Bellatrix Lestrange: Character Analysis

[TheShley]

When does Sirius say that?

[HRW]

Originally Posted by TheShley

When does Sirius say that?

He indirectly mentions it in GoF. He refers to her and Rodolphous as the Lestranges - the married couple. A bit of inconsistency from JKR I think...

[TheShley]

Originally Posted by HRW

He indirectly mentions it in GoF. He refers to her and Rodolphous as the Lestranges - the married couple. A bit of inconsistency from JKR I think...

Yes, I just had a quick look in the book, he lists off names from the group in which Snape used to hang around... Either an consistency, or Sirius had gotten
himself confused! haha.

Oh another note, I often wonder how Bellatrix got herself married...

[OldMotherCrow]

Originally Posted by HRW

He indirectly mentions it in GoF. He refers to her and Rodolphous as the Lestranges - the married couple. A bit of inconsistency from JKR I think...

Not necessarily.

For example Draco Malfoy and Regulus Black both belonged to the Death Eaters, but they never met. So it is quite possible for Bellatrix and Snape to belong to the same group-- in this case the gang of Slytherins at Hogwarts-- without their time in it overlapping, if new members were being recruited as old ones finished school.

Where is Bellatrix's age from, anyway? I can never remember. Bellatrix's age isn't mentioned in the books, though it is hinted that she is the eldest of the three sisters, and Tonk's age sort of gives a cut off point for how young she can be. I'm really too lazy to do the math, though.

[HRW]

Originally Posted by OldMotherCrow

Not necessarily.

For example Draco Malfoy and Regulus Black both belonged to the Death Eaters, but they never met. So it is quite possible for Bellatrix and Snape to belong to the same group-- in this case the gang of Slytherins at Hogwarts-- without their time in it overlapping, if new members were being recruited as old ones finished school.

That's one possible interpretation but the way Sirius phrases it, I think he was specifically referring to students who were at Hogwarts while Snape was still there. Sirius didn't look like he was talking about an organization - which is what the death eaters were but more about a group of slytherins who hung out together. And we do know that Avery was at Hogwarts when Snape was.

[ShadowSonic]

It's probably just JK not being good with the Maths again. She's openly admitted to this at least once.

[OldMotherCrow]

I still want to know what math, because I am not sure where the timeline you are using is from.

Sirius named Bellatrix, so Sirius knew she was a member of that gang, whether or not her time in the gang overlaps with Snape's time in the gang. So I am not sure whether it matters that much about whether or not their time in the gang overlapped, but I'm not ready to declare JK Rowling incorrect about something she wrote in the books when it doesn't really contradict anything else she wrote in the books. I take the opposite tack, that the author is correct until proven otherwise, not that the author is mistaken in her work until proven right. Was there somewhere that Bellatrix's age is given, or is this an estimate based on Tonk's age?

[ShadowSonic]

Her birth is from the House of Black family tree that JK wrote up. Gives it as 1951 IIRC.

[OldMotherCrow]

Originally Posted by ShadowSonic

Her birth is from the House of Black family tree that JK wrote up. Gives it as 1951 IIRC.

That gives the latest date for her graduation being in 1980, right before Snape starts school, right? If so, then they never overlapped; they just belonged to the same gang, that Bellatrix left before Snape joined. As they did not appear all that close in the few scenes they had together, this poses no problem for me, as it doesn't contradict anything in the books. Bellatrix's younger sister Narcissa seemed more familiar with Snape than she did-- I am assuming Narcissa is the youngest sister because of her position on the Black family tree in the book.

[ShadowSonic]

If she was born in 1951, her graduation would've been in 1969 or 1970 wouldn't it?

[OldMotherCrow]

Originally Posted by ShadowSonic

If she was born in 1951, her graduation would've been in 1969 or 1970 wouldn't it?

Oops, sorry, typo. I meant 1970.

[TheShley]

Originally Posted by HRW

That's one possible interpretation but the way Sirius phrases it, I think he was specifically referring to students who were at Hogwarts while Snape was still there. Sirius didn't look like he was talking about an organization - which is what the death eaters were but more about a group of slytherins who hung out together. And we do know that Avery was at Hogwarts when Snape was.

Yeah, what he actually says is:

"Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in the seventh year, and he was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be death eaters."
Sirius held up his fingers and began ticking off names.
"Rosier and Wilkes - they were both killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell. The Lestranges - they're a married couple - they're in Azkaban."

GoF; Chapter 27

Which is definitely implying that they were at school together, not just part of some out-of-school gang... In my opinion anyway...

[Fawkesfan1]

1. Bellatrix is often seen as the most fanatical of Voldemort's supporters. Why do you think it is that she has devoted her life and efforts so wholly to Voldemort? What influences in her family and life could have led to her becoming one of the most feared Death Eaters? Could she have any romantic feelings for Voldemort?

She was obsessed with him, imo, and wanted power and the chance to take out as many non-magic folk and Muggles, along with those who defended them, as she could. Sirius and how he disliked his family, maybe that could have influenced her to a point there, that's my best guess on it. Most definitely. Not that he would have noticed or cared though. He was in it for the infamy and the power. His DE's were just pawns to be used for the most part, even though he might have considered them to be 'friends', they most likely weren't friends in the real sense.

