On the third day of Fantastic Beasts, my true love said to me... Did Earth, Wind, and Fire write Melody's Hopscotch chant?
Welcome to day 3 of the 12 Days of Fantastic Beasts! Today I have the third and final post focused on Modesty Barebone. Be sure to check out part one of her hopscotch chant from yesterday.
SPOILERS ABOUND! DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SEEN THE MOVIE OR READ THE SCRIPT BOOK!
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| Dougal the Demiguise by Kayla Perkinson |
Now that you're all here for the spoilers and discussion...
Part 1 of Modesty's Hopscotch Chant is posted here.
Part 2 of Modesty's Chant from Fantastic Secrets Behind Fantastic Beasts:
Modesty’s chant continues with details of these witches’ deaths:
Witch number one, drown inNotice that in page numbers, the above section with witch one and two comes after the stanza below with witch three and four. Rowling mixed it up a bit for us, not wanting to make it too easy. And perhaps to end on the most important one, for this book at least.
a river!
Witch number two, gotta
noose to give her!
Witch number three . . . (p. 154)
. . . Witch number three,Drowning, hanging, burning, and flogging—while all are traditional methods for killing witches, my guess is that Rowling uses Modesty’s chant to hint at particular deaths to come. Before series end, we can expect to see someone die from a variation on each of these, and we’ve already seen one.
gonna watch her burn,
Witch number four, flogging
take a turn. (p. 54)
While none of the three deaths in this first movie was a literal flogging, two were symbolically so. A flogging is a beating with a stick or whip. Senator Shaw and Mary Lou took a flogging by Obscurus, and Chastity was the casualty of this last attack. Shaw’s scarred and broken body, which Mary Lou’s later reflected, showed all evidence of having taken a beating.
I want you to notice something else about the four types of deaths mentioned. Something elemental:
- “drown in a river” = Water
- “gotta noose to give her” = suffocation, lack of Air
- “gonna watch her burn” = Fire
- “flogging take a turn” = a switch, from a tree, Earth
I’m willing to bet we’ll hear more of Modesty’s chant in the second film to give us a hint of the most important “death”...death number five. Tomorrow we'll move on to a different character and clue from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them!
What do you think? Is Rowling hinting at deaths to come here? And who do you think will not survive the Fantastic Beasts pentalogy?
Be sure to check out the other posts for the 12 Days of Fantastic Beasts!
About the Book:
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| Fantastic Secrets Behind Fantastic Beasts |
Explore JK Rowling's secrets, one clue at a time!
Fantastic Secrets Behind Fantastic Beasts is THE guide for all Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them fans eager to experience anew the excitement of of finding clues and sharing speculation, just like they enjoyed during the height of the Harry Potter series. New fans will be amazed at the secrets lurking underneath the surface of Rowling's newest film. Diving deeply into the story's mysteries, S.P. Sipal offers a detailed analysis of the analogies, myths, and clues JK Rowling hid on screen and on page to charm her fans once again.
Discover and explore such questions as:
- Is there an Animagi hidden in the story?
- Why will there be FIVE movies?
- What secret is Modesty hiding?
- Did Frank wipe out ALL the memories from that fateful night?
- And was Grindelwald already in possession of the Elder Wand?
S.P. Sipal has analyzed the mysteries behind the Harry Potter series for over a dozen years. A sought-after presenter at fan, writing, and academic conferences both at home and abroad, her books have also delighted writers, teachers, and fans alike. Now she turns her expert attention to investigating the beginning of Rowling's exciting new series. Join her as she prepares you to dig into the layers of subtext yourself to claim what treasures await...before the Niffler beats you to it!
