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Literature of fantasy and Science fiction: Final Evaluation

Bellatrix Lestrange


The first glimpse

Orange flames dance on the black screen. Flashes of her face covered by a wild,
tangled mass of dark hair are seen. She holds her long bent wand in her grimy hands,
showing off her long yellow nails. Sparks of brilliant light shoot out from the wand,
followed by her maniacal cackling. Inferno engulfs the scene. She swiftly zooms into the
night sky. This is when I became acquainted with Bellatrix Lestrange. She is portrayed as
a sadistic and unapologetic witch, who derives immense pleasure in destroying
everything around her and flies into a murderous rage when anyone tries to challenge
her. Why should someone so cruel fascinate anyone? In books or movies, one always has
a twinge of admiration for the anti-heroes whether we like to admit it or not. It maybe
out of fear or genuine respect for them. The reason many people admire villains is that
there is a tiny dark corner in their mind that aspires to be as powerful and controlling as
them. Villains go on raging sprees to crumble everything to dust. Bellatrix particularly
does not evaluate and critically analyze situations. If she felt like burning someone’s
house down, she would do so without any second thoughts. Usually, villains are drawn
out to be impulsive and irrational. As per societal norms, we are required to behave
rationally. However, when we see the reckless and fearless acts of villains, our deep-
seated impulsive nature starts to scratch the surface. Villains do not restrain their
psyche’s pleasure principle i.e. the ‘id’ and so they go around doing whatever they like
without taking morality into account. Humans cannot go around spreading anarchy thus
they identify with these villains and enjoy reading or looking at their antics. Audiences
also get attracted towards the dark and complex personalities of the villains. Bellatrix
Lestrange fits into the perfect stereotypical definition of a witch with the dark hair, dark
outfits and high-pitched laughter. Only the big pointed witch hat is missing.

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The Female Warrior

As a child, I was and still am a huge fan of ‘The Harry Potter’ series written by
J.K.Rowling. I have read and watched the books and movies countless times. Rowling
introduced Bellatrix Lestrange as Lord Voldemort’s right hand, his best lieutenant and
the most loyal Death-eater. ‘Bellatrix’ in Latin means ‘female warrior’. She sure did live
up to her name. Bellatrix is notorious for torturing two powerful wizards to insanity to
such a high extent that the wizards never recovered. Bellatrix spent over fifteen years in
the wizarding world’s dangerous prison known as ‘Azkaban’. Instead of breaking her
spirit, she emerged even more vindictive and blood lusting after she escaped from
Askaban. Helena Bonham Carter, one of the finest actors of Britain, played the role of
Bellatrix Lestrange in the movies. Helena brings the character of Bellatrix to life. She
plays the role with such intensity, that it has had a long lasting impact on adults and
children alike.


The Most Loyal Servant

The deranged glint in her eyes, her rotting yellow teeth, the untamed mop of hair
and the lunatic gigging are the prominent features of Bellatrix Lestrange. “I KILLED
SIRIUS BLACK…I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK…I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK”, She kept on singing
this little rhyme in her nasal mock baby tone. This expresses the joy she experiences
while murdering people. For her, it is just a bunch of entertainment. Bellatrix is one such
character that I hate and admire at the same time. What makes Bellatrix stand out from
the rest of the Death-eaters is her loyalty. Lord Voldemort was a formidable but
powerful wizard. When he suffered a defeat, many of his followers abandoned him in the
hour of need. Though. Bellatrix never once wavered in her stance. She was so devoted to
Lord Voldemort that it seems as if she was deeply in love with him. She volunteered to
kill Harry Potter on behalf of Lord Voldemort several times. All her actions were aimed
at pleasing Voldemort and seeking his validation. During the final battle at Hogwarts, the
Death-eaters realized that Voldemort stood no chance against Harry Potter and one by
one they all began to flee. Bellatrix was the one that remained by Voldemort’s side and

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yelled “stay back and fight you cowards, stay back and fight.” Even though, Bellatrix is not
a good human being whatsoever, her undying loyalty and warrior spirit is something
that every leader needs in his lieutenants, regardless of which side of morality they are
fighting on.

