I don't get what the chamber of secrets really is.

[Rachel]

The person who controls the basilisk is the heir of Slytherin, but basically anyone who knows parseltongue. I think the basilisk can survive without food, because it's a magical creature and I don't think it ate anything for the entire time, just slithered around petrifying people. Hogwarts has a lot of secrets and mysteries, so I don't think the author really went into the rest of the secrets of the chamber, she just showed the little part Harry explored. It was important because of Voldemort and going into more of Hogwarts' history. I think she named the book The Chamber of Secrets because that was the biggest thing that happened in that book and everything was connected back to it.