Bellatrix Lestrange

[celipsis]

Do you think she's in love with Voldemort, or is it just the power?
I think that Bellatrix loves Voldemort, particularly the power that he holds and the power that she gains by standing with him, but she isn't in love with him. She appears to have romantic feelings for him, true, but even assuming he had feelings for her as well, they could never form a deep relationship, or even anything remotely amounting to true love. Feelings based entirely on power, which I think hers are, are not equivalent to being "in love". When that power inevitably falls, as all power does in time, there is nothing else left.

The best comparison that I can think of is from another fandom Death Note (by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata). This is a wonderful manga/anime that I hope some of you are familiar with; if you aren't , I hope my comparison still makes sense SPOILERS for the series follow so if you ever plan on getting into Death Note, don't read (highlight to read): In Death Note, the main character is a guy (by the name of Light Yagami) who takes it upon himself to murder all the world's criminals, thereby ridding the world of evil. Another man later helps Light, basically serving him the way the Death Eaters serve Voldemort. (This other man's name is Teru Mikami.) Mikami reveres Light, much as Bellatrix reveres Voldemort. He pledges his loyalty to Light, even referring to him as "God" or "my Lord". Both are pretty twisted characters, murdering without a second thought "for the greater good". (This all sounds kinda familiar, huh?) But in the end, when all is said and done and Light's power is truly gone, Light no longer holds any interest for Mikami. And Mikami then cries, "What is this? Look at what you've gotten me into! You're no God, you're just scum!" I think that if Voldemort's end had gone differently, so that Bellatrix had been forced to merely watch as her master met his end - rather than acting on her in-the-moment rage as she did - things in the Harry Potter universe might have gone differently. With Voldemort's power - the only thing of interest to Bellatrix - gone, she would have denied her connection to Voldemort as much as possible. She would have renounced her "love" to save her own skin.

Would she give her life for Voldemort, or is it more important?
I think she would give her life for Voldemort as a spur-of-the-moment thing. Acting on rage and "battle fever" so to speak, she would be caught up in the adrenaline rush and do anything to save him. If by some chance she only learned of Voldemort's death after the fact, would she still retain her loyalty to him? I think not. As I said before, with the power gone and nothing left for her to gain, I think she would see no point.

How deep do you think her feelings run?
In general, I think her feelings definitely run deep. She is not a flat character by any means. I think that she perhaps hides most of her true feelings, locking them deep inside her. I picture her as one of those who is afraid of showing "weakness", especially through strong emotions (outside of hate and vengefulness, that is ).

~celipsis

[psijupiter]

Frankly, as horrible as the idea of a child born to Bella and Rodolphus is, I'm shocked she never bore an heir, because surely THAT was expected of her.

I'm replying to this, like, a million years later, but never mind. I've been pondering this question for a while now, and I wonder if Bellatrix is infertile. I don't know if infertility is actually a consequence of inbreeding, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Given the slightly old-fashioned nature of the wizarding world and Voldemort's own hatred of his mother's percieved weakness, I think he would see mothers as weak and unworthy of joining the Death Eaters. We know Narcissa hasn't taken the mark, although she supports Voldemort. In fact the only female Death Eaters we know of are Bellatrix and the (presumably) unmarried Carrow sister. I suspect that Voldemort let them in because they weren't mothers and were unlikely to 'weaken' themselves by becoming mothers.

That's my current theory anyway. The other one that I play with sometimes is that Bellatrix was pregnant, but her child was also due around the same July as Neville and Harry, but after the prophecy she aborted the child to show her allegiance to Voldemort. After which she was either incapable or unwilling to have more children, but Voldemort was willing to accept her as a Death Eater as a reward for her loyalty. That's a completely mad theory though, with absolutely zilch canon evidence to support it.