The Anti-mother

Bellatrix signifies the concept of the ‘Anti-Mother’. All throughout the books,
J.K.Rowling has created many motherly figures. These mothers bore traits of being
protective, caring and loving unconditionally. Harry’s mother, Lily Potter cast a
protective spell so that Voldemort would not be able to harm Harry. She sacrificed her
life so that her son would be able live. Narcissa Malfoy is Draco Malfoy’s mother. Even
though Harry and Draco had been archenemies during their years at Hogwarts and
Narcissa was Death eater as well, she still chose to protect Harry from Voldemort. In fact
she lied to the Dark Lord and tricked him into believing Harry was dead. Narcissa
understood Harry’s despair and feared the death of son Draco, who was fighting in the
war. Most importantly, Molly Weasely had always been a sort of a mother to Harry. She
looked after him just like her other children, she made sure that he ate well and tried to
shield him from any sort of danger. Molly, who usually was a warm and friendly woman,
became livid if her family was under any sort of threat. On the other hand there was
Bellatrix Lestrange. She had no children of her own and hated them with a vehement
passion. She pressurized her own nephew to carry out dark vices for the Dark Lord.
Devoid on any empathy and remorse she ruthlessly killed students. Unlike the three
mothers, Bellatrix did not care about ‘family’. All that mattered to her was her ‘pure-
blood1’ status and the only person she was ready sacrifice herself for would be
Voldemort. She had no compassion for muggle borns2. When Harry, Ron and Hermione
get caught, Bellatrix intimidates Hermione, uses the ‘cruciatus’ or torture curse on her
and scrapes the word ‘mudblood’3 on her forearm. Thus, she is the symbolism of the
‘Anti-Mother’. The ferocity of a mother was the reason of Bellatrix’s death. Molly weasely
dueled with Bellatrix in order to protect her daughter from the death curses meted out

1 Does not have any trace of muggle blood in their ancestry.
2 A wizard who is born in a non-magical family
3 a derogatory term used for wizards born in non-magical families.

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by Bellatrix. An angry mother can destroy even the most powerful. Thus, friendly Molly
killed Bellatrix in the blink of an eye.

The strong-headed pure blood

Zero-tolerance is Bellatrix’s philosophy in life. She believed that Voldemort and
Voldemort alone could rule supreme. She loathed wizards who did not have the elite
‘pure blood’ status. She stood for what she believed in and even the greatest would not
be able to convince her otherwise. Bellatrix was like a little child; when things did not go
her way, she liked to annihilate everything that came in her path. She liked to induce
pandemonium for her own mirth. Bellatrix Lestrange was an extremely powerful
woman. She took orders only from the Lord Voldemort and listens to no other man. She
dictated her control over the Malfoy family and all other subordinates of Voldemort’s
army reported to her. She was the one to instigate other Death-eaters to commit greater
crimes. She is like the spark that sets off a fire. Even though Bellatrix was a self-made
woman, who took control of situations and was very headstrong. Bellatrix was
incredibly powerful and could deflect spells from the great wizard Albus Dumbledore.
She was extremely skilled at looking into people’s minds as well. The other Death-eaters
called her the ‘crazy’ one. Because of her funny tactics, she was never taken seriously but
ultimately proved to be the most faithful. Many were envious of her close relation with
Voldemort and the superior position she held in Voldemort’s army.

The conclusion

Bellatrix Lestrange is not an ideal role model for any girl. She murders those who
are innocent and defenseless. She worshipped a man who was the equivalent to Hitler in
the wizarding world. However, some traits she possesses are awe-inspiring. She did not
use these qualities in a positive way, but nonetheless they are of great prominence.
Loyalty is important to build relationships and support systems. One should not be
afraid to rebel for a cause they believe in. Bellatrix’s character teaches us to fight our
battles even if the chances of winning are bleak. A true warrior will fight till his last
breath and that is exactly what Bellatrix did. Qualities that we possess are not good or
bad but the way in which we harness them make us good or evil. Bellatrix lacked

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morality and misused the traits she possessed. In my opinion, Bellatrix is fascinating
because she is bold; she is not afraid to speak her mind and does not care what others
think about her. It takes a great deal of courage to be your self without having any
inhibitions. According to me, Bellatrix Lestrange inspires one to shed their skin and
embrace them selves for who they truly are.