Tom Marvolo Riddle, or Lord Voldemort as he prefers to be called, is the primary evil character in the bestselling Harry Potter series. He is responsible for the deaths of hundreds, maybe thousands, of people in the series, and is described as the greatest dark wizard of all time. Characters in the novel actually refuse to speak the self-given name of this man out of sheer terror, often using such epithets as “You-Know-Who” and “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,” rather than “Voldemort.” The premise of the penultimate novel in the series, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” is centered on Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, delving into Voldemort’s past with his favorite student, and hero-figure of the series, Harry Potter. Through exploring the childhood and family background of this evil wizard, they hope to discover the key to his demise. From a psychological perspective, author J.K. Rowling seems to have done her homework. The family life and early development of young Tom Riddle as described in the novels is consistent with the demonstrated outcomes of such an upbringing. Rowling’s brilliance is unceasingly evident throughout her works of literature, and she has expertly used developmental psychology to create beautifully developed and starkly human characters.
Dumbledore and Harry first magically venture into a memory focused on Voldemort’s mother. In this memory, some possible genetic and environmental factors can be gathered. Voldemort’s mother, Merope Gaunt, is a pure-blood wizard, meaning there is no non-magical blood in her family line. Those with non-magical blood are referred to as “Muggles.” The pure-blood community in the wizarding world is a very tightly knit group, and some believe that it is unacceptable in every way to marry and reproduce outside of their population. As a result of this belief, all of the pure-blooded wizards are related in one way or another, and there are sometimes instances of inbreeding. The Gaunt family in particular has a history of marriage between first cousins. One genetic complication that potentially stems from the inbreeding is a seemingly recessive trait, resulting in a child with magical blood, but no magical abilities. This type of person is called a “Squib.” Merope Gaunt was considered to be one such witch. A family with such an excellent pedigree sees her as a disgrace, and her childhood and early adolescence was laden with abuse. Unfortunately, her inability to perform may also be rooted in this abuse, as Dumbledore wisely points out later in the chapter. During the first memory in Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore and Harry enter the poverty-stricken home of the Gaunt family and this scene unfolds:
There was a deafening clang. Merope had dropped one of the pots.
“Pick it up!” Gaunt bellowed at her. “That’s it, grub on the floor like some filthy Muggle, what’s your wand for, you useless sack of muck?” [...]
Gaunt screamed, “Mend it, you pointless lump, mend it!” [...]
With a howl of rage, Gaunt ran towards his daughter. For a split second, Harry thought he was going to throttle her as his hand flew to her throat; next moment, he was dragging her… by a gold chain around her neck… while Merope spluttered and gasped for breath. (pp. 205-210)
The parenting style exhibited here is extremely authoritarian, to the point of negligence. Studies have shown that the children of these types of parents tend to lack self-esteem and autonomy, and also tend to be more unhappy and anxious. Merope’s father, Marvolo, is very controlling, and regularly abuses his power over her as displayed above. However, the father treats his son, Morfin, very differently, in a much more permissive style. Morfin is regularly in trouble with authority, and his father jumps to his defense, reinforcing his unacceptable behavior. It is evident that Morfin feels no remorse for any of his acts of rebellious impulsivity, undoubtedly as a result of his father’s lack of discipline. Berk (2013) says that this is typical behavior for a child of a permissive parent (p. 575).
During this memory, the reader also discovers Voldemort’s father, Tom Riddle, Sr., who is a wealthy Muggle with whom Merope Gaunt has fallen in love. When her father discovers this information, he attempts, once again, to strangle his daughter, calling her a blood traitor. Eventually, the Ministry of Magic is able to charge and imprison her father and brother, and she is free from their influence for the first time in her life. With her newfound freedom, she creates a love potion and slips it to the man she loves. He leaves his fiancée, marries Merope, and she becomes pregnant with the son who will grow up to be Lord Voldemort. While she is pregnant, she tells her husband the truth and he abandons her. The child is now destined for a single-parent home. However, the second memory has more to tell.
