Lord Voldemort
Un article de Vev.
Modèle:HP character Lord Voldemort (Modèle:IPAEng)<ref>Modèle:Citeweb</ref><ref>Modèle:Citeweb</ref> is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the Harry Potter novel series written by British author J. K. Rowling. Voldemort first appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which was released in 1997. He was born as Tom Marvolo Riddle, and is the last descendant of the wizard named Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Voldemort appeared either in person or in flashbacks in each book in the series, except the third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Voldemort has also appeared in all the corresponding film adaptations as of present date, except the third.
In the series, Voldemort is the main enemy of Harry Potter, who according to a prophecy has the power to defeat him. The wizarding community fears him so much that they refuse to refer to him by his name, instead saying "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Even his followers only refer to him as "The Dark Lord".
Several people have portrayed Voldemort in the films, but the most referenced actor is British actor Ralph Fiennes, who has portrayed him in the film adaptations of the fourth to sixth novels. In a 2006 BigBadRead poll, British students voted Lord Voldemort their favourite literary villain of all time.<ref>http://www.lse.co.uk/ShowStory.asp?story=CA428672U&news_headline=lord_voldemort_is_favourite_literary_villain</ref>
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Character development
According to a 1999 interview with author J. K. Rowling, Voldemort was invented as a literary foil for Harry Potter, the main protagonist of the series, and that she intentionally did not flesh out Voldemort's backstory at first. She had the idea that: "The basic idea … Harry … didn't know he was a wizard … and so then I kind of worked backwards from that position to find out how that could be, that he wouldn't know what he was.… When he was one-year-old, the most evil wizard for hundreds and hundreds of years attempted to kill him. He killed Harry's parents, and then he tried to kill Harry - he tried to curse him.… Harry has to find out, before we find out. And - so - but for some mysterious reason, the curse didn't work on Harry. So he's left with this lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead and the curse rebounded upon the evil wizard, who has been in hiding ever since." <ref> "J.K. Rowling on The Diane Rehm Show, WAMU Radio Washington, D.C., October 20, 1999"
.</ref> She also added that his name is invented and has no real life basis. <ref> "Lydon, Christopher. J.K. Rowling interview transcript, The Connection (WBUR Radio), 12 October 1999"
.</ref>
In the course of the second book, Rowling established the paradox that Voldemort was a racist who hated non-pure blood wizards, but was a half-blood himself. In a 2000 interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, Rowling fleshed Voldemort out as a prototypical self-hating bully: "Well I think it is often the case that the biggest bullies take what they know to be their own defects, as they see it, and they put them right on someone else and then they try and destroy the other and that's what Voldemort does." <ref> " "JK Rowling talks about Book Four," cBBC Newsround, 8 July 2000"
.</ref>
In the same year, Rowling became more precise about Voldemort. She began to link him to charismatic real-life tyrants, describing him as "a raging psychopath, devoid of the normal human responses to other people's suffering, and there ARE people like that in the world. But then you have Wormtail [his cowardly, but cruel henchman], who out of cowardice will stand in the shadow of the strongest person". <ref> " Jensen, Jeff. "'Fire' Storm," Entertainment Weekly, 7 September 2000"
.</ref> However, according to statements in 2004, Rowling says that Voldemort is not directly based on any historical character. <ref> "JK Rowling's World Book Day Chat, 4 March 2004"
.</ref>
Finally, in 2006, Rowling established that Voldemort was not only a racist, genocidal psychopath, but at his core a person with a very human fear: the fear of death. She said: "Voldemort's fear is death, ignominious death. I mean, he regards death itself as ignominious. He thinks that it's a shameful human weakness, as you know. His worst fear is death." <ref> "Anelli, Melissa and Emerson Spartz. "The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two," The Leaky Cauldron, 16 July 2005"
.</ref> This plot point would be essential in the last book, when Voldemort's hunt for immortality is a large plot thread.
Throughout the series, Rowling established that the name "Voldemort" is so feared in the Wizarding world that it is considered dangerous even to speak his name. Most characters in the novels refer to him as "You-Know-Who" or "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" rather than saying his name aloud. In Deathly Hallows, a "taboo" is placed upon the name, such that anyone who utters it may be traced by Voldemort or his followers. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are found and captured by "Snatchers" and the werewolf Fenrir Greyback when Harry inadvertently utters the name.
According to an interview with J. K. Rowling, "Voldemort" is pronounced (Modèle:IPA2), with a silent 't' at the end, as is common in French. <ref>Modèle:Citeweb</ref> This was the pronunciation used by Jim Dale in the first four U.S. audiobooks; however, after the release of the film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in which the characters who dared refer to him by name pronounced it with the "t", Dale altered his pronunciation to that in the films. The pronunciation has since been used in the other films, as well. Additionally, Rowling has pronounced the name with the "t" during readings.<ref>« »</ref>
Voldemort's given name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. The second book establishes that the appellation "Lord Voldemort" is derived from an anagram of his birth name: TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE ~ I AM LORD VOLDEMORT. This is also a play on words, as his name, Tom Marvolo Riddle, is also itself a riddle. In translated versions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Voldemort's original name is changed to accommodate the anagram. In the Polish edition, however, translator Andrzej Polkowski decided not to make any changes, presumably because of the difficulty of translating the anagram into a meaningful sentence. In the Portuguese edition (as distinct from the Brazilian edition), the name was similarly left untranslated.