But anyway! The actual reason I was here is because I was making a banner using caps from the HBP trailer, and was looking at the scene where Bellatrix goes on a rampage through the Great Hall. Just about all the people we see in the HP world, whether they are good, bad or indifferent, view Hogwarts as a home and safe haven. Voldemort wants to work there, Harry sees it as his true home, even Draco is upset to see his aunt destroying the Great Hall - and yet in that scene it seems as if Bellatrix despises Hogwarts. I know the Death Eaters hate Hogwarts because its Dumbledore's castle and the fortress of goodness and light and all that jazz, but I wonder if there is something more behind that scene with Bellatrix. It seemed to go a bit beyond "I am insane and like to smash things, yay smashysmash!" and into "I have some serious pent up anger about this particular place and/or what it represents and I am going to enjoy smashing it to pieces, grr smashysmash!"

So I guess I wondering what people think her time at Hogwarts was like, and what might have made her want to smash it to pieces so violently?

[Stubbornly_appeared]

With Voldemort's power - the only thing of interest to Bellatrix - gone, she would have denied her connection to Voldemort as much as possible. She would have renounced her "love" to save her own skin.

Hmm. I always got the feeling that if Voldemort lost his power, Bellatrix would be one of the few that remained loyal. Like she said in HBP during the chapter Spinner's End, she spent 14 years in Azkaban for him. In my mind, Voldemort was what sustained her through Azkaban. Not necessarily love of him, and not necessarily for any real reason other than that he was power and he was her 'Lord' and if anyone was going to get her out of there, it was him. And because of the maddening decade she spent there, Bellatrix gained a sort of Voldemort complex. I think before Azkaban, she was def. a much saner person with a more human dedication to Voldemort. After Azkaban, her mind belonged to the Dark Lord because he was what she had fixated on for those long years. With Voldemort's death, Bellatrix would lack a purpose, and she would take revenge, I would think, and just go beserk.

So I guess I wondering what people think her time at Hogwarts was like, and what might have made her want to smash it to pieces so violently?

I haven't thought about that much. I always assume she had a relatively normal set of Hogwarts years but I guess with Bellatrix I should have assumed otherwise. I'd bet she was a bully. Probably had a good friend- but maybe her friends abandoned her? Or she pushed them away? Earlier in this thread some people were talking about mental disorders she might have had and that seems pretty legit. I keep thinking of Girl, Interrupted and she strikes me as similar to the sociopath, but I think she could have been also antisocial to a point. She was human, though. She was probably a semi-normal teenage girl. Maybe in her later years she started delving deeper into the Dark Arts/Voldemort. Maybe she started to be consumed by her disorders and alienated the people around her but then took it as them betraying her. And then to top it all off, an arranged marriage to Rodolphus could've been the kicker. Maybe she got pregnant while still in Hogwarts or something and she didn't know where to turn and went to Voldemort.

*shrug*

Would she give her life for Voldemort, or is it more important?

I don't think she would ever see herself in an opportunity when she would need to, because she could always kill the person, but I think she would. But only because she wouldn't be able to see another option: betrayal of the Dark Lord would be unthinkable.

How deep do you think her feelings run?

As deep as any madwoman's. I think she's probably got real jumbled feelings and is very passionate about a few things and doesn't give a hoot over the rest. Hey, a spell in Azkaban will do that to ya.

Does she really love Rodolphus?

I think she would revenge him if he died, but only in the service of Voldemort. I don't think she really loves him. She maybe might have at some point, but I think it was pretty much an arranged marriage.

Do you think she finds joy in torturing/killing others?

Yes, I think so. In an 'I'm-so-enamoured-with-the-power-I'm-exerting-over-you!' type of way. In her mind, it pleases the Dark Lord, and if it's pleasing the Dark Lord, it's pleasing her. And plus I think it's reflex. It's what she's supposed to do. I mean, why Stupefy someone when you can take them out for good? Why give someone a cut when you can scar them forever?

-Stubby

[MorganRay]

Would she give her life for Voldemort, or is it more important?

I definitely think she would. I don't really even think this is a question.

How deep do you think her feelings run?

I think Bella's feelings are probably very confused because of her stay in Azkaban. I think, before she went to Azkaban, she was a very passionate person. Azkaban probably messed up her emotions and intensified all of the things she considered very good.

Does she really love Rodolphus?

I don't think she does after Azkaban. I think, at some point, she definitely did.

