While Harry Potter
and the Philosopher’s Stone is an excellent introduction to the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
brings it all up a notch. We get less Dursleys, more Weasleys. We get more
Hogwarts, more Quidditch, more Voldemort, more magical creatures, more
characters, more magic and, the best of all, a more concise and interesting
story. Like the first book, this one is also a mystery and it’s probably one of
Rowling’s best mysteries*. Rowling also adds a real sense of danger to the
school. Unlike the first book where the teachers felt confident their spells
and defences would prove a suitable deterrent to anyone trying to steal the
Philosopher’s Stone, some of them seem genuinely frightened at what happened at
Hogwarts during Harry’s second year.
I always found it a little strange when people talk about
the Potter books getting “darker and darker” as they progressed. Dude, things
were pretty freaking dark by the second book. Rowling brings forth interesting
and important social themes to the forefront, without maybe even realizing how
predominant some of these ideas become later on in the series. Rowling
introduces pure-bloods, Muggle-borns (also known as mud-bloods) half-bloods and
squibs. This is world building of a pretty serious kind, something that is
echoed through real world history on how people treated each other based on
their differences and heritage. The idea of wizard eugenics will become
increasingly important to the series and it’s a pretty daring topic for Rowling
to tackle, particularly in what is often considered to be a series of
children’s books.
This is one of the things I like about Harry Potter. The idea of pure-blood supremacy is ludicrous.
The fact that Muggle-born children can grow up and learn magic is proof enough
of the ridiculousness of the idea. Add to that the fact that pure-bloods or
half-bloods can be Squibs, witches and wizards from magical families who are
unable to use magic and the argument that pure-bloods are better weakens
considerably. To put it simply, it’s a prejudice that pure-blood wizards are
better because of their heritage. It’s a ludicrous idea but a very seductive
one for anybody who’s part of an all-wizard family. Rowling does a good job
balancing those ideas with the rest of the Potterverse. They’re very dark ideas
but she handles them with seriousness. It’s a big deal when Malfoy calls
Hermione a mud-blood, a slur with a very negative connotation. Essentially he’s
telling Hermione that her blood is dirty, like muddy water, because her parents
are Muggles. It’s such a big deal that Ron attacks Malfoy in a fit of rage.
Harry Potter and
the Chamber of Secrets is a very dark book, not because there are deaths abound
and many gory and violent scenes. No, the series ups the ante on that in later
books. The second book is dark because of the implications of pure-blood
supremacy, but it’s even darker because Rowling establishes that there is a
history of Muggle-born prosecution in the Wizarding World. The idea is very
old, going at least all the way back to Salazar Slytherin not wanting to admit
Muggle-born witches and wizards to Hogwarts. He went so far as creating the
Chamber of Secrets and breeding a basilisk that would remain there, inside the
school, in order to help cleanse Hogwarts of any students with dirty blood.
That is pure evil. To be judged, not on your own personal merit or to even be
recognized as an individual with equal value to all others simply because of whom
your parents are, it doesn’t get much more evil than that.
The prosecution of Muggle-borns and half-bloods doesn’t
end there though, it continues on through the history of the Wizarding World.
Voldemort, it’s unfortunate to say, is only the most recent example of this.
I’m not sure how many young readers picked up on this but I would say the more
the better because Rowling handled the issue with care. She clearly
demonstrates just how wrong those ideas are and she doesn’t really limit the
discussion of those ideas to just good or bad, or black or white. There are
good wizards from pure-blood families and there are bad witches who are
half-bloods. What blows my mind is that Voldemort is from a half-blood family.
His mother was a witch and his father was a Muggle. How can you believe so
strongly in the supremacy of pure-bloods if you yourself aren’t even a
pure-blood by your own definition? I believe that Voldemort was in a position
of such power it didn’t matter. He saw a group of individuals he was able to
define as unworthy and who had already been prosecuted in times long past and
continued to do so for his own wicked pleasure. Rowling will later also
establish different kinds of supremacists and racial mixes such as Half-breeds
(Hagrid) and wizarding supremacists (Dumbledore in his youth and Grindelwald).
Now that I’ve clearly established why I think the second
book kicks off the darker tone of the series and that the evolution of the
series towards darker books wasn’t as drawn out as some people think, I’d like
to focus on more positive elements of the series. I’m not implying that all the
stuff I mentioned above is a criticism of the series. On the contrary, the
presence of social themes contributes to what makes Harry Potter a good series. It also adds a big helping of
verisimilitude to the world building of the Potterverse.
With Chambers of
Secrets Rowling sticks to the formula she established in the first book.
Harry has a miserable time living with the Dursleys and then he spends time in
the Wizarding World before heading to Hogwarts. This year he spends the end of
his summer vacation at the Burrow, home of the Weasleys. I just love how the
homes of Wizards have names. It gives a nice British touch to the series and I
love it. She continues with the formula once Harry arrives at school. Every
year begins with some time spent with Harry and his friends in class and
dealing with their homework and simply, well, going to school. It’s important
because it establishes that the students don’t just run around uncovering evil
plots and solving mysteries. Harry, Hermione and Ron aren’t Nancy Drew and the
Hardy Boys with magic; they’re students first and foremost. Some of these
moments are some of my favourite Harry Potter moments. I remember being a young
teen and wishing that I could be at Hogwarts. It’s the one fictional place I
wanted to visit the most when I was young. The formula continues with the
development of the mystery or the event that makes the school year memorable,
in this case the mystery of the Chamber of the Secrets. Generally some sort of
shenanigan takes place during the Christmas break. Upon returning we get a
mixture of classes and homework with some of the mystery and even a bit of
Quidditch thrown in for good measure (depending on the year). The book then
ends with the culmination of everything in the book for a big finale.
