July 23rd, 2005
Book #18 *SPOILER WARNING*
Per Janine’s pouty request, I will write a real review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I can’t write it without spoilers, though, so consider yourself warned. Lots and lots of spoilers after the jump.
OK, I warned you!
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Don’t read any further unless you want spoilers!
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I’m serious!
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Spoilers ahead!
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OK.
HBP is much shorter than OotP and I’m glad for it. This book had a much more condensed plot. It felt tighter. Harry’s “adventure” isn’t trifold (starting the DA, learning Occlumency/not learning Occlumency, and then, of course, fighting the Death Eaters); instead, his adventure is one of knowledge.
The knowledge he gains is really the critical turning point for Harry. In the past, Dumbledore has almost grudginly meted out little bits of information to Harry, according to how much Dumbledore thinks Harry can handle. Now, though, we see that Dumbledore is relating to Harry on a much more equal level. Not only does he share all the histories and memories he’s collected, he sends Harry to collect one he couldn’t. When they travel together to retrieve the Horcrux, Dumbledore knows that Harry is going to have to help him eventually—else, why would he ask him along. Even as they arrive back in Hogsmeade and Rosmerta offers to get her brooms, Dumbledore says, “No, Harry can do it.”
I really liked this, but I also saw right through it. Dumbledore knew he wouldn’t survive. He passed along what knowledge he could to Harry (although not all of it, and I still think Harry would have been well served to hear exactly what Snape told Dumbledore when he became a double-agent). He realized that Harry would have to have every bit of information (read, power) against Voldemort when the time came.
So I liked that stuff. I also liked the romances; it lightened things up a bit and reminded us all that these characters are 16. Yes, 16 year olds think about the opposite sex a lot and don’t know how to deal with all those strange feelings they have and it’s a nice touch. I am still ambivalent about Harry’s little speech to Ginny at the end. Yes, obviously she could be used against him by those who wanted to hurt Harry, but she’s also quite talented. She would be a tremedous asset to Harry. (Now, obviously, these books are the “Harry Potter” books and Harry has to be the one to do everything, but what a nice story that would be—Harry finds that he can’t do everything alone and the support of someone he cares about deeply will help him in the end. But I guess those characters have to be Ron and Hermione. Ah well.)
Now, to the meatier stuff.
Snape. Bad or good? I think Snape is probably not one of Voldemort’s. I think he does not believe in whatever utopian ideal Voldemort offers his followers; Snape, being half-blood, as we discover (and boy was that glossed over!), probably realizes his own place in a Voldemort universe would be unsteady.
Like Janine, though, I don’t think that makes him “good.” I think he used the Avada Kedavra curse because he was supposed to or realized he had to or realized that the outcome would be the same whether he did or didn’t. I think Dumbledore pleaded with Snape because he wanted Snape to perform the curse—instead of Malfoy. Dumbledore saw the hesitation and fear and uncertainty in Malfoy and wanted to protect that. He also knew that he was doomed anyway. Snape had to be the one.
Notice that when Dumbledore shares his memory of Voldemort coming and asking for the position of DADA teacher, he follows that trip in the Penseive up by telling Harry that, since then, no Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has lasted more than a year? So Snape, by accepting the post, must have realized his time in it was limited. Every year, he was turned down—until this one. He knew there would be an….event, shall we say?
A few more things. Slughorn. Slimy, bigoted, perhaps, and, like Janine suggested, a lover of power for its benefits. It is a nice touch, I agree, showing that Slytherin’s love of power is not evil per se. Likewise, McClaggan shows that Gryffindor’s bravery isn’t always a good thing, what with his posturing and quick temper. I think JKR took some time in this book to remind us all that each person is an individual and their house does not immediately make them “good” or “evil.”
Also, the Half-Blood Prince. I am still a little confused by the fifty-year old book thing—perhaps the book was Snape’s mother’s and she passed it along to him. Maybe they were poor (one gets that sense from the memories Harry saw, particularly Snape’s “gray” drawers, etc.). It still has me a little confused. But that’s OK. As a title for the book, I think it’s very misleading. But it is appropriate, since Snape ends up being the pivotal character in the big battle at the end. This book really is about Harry being seduced, to a certain extent, by the HBP’s knowledge (Snape’s knowledge) while also fighting with Dumbledore’s trust in Snape. It’s an interesting choice of title, I guess, but I still don’t fully like it.
Finally, Horcruxes.
