Bellatrix Lestrange
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Harry Potter character | |
|---|---|
 Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. |
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| Bellatrix Lestrange | |
| Gender | Female |
| Hair colour | Black |
| Eye colour | Dark, heavily lidded |
| House | Slytherin |
| Parentage | Pure-blood |
| Allegiance | Death Eaters |
| Actor | Helena Bonham Carter |
| First appearance | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire |
Bellatrix "Bella" Lestrange, née Black, is a fictional character in the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling. In the course of the series, Bellatrix evolved from an unnamed periphery character into a major antagonist.
In the books, Bellatrix is described as a tall woman with sleek black hair, a thin mouth, heavily lidded eyes, pale skin, and the Black family's patrician good looks and bearing.
In the film adaptation of the fifth novel, actress Helena Bonham Carter portrays the character.
Contents |
[edit] Harry Potter novels
[edit] Early life and family
Bellatrix Black was born in 1951 to Cygnus and Druella (Rosier) Black. She is related by blood and marriage to many characters in the novels: she has two younger sisters, Andromeda and Narcissa. Andromeda married a muggle-born, Ted Tonks, and was subsequently disowned by the Blacks; Narcissa married Lucius Malfoy, heir of a wealthy pure-blood family. She is also a first cousin to Sirius and Regulus Black, and an aunt to Nymphadora Tonks and Draco Malfoy. Bellatrix married Rodolphus Lestrange after leaving Hogwarts. It is implied that she has no children. For more information on Bellatrix's pure-blood pedigree, see the Black family tree.
At school, we are led to believe Bellatrix associated with a group of students - including Avery, Rodolphus Lestrange, Evan Rosier, Severus Snape, and Wilkes - who all nearly became Death Eaters. It is assumed Bellatrix was at least initially drawn to Lord Voldemort because they both believe in an ideology that favors pure-bloods over other members of the wizarding community. This elitism, shared by the Malfoy and Lestrange clans, was instilled in Bellatrix since childhood. The Black family motto, "toujours pur" (French for "always pure"), reflects this steadfast belief in blood purity.
[edit] Death Eater
Bellatrix and her husband were active in Voldemort's rise to power, and managed to evade capture and suspicion until after the Dark Lord's downfall on October 31, 1981. Rather than desert their leader like many other Death Eaters, Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rabastan, and Barty Crouch Jr tortured two well-known Aurors - Frank and Alice Longbottom - in an attempt to gain information about Voldemort's location. For using the Unforgivable Cruciatus Curse to torture the Longbottoms until they went insane, Bellatrix and her three associates were sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. At their trial, Bellatrix proudly and defiantly proclaimed, "The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!"[1] After his rebirthing ritual, Voldemort stated that the Lestranges were among the most faithful members of his inner circle.
Fourteen years later, Bellatrix was one of the many Death Eaters who escaped Azkaban and rejoined Voldemort in January 1996. Over the years, her good looks were reduced to a remnant of their former beauty, making her appear gaunt and skeletal in mug shots printed in The Daily Prophet.
[edit] The Second War
Bellatrix was present, in June of 1996, at the battle of the Department of Mysteries, in which a group of Death Eaters attempted to steal Sybill Trelawney's prophecy pertaining to Voldemort's downfall. During the mission she proved her magical prowess by defeating two Aurors (Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt) in one-on-one duels, killing her cousin Sirius by knocking him through the Veil in the Death Chamber, and deflecting one of Albus Dumbledore's spells as she made her escape. Bellatrix was the only Death Eater to evade capture after the fight in the Department. However, she was subdued by Dumbledore in the Ministry of Magic's Atrium after duelling with Harry Potter. Voldemort interceded on her behalf, grabbing her and taking her with him as he Disapparated.
Following Dumbledore's surmise of the Black family's inheritance tradition, as next of kin Bellatrix should have inherited her cousin Sirius' estate (including Number twelve, Grimmauld Place) after his death (suggesting that the Common Laws preventing material gain through murder do not apply to wizards, or at least to the Black Family). However, Sirius willed his estate to his godson, Harry Potter. To make sure there would be no dispute over the legal ownership of Sirius's property (and prevent the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters from falling into enemy hands), Kreacher was brought before Harry to see if the house-elf would obey him. Despite Kreacher's intense hatred for Harry and fondness for Bellatrix, the magic that binds house-elves to servitude proved the legality of Harry's inheritance.
In July of 1996, Bellatrix attempted to keep Narcissa from confiding Draco's secret mission to Severus Snape at Spinner's End. She mistrusted Snape not only because of his low birth, but also for many valid questions about his loyalty to Voldemort. Snape surprised Bellatrix by asking her to bind him and Narcissa with an Unbreakable Vow to assist Draco. Later, Snape implied that Bellatrix was skilled in Occlumency and had instructed Draco in the art to aid her nephew in his plan.
