop, when Draco is being fitted for robes, he complains that his mother won’t let him go shopping alone. When Draco insults Hermione and Harry and Ron get their wands out, Narcissa intervenes to stop it. “Put those away,” she said coldly to Harry and Ron. “If you ever attack my son again, I shall ensure that it is the last thing you ever do.” She responds to any perceived threat to her son. Lily’s mother died trying to protect Harry; I can see Draco’s mother doing the same.
I don’t know if Narcissa’s love for her son will have any further implications in book seven. It’s possible that Rowling used it as a plot point to get Snape to make an unbreakable vow. But it might also mean that Draco is capable of redemption. For all his indoctrination in the dark arts, Draco has known the genuine love of his mother. In the first book, Dumbledore said that Voldemort doesn’t understand love. That means Voldemort would not understand Narcissa placing her son’s life ahead of loyalty to him.
If Snape is on the side of good, as I suspect, then he and Narcissa are the two most powerful influences on Draco. Another thing I’ve noticed is that Draco responds much more intensely to insults to his mother than insults to his father, which shows he has a son’s devotion to her.
I don’t think Narcissa will turn away from Voldemort out of any moral sense of right and wrong, but she will do it in order to save her son. J. K. Rowling is a mother, and the love of a mother for her child is not something she would take lightly. So I think Narcissa may be a wild card in book seven. Even if Draco doesn’t turn from Voldemort, his mother might intervene to protect her son in a way Voldemort does not plan on.
Upon reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince a second time recently, I noticed something I hadn’t caught the first time. Narcissa Malfoy, whatever else she may be, is a mother terrified of losing her child, and that may have serious implications in book seven.
In the chapter “Spinner’s End”, she goes to Snape, against Voldemort’s orders forbidding her to speak of the task set for Draco. When Snape points out that if he had not known about the matter, she would be “guilty of treachery to the Dark Lord”; she makes no effort to affirm her loyalty to Voldemort. She is relieved that Snape knows about the matter and she can ask for his help freely.
Contrast Narcissa’s manner with that of Bellatrix. Narcissa is distraught at the thought of losing Draco. As for her sister: “You should be proud!” said Bellatrix ruthlessly, “If I had sons, I would gladly give them up to the service of Dark Lord.”
Bellatrix has all the maternal instincts of Medea. Anything she can do for Voldemort, she will. But for Narcissa, if it comes down to a choice between Voldemort and Draco, she’s choosing her son. She keeps sobbing and saying, “My son…my only son,” and fears that Voldemort has set this task for Draco to kill him in punishment for his father Lucius failing to retrieve the prophecy. As she points out, Voldemort himself couldn’t kill Dumbledore, how can he expect Draco to succeed? She says, “In other words, it doesn’t matter to him if Draco is killed!”
Well, it certainly matters to Narcissa, more than Voldemort’s wishes or even perhaps his survival. With Lucius in Azkaban, and possibly never getting out, Draco is all she has left. As Draco’s father is no longer around to protect him, it is all up to her. I think that leaves her feeling very vulnerable, but determined. When, on their way to Snape’s house, she draws her wand on Bellatrix, her sister says, “Cissy, your own sister? You wouldn’t—“Narcissa replies, “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do anymore.” These words may be prophetic.
Later on, at Madame Malkin’s shop, when Draco is being fitted for robes, he complains that his mother won’t let him go shopping alone. When Draco insults Hermione and Harry and Ron get their wands out, Narcissa intervenes to stop it. “Put those away,” she said coldly to Harry and Ron. “If you ever attack my son again, I shall ensure that it is the last thing you ever do.” She responds to any perceived threat to her son. Lily’s mother died trying to protect Harry; I can see Draco’s mother doing the same.
I don’t know if Narcissa’s love for her son will have any further implications in book seven. It’s possible that Rowling used it as a plot point to get Snape to make an unbreakable vow. But it might also mean that Draco is capable of redemption. For all his indoctrination in the dark arts, Draco has known the genuine love of his mother. In the first book, Dumbledore said that Voldemort doesn’t understand love. That means Voldemort would not understand Narcissa placing her son’s life ahead of loyalty to him.
If Snape is on the side of good, as I suspect, then he and Narcissa are the two most powerful influences on Draco. Another thing I’ve noticed is that Draco responds much more intensely to insults to his mother than insults to his father, which shows he has a son’s devotion to her.
I don’t think Narcissa will turn away from Voldemort out of any moral sense of right and wrong, but she will do it in order to save her son. J. K. Rowling is a mother, and the love of a mother for her child is not something she would take lightly. So I think Narcissa may be a wild card in book seven. Even if Draco doesn’t turn from Voldemort, his mother might intervene to protect her son in a way Voldemort does not plan on.
