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What do we know about the typical outcomes of time spent in Azkaban?

Science Fiction & Fantasy Asked on September 27, 2021

In chapter 27 of Goblet of Fire, Sirius tells us this, hinting that death and madness is common in Azkaban.

“He wasn’t the only one, [who died]” said Sirius bitterly. “Most go mad in there, and plenty stop eating in the end. They lose the will to live. You could always tell when a death was coming, because the dementors could sense it, they got excited.”

This got me wondering about what the point of Azkaban is. Unless you’re one of the lucky ones, it seems that you either die or go insane. However, this is just Sirius’ obviously biased account and I remember hearing an in-story justification for Azkaban at some point in the series. Instead, my question is this: Throughout the series, what have we been told about the typical effects that time spent in Azkaban has had on people? Do these differ from what we see of or hear from the characters who have actually spent time there?

One Answer

Well, here's a list of everyone the books tell us got changed after coming out of Azkaban:

Bellatrix Lestrange-

she retained vestiges of great good looks, but something - perhaps Azkaban - had taken most of her beauty.

Barty Crouch Junior-

They sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it.

The house-elf nursed me back to health.

Lucius Malfoy-

Lucius Malfoy looked up. His skin appeared yellowish and waxy in the firelight, and his eyes were sunken and shadowed. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse.

Marvolo Gaunt-

Azkaban had greatly weakened Marvolo, and he did not live to see Morfin return to the cottage.

Sirius Black-

If he hadn't known it was the same person, he would never have guessed it was Black in this old photograph. His face wasn't sunken and waxy, but handsome, full of laughter.

If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin.

His voice sounded as though he had long since lost the habit of using it.

Overall, there seems to be a repeating theme- Azkaban takes people's beauty- most common a waxy and sunken face. It also changes the voice, and weakens people (Both physically and mentally).

Hagrid also refers to Azkaban as a horrible place, and Mr. Weasley once returned from a visit there shaking. Since those people were at Azkaban for a very short time, nothing really changed about them.

The books also state people go mad in there, but that seems to be directly linked to dying, since nobody we know came out of Azkaban alive and insane.

Correct answer by MBEllis on September 27, 2021

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