Appearances
First three books
Lord Voldemort makes his debut in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. In this story, Rowling introduces him as the Dark Lord who has murdered the parents of protagonist Harry Potter, and later unsuccessfully tries to regain his dissolved body by stealing the eponymous Philosopher's Stone. While writing the book, Rowling established that Harry Potter's parents have been killed by the powerful Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort; but for some reason, baby Harry survives when Voldemort tries to murder him with a Killing Curse. Voldemort is disembodied and Harry since then carries a mysterious scar on his forehead as a result. According to a 1999 interview with The Diane Rehm Show, fleshing out Voldemort's backstory was a case of backwards planning: she decided that the parents of Harry Potter had been killed by a supremely powerful and evil wizard, and that wizard became Voldemort.<ref> "J.K. Rowling on The Diane Rehm Show, WAMU Radio Washington, D.C., October 20, 1999"
. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
</ref>
In the second installment, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Rowling introduces the character of Tom Marvolo Riddle, a manifestation of Voldemort that resides inside a magical diary found by Ginny Weasley. In this book, Ginny is written as a shy girl with a crush on Harry Potter.<ref name="Modèle:HP2ch4">Modèle:HP2, chapter 4</ref> Feeling anxious and lonely, she begins to write into the diary and shares her deepest fears with the sympathetic Tom.<ref name="Modèle:HP2ch17">Modèle:HP2, chapter 17</ref> However, at the climax of the story, it is revealed that Tom Marvolo Riddle is an anagram of "I am Lord Voldemort", and Tom is indeed the magical manifestation of the Dark Lord himself. Riddle states he has grown strong on her fears and eventually possessed Ginny. He then used her as a pawn to unlock the Chamber of Secrets, from where a basilisk was set free which petrified several Hogwarts students. Harry defeats both the Riddle from the diary and the basilisk.<ref name="Modèle:HP2ch17">Modèle:HP2, chapter 17</ref> In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore reveals to Harry that the diary was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes (an external vessel which contains a part of his torn soul).
In the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Voldemort does not make an appearance, either in person or in the form of a magical manifestation. He is, however, heard when Harry passes out from the effects of a Dementor. The Divination professor, Sybill Trelawney, makes a genuine prophecy: The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these 12 years. Tonight, before midnight, the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever before. Tonight... before midnight... the servant... will set out... to rejoin... his master....<ref name="Modèle:HP3ch16">Modèle:HP3, chapter 16</ref> Towards the end of the book, the servant is revealed to be Peter Pettigrew, who, since the fall of Lord Voldemort, has been disguised as Ron Weasley's pet rat, Scabbers.
Fourth, fifth and sixth books
In the fourth instalment of the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Voldemort appears at the climax of the book. Rowling lets many seemingly unrelated plot elements fall into order. It is revealed that Voldemort's minion Barty Crouch Jr, disguised as Hogwarts professor Mad-Eye Moody, has manipulated the events of the Triwizard Tournament. Voldemort's goal is to teleport reluctant participant Harry Potter to the Little Hangleton graveyard, where the Riddle family are buried.<ref name="Modèle:HP4ch32333435">Modèle:HP4, chapters 32 to 35</ref> Harry is captured and, after Death Eater Peter Pettigrew uses Harry's blood (which would prove to be a major flaw) to fulfil a gruesome magical ritual, Voldemort regains his body and is restored to his full power.<ref name="Modèle:HP4ch32">Modèle:HP4, chapter 32</ref> For the first time in the series, Rowling describes his appearance: "tall and skeletally thin", with a face "whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was as flat as a snake’s with slits for nostrils".<ref name="Modèle:HP4ch32333435">Modèle:HP4, chapters 32 to 35</ref> Rowling writes that his "hands were like large, pale spiders; his long white fingers caressed his own chest, his arms, his face; the red eyes, whose pupils were slits, like a cat's, gleamed still more brightly through the darkness".<ref name="Modèle:HP4ch32333435">Modèle:HP4, chapters 32 to 35</ref> It was revealed that, while in Albania, Pettigrew had captured the Ministry of Magic official Bertha Jorkins, who was tortured for information about the Ministry.<ref name="Modèle:HP4ch1">Modèle:HP4, chapter1 </ref> After they learned that Barty Crouch Jr, a faithful Death Eater, had been smuggled out of Azkaban and was privately confined at his father's house, they killed her. With Pettigrew's help, Voldemort created a small, rudimentary body, corporeal enough to travel and perform magic, and formulated a plan to restore his own body by capturing Harry. A portion of the plan had been overheard by Frank Bryce, a gardener, whom Voldemort then killed.<ref name="Modèle:HP4ch1">Modèle:HP4, chapter1 </ref> Voldemort then completes his plan and returns to life in his full body as a result of the ritual with Harry's blood. He then summons his Death Eaters to the graveyard to witness the death of Harry Potter as he challenges Harry to a duel. However, When Voldemort duels Harry, their wands become magically locked together due to the twin Phoenix feather cores of the wands. Due to a phenomenon later revealed as Priori Incantatem, ghost-like manifestations of Voldemort's most recent victims (including Harry's parents) then appear and distract Voldemort, allowing Harry just enough time to escape via portkey with the body of fellow-student, Cedric Diggory, who was murdered by Peter Pettigrew on Voldemort's orders.<ref name="Modèle:HP4ch34">Modèle:HP4, chapter 34</ref>