Do you think she finds joy in torturing/killing others?

I think she enjoys the torture, and she prefers that to actually killing people.

[Elf]

How much of Bella's personality do you think is influenced by her love for Voldemort?
i.e. do you think that she would love torturing and killing anyway or do you think that Voldemort is her primary motive?

[hestiajones]

How much of Bella's personality do you think is influenced by her love for Voldemort?
i.e. do you think that she would love torturing and killing anyway or do you think that Voldemort is her primary motive?

I don't think Bella could have been as deranged as she became after Voldemort and Azkaban. However, I am pretty sure that she always had a penchant for cruelty and, maybe, violence. This is a theory which I have for many of the Death Eaters. I feel that they were instantly attracted to Voldemort because of his own violent, merciless nature. Moreover, Rowling went to some lengths to set Bella apart from the other major female characters. Bella has no compassion, she has nothing remotely "motherly" in her, people are terrified of her (notice how Tom, the barman at the Leaky Cauldron, treats her with fearful respect), her ready use of the Cruciatus Curse, even the fact that she throws knives- she is way more dangerous than the male Death Eaters. I don't think it is possible to attain such naked blood lust simply to follow Voldemort. Although, of course, she would do anything for him.

[Sagen]

Okay so I have some questions!
*Sorry if they have already been asked!*

How would Bella act if she had a miscarriage?

How would she act in school?

Do you think she was born twisted or did it come later on?

When so you think she became a Death Eater? After she was out school? Or while she was in school?

Would she make her love for the Dark Arts/Voldy (but not in a romantic way, more of a follower way) known in school?

What years was she in school?

When do you think she got married?

I was wondering, was Sirius in school with Bella? It says that Bella was born in 1951 and Sirius was born in 1959 or 1960 that wouldn’t that make Bella 8-9 years older than him? (Sorry if I’m wrong I’m really bad at math).

Thanks!
Gen

[thenewriddle]

her pure obsession with tom may have started early on or perhaps beaten in to her by a parent or other. or when in azcaban as her happy mermory to keep the dementors form driving her insane she might have focused on a memory of him and doing that for all those years caused her to be obbsessed. she probaly became utterly focused on that one shred of hope. her cruelity might have been form some form of complete ruin at hogwarts.

[welshdevondragon]

I'm using Bellatrix in one chapter of a fic. and I want to just have some questions to see what others think, a few of which Molly, my beta, suggested.

First off, do you think Bellatrix can perform Legilimency?
I assumed that she could, given that in HBP I'm pretty sure Snape asks Draco if aunty Bella has been teaching him Occulemency, and in order to teach that she should be able to perform legilimency.

However although she could be a good Legilimens, I doubt she would be a good Occulemens. SHe does not seem to hide her feelings at all, or feel the need to or that this is in any way a weakness for her. Do you think that this is something she is able to do, due to being a Death Eater? How do you think she hid the fact she was a Death Eater prior to her being captured for the torture of the Longbottoms?

Also her pet name Bella. As far as I recall (don't have all the books with me so can't check) only Narcissa and Voldemort call her this, therefore it is a very familiar term. DO you think, however, it would be unreasonable to have Rabastan, her brother-in-law, call her this?

Just a few qs so what do you all think?

[fg_weasley]

First off, do you think Bellatrix can perform Legilimency?
Definitely. I'm sure Bellatrix would have found it a highly useful skill, and I know she would have had the talent to master it. Occlumens, though, which you also asked about, I don't think she would have regarded as highly. As you said, she would have thought it a waste and she wouldn't have been very good at it. That's just my opinion, though.

Do you think, however, it would be unreasonable to have Rabastan, her brother-in-law, call her this?
Hm. This depends of their relationship. If it had been Rodolphus you asked about, I would have said yes in a heartbeat. Rabastan, however ... I'm not so sure, and I'm leaning toward no. She didn't have the BEST relationship with her husband [I don't think] and I highly doubt she would have payed more attention to his brother.

Hope that helps.

xox
nikki

Bine: 1 point from Hufflepuff for not following formatting rules.