According to the memory, Merope arrives at the doorstep of an orphanage during her labor with the baby. Rowling writes that one of the workers at the orphanage notes, “‘We took her in, and she had the baby within the hour. And she was dead in another hour’” (p. 266). Even as an infant, Tom lacks the instinctual empathy that all humans possess. The worker mentions that as a baby, Tom rarely cried, and that as he grew older, the other children developed a fear of him. As a child, Voldemort was clearly a bully, but because of his magical abilities, none of his acts were supervised. Remember this child’s heritage. His uncle is incapable of remorse or empathy, and Tom somehow inherits this characteristic despite never having met Morfin. Szalavitz (2010) writes in her article that there would be no morality or sense of community without the primeval emotion of empathy. She says that without empathy, there is “no trust, and no reason not to murder, cheat, steal, or lie” (para. 4). The worker then goes on to explain several instances in which young Tom does each of these, all without guilt. A recurring characteristic of Voldemort throughout the series is his inability to trust, love or experience remorse. Even as a child of 11 years, Tom uses his magical powers for manipulation of others and to inflict pain on others, both physical and emotional. During this memory, Tom’s aversion to his name, or any other attachment or association with other people, becomes clear. The reader is also able to infer Tom’s displeasure with his ignorance concerning his family.
Szalavitz (2010) reports that children who grow up in orphanages often experience neglect as infants, and that possible outcomes of this could be difficulties with human attachment and stunted emotional development, exhibited in brain abnormalities in that area. Due to the failure of establishing a primary attachment figure, a child often interprets the world in a very negative manner. This makes it difficult for the child to express feelings or show love in a variety of future relationships (para. 10-12). Tom never emotionally matures, never marries and never has anyone he would even begin to consider as a friend. He keeps his admirers and followers at arm’s length. Through the testimonies of Tom’s professors and classmates at school, it is clear to see that he identifies with what psychologists describe as the controversial status, mainly a mixture of popular-prosocial and popular-antisocial behaviors. From many professors’ perspectives, Tom is a top student with a lot of potential and is incredibly charming. However, through massive cunning and manipulation, he develops a fan club of other students within a few years of starting at school. He displays characteristics of both statuses.
Voldemort’s adolescent cohorts fall into the categories of rejected-aggressive and popular-antisocial behaviors as well. Notorious for their bullying behavior, this group matures into Voldemort’s most loyal followers, calling themselves the Death Eaters. Peer relationships and childhood friendships are essential in the development of emotions and social skills. To put the malice of this now-dehumanized man into perspective, at the height of his reign, Voldemort could be compared to Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. The goal of the Death Eaters is the purification of the wizarding race, just as the goal of the Nazis was to create the perfect blonde-haired, blue-eyed Aryan race. In fact, both Hitler and Voldemort did not meet the qualifications of these pure races: Hitler was had brown hair and brown eyes, and Voldemort is only a half-blood because of his mixed heritage. Homicide and genocide make daily news during this time, friends and neighbors turn against one other, and trust and empathy is lost. Even so, it is understandable that the adults in his life as a child and adolescent were not compelled to intervene. To them, he was, if not perfectly normal, then exceedingly bright for his age, and was on track to be a decidedly prosperous and well-adjusted adult. Only in retrospect have these adults seen their blatantly superficial mistake. Szalavitz says that with intervention, a fresh start is attainable, and the earlier the better. If only these adults and caregivers had not been so permissive of his behavior, he may have turned out differently, despite his genetic predispositions.
Rowling’s prowess with character development goes well beyond common knowledge. She has created an antagonistic character with such depth that the reader is able to locate the source from which his destructive immorality springs forth and follow it to its hopeless end. Lord Voldemort’s biological susceptibility, in combination with his neglectful caregivers, was a lethal combination. It is nearly inconceivable that the simple introduction of a story about a humanized and troublesome past can bring about such empathy for one of the most hated characters in fictional history. As Szalavitz (2010) says, humans possess the innate inclination towards empathy and compassion (para. 5). Beauty of this kind, in its purest form, is present in each person. Is humanity not exquisite?