[edit] Harry Potter films
[edit] Casting
Bellatrix had only a minor, unnamed part in the Goblet of Fire novel. As such, she was cut from the Goblet of Fire film.
However, Bellatrix played a major role in the Order of the Phoenix novel and, consequently, the Order of the Phoenix film. Persistent rumours linked Elizabeth Hurley to the role, although Warner Bros. asserted there was "no truth whatsoever" to reports that she had been cast.[2] As early as August 2005 rumours began linking Helen McCrory to the role.[3] On February 2, 2006 it was announced that McCrory was indeed cast as Bellatrix.[4] However, she became pregnant and would not have been able to film the intense battle sequences in the Ministry of Magic. (She was three months pregnant in April 2006[5] and would have been eight/nine months pregnant when the battle of the Department of Mysteries was filmed in September and October of 2006.[6]) News that Bellatrix's part had been recast, with Helena Bonham Carter replacing McCrory, occurred on May 25, 2006.[7]
[edit] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
With the release of the first teaser trailer for the film came the first look at Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix. Bonham Carter can be seen wearing an all-black ensemble, sporting frazzled hair and heavy make-up.
In early December 2006, US Television network ABC aired behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from the upcoming film, including an interview with Bonham Carter. In the interview, she stated that Bellatrix is "sexy" and that she had "great fun" creating the character's look for the film.[8]
[edit] Personality
It has been suggested at several points in the narrative that Bellatrix is either unbalanced or insane. For example, in the Department of Mysteries, she is described as having "mad eyes" and has a "fanatical glow" in her face; she loses all self-control whenever Harry "besmirches" the name of Voldemort. In The Half-Blood Prince, she is described as "snarling," "passionate" and it is said that "in her fury she looked slightly mad." She also has a fierce and dangerous temper, a trait she shares with her cousin Sirius, her aunt Walburga, and - it is discovered in The Half-Blood Prince - her sister Narcissa. She also has paranoid tendencies (killing a fox for fear that it is a spy) and is easily distracted when riled (e.g. in the Department of Mysteries).
Bellatrix is fanatically devoted to Voldemort (who in turn uses her pet name, Bella). For example, she proudly boasts to Harry of having been personally taught the Dark Arts by Voldemort himself; she comments that, if she had a son, she would willingly give him into the service of the Dark Lord; and, most notably, she was willing to boast of her service to him even as she was being sentenced to Azkaban. She also splutters in her meeting with Snape at Spinners End that "The Dark Lord has, in the past, entrusted me with his most precious-", though she never clarifies this further. Though Dumbledore points out that many Death Eaters see themselves as Voldemort's "closest" servant, Bellatrix's devotion and service may well make her worthy of that title, though Voldemort, of course, does not repay her the same level of love as she gives to him.
[edit] Miscellanea
- Bellatrix was the first female Death Eater introduced in the series. She remained the only woman explicitly identified as such until Alecto was introduced in Half-Blood Prince.
- Bellatrix's name translates exactly as the feminine of "warrior" (noun) in Latin, though the abbreviation Bella also suggests beauty.
- Like many members of the Black family, Bellatrix is named after a star. Bellatrix, also known as Gamma Orionis, is one of the brightest stars in the constellation Orion.
- Bellatrix's name has been translated into other languages in a variety of ways. Many of the changes accentuate the evil nature of her character, such as the Norwegian "Bellatrix DeMons" or Dutch "Bellatrix van Detta".
- A trophy awarded to "Bellatrix Black" can be seen in the "Fan Sites" section of J.K. Rowling's official website (Flash version only).
[edit] References
- ^ Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. New York: Scholastic Press, 2000. Pages 595-96. ISBN 0-439-13959-7
- ^ Anelli, Mellisa. "WB: Hurley Not Cast in Fifth Potter Film". The Leaky Cauldron. 8 February 2005. Retrieved 28 May 2006.
- ^ Cummins, Fiona. "Exclusive: Helen is New Foe for Harry". The Daily Mirror. 2 August 2005. Retrieved 28 May 2006.
- ^ "Luna Lovegood role has been cast". CBBC Newsround. 2 February 2006. Retrieved 2 February 2006.
- ^ Cummins, Fiona. "Exclusive: Baby for Helen". The Daily Mirror. 1 April 2006. Retrieved 23 June 2006.
- ^ Beck, Marilyn and Stacy Jenel Smith. "Isaacs' magic moment". LA Daily News. 21 June 2006. Retrieved 23 June 2006.
- ^ "Potter exclusive: New Bellatrix", CBBC Newsround, 2006-05-25.
- ^ ABC 5 Interview
[edit] External links
- Biography at MuggleNet
- Biography at the Harry Potter Lexicon
- How to pronounce Bellatrix's name at the official Scholastic website
- Faithful: Bellatrix Lestrange fanlisting
- PotterCast #40: Bag of 'trix - A podcast discussing Bellatrix's role in the Harry Potter series