2. What do you suppose leads Bellatrix to distrust Snape so, as seen in the HBP chapter 'Spinner's End'? Does this cast any doubts upon her complete trust in Voldemort? Does it speak of any prior relationship with Snape?

Maybe she sensed that he wasn't on his side entirely. Not really. Not sure on that one.

3. What kind of relationship do you think that Bellatrix had with her cousin, Sirius, for her to so easily battle against, and ultimately have a hand in killing him?

Don't think it was ever a good relationship. I think they were always at odds with one another.

4. Bellatrix is said to have been at school and joined forces with several other Death Eaters prior to Harry's parents being at Hogwarts. What factors do you see as contributing to the turning of Bellatrix and her peers to Voldemort, and how could they have gotten away with this in the middle of Hogwarts?

Probably wanting to follow someone who has power and/or wanting power themselves, along with glory. They probably did most of the really bad stuff behind the scenes, where the teachers wouldn't have a clue about what they were up to, just figuring that they were a group of popular students, and not one that was up to anything really sinister.

5. Bellatrix seems to have a fondness for the Cruciatus curse. What do you think that this says about her personality and history?

That she's a cold and cruel human being, that doesn't care about other people and/or their lives.

6. What do you think of her hatred of Tonks for marrying a werewolf?

I think it's terrible that she could hate a human being so much for marrying someone who isn't like them. It showed her hatred for anyone who wasn't like she was, a witch.

7. Do you think Belltrix could have been redeemed?

No way. She was bad from the start from the looks of it.

[horcrux4]

2. What do you suppose leads Bellatrix to distrust Snape so, as seen in the HBP chapter 'Spinner's End'? Does this cast any doubts upon her complete trust in Voldemort? Does it speak of any prior relationship with Snape?

I'd never given any thought to Bella's relationship with Snape. I presume all the Inner Circle of DEs knew each other to some extent although we have little evidence of the type of relationship they had with each other. She must have known him as they are on first name terms when she goes to Spinners End but I doubt they would have been friendly at any point. Snape is a clever, cunning man, qualities which I don't see in Bellatrix and I don't think she would particularly have admired them. I don't think it was Voldemort's cleverness that attracted her as much as his power and general villainy. She certainly seems jealous of Snape at Spinners End and resentful of the fact that he had spent the Vapourmort years in a cushy job at Hogwarts while she had been in Azkaban, and yet Voldemort had apparently favoured him over her.

I wonder what Snape thought of her?

[Yoana]

When HBP was first out, one of the reasons I suspected Snape wasn't really loyal to Voldemort is the fact that Bellatrix mistrusted him. She seemed the only Death Eater was into it out of pure devotion to the cause (and the leader) and it seemed to me that she'd be able to sense anything not quite right in that area. I believe she mistrusted him because she knew he was playing them. Voldemort should have listened to her more.

[Fawkesfan1]

Originally Posted by Yoana

When HBP was first out, one of the reasons I suspected Snape wasn't really loyal to Voldemort is the fact that Bellatrix mistrusted him. She seemed the only Death Eater was into it out of pure devotion to the cause (and the leader) and it seemed to me that she'd be able to sense anything not quite right in that area. I believe she mistrusted him because she knew he was playing them. Voldemort should have listened to her more.

She seemed to have more of a handle on that than Voldemort did. He was only concerned on getting power, and not even considering that one of his very own followers might be betraying him right under his nose.

[canismajoris]

Originally Posted by Yoana

When HBP was first out, one of the reasons I suspected Snape wasn't really loyal to Voldemort is the fact that Bellatrix mistrusted him. She seemed the only Death Eater was into it out of pure devotion to the cause (and the leader) and it seemed to me that she'd be able to sense anything not quite right in that area. I believe she mistrusted him because she knew he was playing them. Voldemort should have listened to her more.

On the other hand though, are you certain that petty jealousy doesn't describe Bellatrix's behavior equally well? I mean, for any non-psychopathic character I think you'd have a great observation, but I just feel like pride, power, and paranoia defined her thinking moreso than loyalty. In other words, I'm just suggesting that she may have been right about Snape for the wrong reasons. She did not feel he was devoted enough, active enough, cruel enough--what have you--but she also observed that Voldemort trusted him disproportionately. It may have been very difficult or impossible for her to consider that Voldemort was being deceived, so her animosity toward Snape might just as well have been a reflection of her feelings of inadequacy: she was the fanatic, she was the one willing to do anything, and yet the questionable interloper Snape got all the favor. So I wonder, why would she like him even if she had no suspicions about his loyalties?

[asdfasdf17]

I wonder if Andromeda knew Bellatrix killed her daughter? We didn't find out about Tonk's killer in the book, Rowling disclosed that information in an interview. So does anyone in-universe know that Bellatrix killed Tonks?

[Sereena]

I think jealousy did play a part in her suspicion but I think her questions to Snape were pertinent enough. Her jealousy might have made her more willing to find a skeleton in Snape's closet but she did have reasonable arguments for her position. It wasn't just that she was jealous, IMO.

[Melaszka]

This thread has got badly out of line. Be civil. Respect each other's right to an opinion different from yours. Do not bicker. Do not tell others how they should/should not conduct themselves on this forum. OK?