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harry potter - What would happen if someone wearing glasses were to look at a Basilisk?


In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Hermione, Colin Creevey, Sir Nicholas, Mrs. Norris, and others became petrified because they saw the Basilisk through something else - with the exception of Sir Nicholas who looked directly at it but could not die again. Hermione and Mrs. Norris had both seen it through a reflection and Colin had seen it through his camera, so what would happen to someone wearing glasses? Would that person die because he or she saw it directly or simply become petrified because he or she had seen it through something else?



Answer



JK Rowling answered this in an interview with Edinburgh “cub” reporters in 2005 (emphasis mine):




If you see a basilisk and you are wearing glasses, will they protect you? And if they do, why did Moaning Myrtle die, and if they don't, why not?


That is a really good question. And I have been asked that before. I had to decide the glasses couldn't protect you. I just had to, because obviously there would be quite a few people at Hogwarts who were wearing glasses and I thought that might cause me plot difficulties, so I decided that glasses alone wouldn't protect you.


But as you know, I had Justin protected by the camera lens, so I think I am open for criticism there, but the way I explained to myself he was looking through several lenses and wasn't actually seeing the thing directly, it wasn't through his eyeline, when you look through a camera you are looking through the lens, it is a little distorted. You can argue with me on that and I wouldn't blame you but that is how I explained it to my self at the time.



I assume when she says “Justin” she means “Colin”, since Justin was actually petrified through Nearly Headless Nick.


This also touches upon the discussion of cameras in the comments on Thaddeus’s answer. I'll add that Hermione believed that seeing the basilisk through a mirror was sufficient to avoid death, and a lot of cameras contain mirror arrays, which might have protected him.


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