I like the Harry-as-Horcrux theory. I also think it’s very likely that something in 12 Grimmauld Place will, at the very least, help Harry find the remaining Horcruxes. I’m not counting on Book 7 being so neat and tidy, though. And yes, perhaps Harry will have to die to kill Voldemore once and for all; maybe he’ll have to split his own soul, giving up some precious part of himself to do it (maybe his magic?). Whatever the case, the Horcrux idea does clear up some issues from the series—such as, how in God’s name did Voldemort get part of himself into that diary?
I am curious about JKR’s choice to have Harry leave school after his sixth year. That will make Book 7 a great departure from the rest of the series. We’ve gotten used to the way things go in a Harry Potter book—Harry goes to the Dursleys’, then (lately) to the Burrow or somewhere else in the magical world, then he goes back to Hogwarts and adventures ensue right there. Now we’ll have Harry traipsing around out in the real world. She gave us a hint of that when Harry and Dumbledore went out to find the Horcrux—it felt very odd, the two of them standing on that cliff, somewhere ELSE, somewhere not Hogwarts or London or Privet Drive.
So my next step will be to reread HBP. I might also read through some of the other books looking for R.A.B.
comments
You don’t think RAB is Regulus Black?
I think RAB might be Regulus Black, but I also want to see what other options are in the books, if any.
1) You don’t think RAB is Regulus Black?
2) JKR characterizing Harry’s lust for Ginny as the DARK BEAST was hilarious. In a bad way.
3) I think of Snape as an older Malfoy, and that, while despicable, is not really evil… likely he showed incredible regret at Lily Potter’s death (and maybe even expressed it with an Unbreakable Vow with Dumbledore). His place in Voldemort’s world can’t really be that tenuous (Voldemort himself is half-blood)…
1) Again, I think RAB might be Regulus, but I am not entirely convinced. He’s the most likely suspect, but if JKR wanted RAB to be obvious, why would she never have revealed Regulus’ middle name?
2) I thought this was also an interesting touch—if nothing else, it shows even more clearly Harry’s sort of “uncontrollable-ness” and hot temper.
3) Voldemort despises Muggles and half-bloods alike, seeing them as the downfall of wizardry. (Why would his own great family have sunk into such depravity if not for the degradation of wizardkind by intermarriage with Muggles?) His own half-blood-ness is the stem of his hatred for half-bloods and blood traitors.
So I see Snape as realizing that Voldemort finds him useful—perhaps more useful than anyone at the moment—but he also realizes that Voldemort won’t need to keep him around once his usefulness as a spy is over (i. e., when Voldemort takes power).
I think Snape has his own lust for power, much like Slughorn, but he also doesn’t necessarily want Voldemort to win. Basically, Snape is not a nice guy, but that doesn’t mean that he’s “evil” in the context of the books. I think this is another interesting point JKR may be trying to make—that one can be, essentially, a wretched human being and still believe in what is right and good. (Janine said this better than I.)
Wow, I pouted for something and got it! I need to try that more often. This is a great, thoughtful review.
I think you’re right that we were supposed to infer that Snape used his mother’s book while he was at school, even though JKR never explicitly explains this. I feel like the “this book is 50 years old!” bit was a clunky but necessary red herring — she obviously needed something to throw off the immediate conclusion that the book was Snape’s. I appreciate that it got in a bit more Snape backstory, however awkwardly.
I still don’t like the title either, but it might be growing on me (or becoming less intolerable) as I think about it. In just about all the books, there is a major incident of mistaken identity or discovered identity which subverts Harry’s and/or the audience’s expectations about a character (Harry himself, Quirrell, Tom Riddle, Sirius and Scabbers, Moody, etc). In HBP, the identity issue is totally foregrounded, so I guess it makes sense that the title includes the person whose questionable “true face” would now seem to be a decisive factor in the war.
And for these purposes, “Harry Potter and the Ambiguous Professor Snape” has even less of a ring.
You do write a good review, Kristine. I agree with much of what you write, except that Harry as a horocrux seems illogical to me. (I know, silly to discuss logic in a review of a book about magic.) It seems to me that making a horocrux requires to much preparation and deliberation for it to be done accidentally, as some have posited. I have other objections to the idea as well. Too bad we have to wait so long to find out!
But we’ll be 3L’s by then with LOTS of time to read, right?
One more thing: did anyone notice that Sirius’s uncle, the one who left him money, has a name beginning with A? Perhaps he went by his middle name, hmm? Just a thought.
Now, see, Citations, THAT’s exactly the kind of information I’m going to be searching for. While Regulus is the obvious suspect, I want to check it out for myself. (And yes, the uncle with the A name is the main reason everyone thinks RAB is Regulus, figuring his middle “A” comes from the uncle.)
i love snape. the poor ugly goth nerd who got bullied all through highschool. *sigh* reminds me of the people i used to hang out with when i went to high school.