One of the things that make Harry Potter such a good series is that Rowling could easily have
limited herself to telling the story of everyday life at Hogwarts. That alone
would make it a good series, but expanding and building the world and history
of the Wizarding World makes it memorable. On top of all that, she also tells
an engrossing tale of the fight for individual rights and tolerance, forcing us
to look at our real world as something that should be more tolerant. The second
book in the series often gets a bad rap but Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets accomplishes a tremendous amount of
things, whether it’s world building or laying the groundwork for stories to be
told in future books or the further development of the characters, all the
while telling a solid mystery story that is also pretty full with hair raising
horror scenes. It’s pretty freaking spectacular and it remains one of my
favourite Harry Potter books. I’ll
finish off with some random thoughts:
-Ah, Arthur Weasley, you're such a strange man and so
many people love you (though not as much as we love Mrs. Weasley). He's an
interesting character because he's a wizard with scientific curiosity. I find
this line from book two sums him up the best: "Ingenious, really how many
ways Muggles have found of getting along without magic."
-The O.W.L.s, Ordinary Wizarding Levels, is one of the early
attempts by Rowling to develop what adult wizards do for a living and how they
decide what that is. The Ministry of Magic is also talked about in a bit more
detail, though that will also expand considerably later on in the series.
-Underage wizards are allowed to use magic in the case of
emergency. What defines an emergency and who makes that definition are not
specified by Rowling, at least not in this book.
-Why does Snape seem to care so much about the Whomping Willow?
Oh yeah, go read book three!
-Professor Sprout kind of gives out her house points fast
and loose, eh? She gave Hermione 20 for answering two questions correctly!
-Harry's second year at school takes place from September
1992 to late spring 1993. According to Nearly Headless Nick's 500th death day
(1492) I’ve never caught on to when this series occurs before. I love that it
takes place during the nineties.
-I wouldn't consider HP "regular" fantasy
fiction yet it’s interesting that there are classic fantasy genre conventions
that appear in the books. One of them that I’ve never noticed before but, I’m
noticing a lot now is just how much Rowling writes about food. It’s not just at
meal times and feasts, though most of it takes place during those scenes.
-The biggest improvement in this book is that the first
book introduces Hogwarts but the school is much more than just a place. The
second book introduces the history of Hogwarts. Although the Wizarding World is
new to Harry, it's been around a very long time. The second book is
particularly interesting since we get our first real look at the history of
Hogwarts. If there is on book I wish
Rowling would write it's Hogwarts: A
History. I would fit right in with the other Harry Potter “spin-off” books.
-Rowling kind of tries to misdirect the reader to think
Malfoy is the heir of Slytherin and he’s the one responsible for the events
happening at Hogwarts. It's not nearly as effective as her misdirection with
Snape in the first book. I remember just thinking it was a monster living loose
in the castle and, I even remember thinking it might be a basilisk because I
have just finished a French book where there was such a monster. Lucky for me
otherwise I would never have guessed it. But seriously, Malfoy? Ha! I'd put my
money on Lockhart before him.
-Lockhart's books are popular in the Wizarding World not
because of their content, but because he passes it off as non-fiction. It leads
me to think about what kind of stuff wizards read. It can't be limited to
magical tomes, wizard history and books about Quidditch. Part of me thinks
there's a market for boring (by our real world standards) fiction. Like slice
of life stuff. Maybe? I dunno. I can see Arthur Weasley just loving slice of
life books.
-The discovery of Moaning Myrtle is great. You get a
sense that there is stuff happening at Hogwarts that's unrelated to Harry. All
the girls know not to go in that bathroom because it’s haunted by the ghost of
a teenage girl. I would love a book of day to day stuff with a random
character, potentially ones we haven't seen before. What’s going on with other
characters we’ve only briefly seen here and there? Get on it Rowling! I can’t
be the only one dying to read a Harry
Potter short story collection.
-The Chamber of Secrets has one of the saddest moments in
any of the Harry Potter books. I'm talking of course of the story of Hagrid's
expulsion. There are few stories about the falsely accused as heartbreaking as
this one. Who could believe that Hagrid could harm another person (or animal)?
He's such a gentle soul. He's clearly thought of as a monster because of his
size. Even in the wizarding world prejudices are found everywhere and even
Hagrid, Hermione, and many other muggle born wizards will always suffer the
oppression of those who think themselves superior not because of their deeds
and personal achievements, but because of their blood and heritage.
-Man, wizards can get pretty old eh? You definitively get
the impression that they have a longer lifespan than Muggles. Sure, some will
get way older than others based on their magical prowess or because they're
half giant or something but why the longer lifespan? I would like an
explanation that is more interesting than “because magic”.
-One of the nice things about the invisibility cloak is
that Rowling didn't over use it. Heck, for most of the book she seems to have
forgotten about it. It's a good thing because it seems like she’d rather come
up with new stuff rather than to repeat scenes from previous books. Still,
we'll see plenty more of the invisibility cloak before the series is over.
* I read in an online interview somewhere, and I’m sorry
I can’t remember where because it was very good, Rowling grew up reading
mystery stories and she’s always wanted to write some of her own. Well she’s
done that, she’s written several in the Harry
Potter series alone. Her more recent work shows that influence more prominently.
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