In the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Voldemort appears at the climax, having again carefully plotted against Harry.<ref name="Modèle:HP5ch33435">Modèle:HP5, chapters 35-37</ref> In this book, Harry Potter goes through extreme emotional stress, and according to Rowling, it was necessary to prove that Harry is emotionally vulnerable and thus human, in contrast to his nemesis Voldemort, who is emotionally invulnerable and thus inhuman: "[Harry is] a very human hero, and this is, obviously, there’s a contrast, between him, as a very human hero, and Voldemort, who has deliberately dehumanised himself. […a]nd Harry, therefore, did have to reach a point where he did almost break down, and say he didn’t want to play anymore, he didn’t want to be the hero anymore – and he’d lost too much. And he didn’t want to lose anything else. So that – Phoenix was the point at which I decided he would have his breakdown."<ref name="Fry2005 "> "Living With Harry Potter"
. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
</ref> In this book, Voldemort makes liberal use of the Ministry of Magic's refusal to believe that he has returned.<ref name="Modèle:HP4ch36">Modèle:HP4, chapter 36</ref> Voldemort engineers a plot to free the Death Eaters from Azkaban and then embarks on a scheme to retrieve the full record of a prophecy regarding Harry and himself which is stored in the Department of Mysteries. He sends a group of Death Eaters to retrieve the prophecy, where they are met by the Order of the Phoenix. All but one, Bellatrix Lestrange, are captured, and Voldemort engages in a ferocious duel with Dumbledore. Voldemort attempts to possess Harry Potter but finds that he cannot; Harry is too full of that which Voldemort finds detestable: love. Sensing that Dumbledore could win, Voldemort disapparates, but not before the Minister of Magic sees him in person, making his return to life public knowledge.
In the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Voldemort once again declares war, and begins to rise to power once more. He murders Amelia Bones of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and begins to target members of the Order of the Phoenix, including Emmeline Vance. Rowling uses several chapters as exposition to establish Voldemort's backstory. In a series of flashbacks, using the pensieve as a plot device, she reveals that Voldemort is the son of the witch Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle, Sr. However, Riddle leaves Merope before their child's birth, soon after which Merope dies. Riddle never comes to find his son.<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch10">Modèle:HP6, chapter 10</ref> After living in an orphanage, young Tom is picked up by Albus Dumbledore, who takes him to Hogwarts.<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch13">Modèle:HP6, chapter 13</ref> Riddle is outwardly a model pupil, but is in reality a sadist who enjoys using his powers to harm and control people. He eventually murders his father and grandparents for abandoning him.<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch17">Modèle:HP6, chapter 17</ref> The book also discusses Riddle's hatred of "Muggles" (non-magical humans), his obsession with Horcruxes, and his desire to split his soul in order to achieve immortality.<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch23">Modèle:HP6, chapter 23</ref> J.K. Rowling stated that the fact that Voldemort was conceived under a love potion is related to his non-ability to understand love: it's "a symbolic way of showing that he came from a loveless union – but of course, everything would have changed if Merope had survived and raised him herself and loved him. The enchantment under which Tom Riddle fathered Voldemort is important because it shows coercion, and there can’t be many more prejudicial ways to enter the world than as the result of such a union".<ref name="AfterBook7"> "'J.K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript"
. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
</ref>
In the main plot of the book, Voldemort's next step is to engineer an assault on Hogwarts, and to attack Dumbledore himself. This is accomplished by Draco Malfoy, who arranges transportation into Hogwarts by means of a pair of Vanishing Cabinets, which bypass the extensive protective enchantments placed around the school.<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch363738">Modèle:HP6, chapters 36-38</ref> The cabinets allow Voldemort's Death Eaters to enter Hogwarts, where a battle commences and Dumbledore is cornered. Hogwarts professor (and double agent) Severus Snape uses the Killing Curse against Dumbledore when Malfoy is unable to do so himself.<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch363738">Modèle:HP6, chapters 363738</ref>
Final book
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book of the Harry Potter series, Voldemort furthers his quest for ultimate power. He disposes of the Minister for Magic and replaces him with his own puppet ruler, giving him control of the Wizarding World.<ref name="DH8">Modèle:HP7, chapter 8</ref> Establishing a totalitarian police state, he has Muggle-borns persecuted and arrested for "stealing magic" from the "pure blood" wizards.<ref name="DH121315">Modèle:HP7, chapters 12, 13, and 15</ref> After failing to kill Harry with Lucius Malfoy's borrowed wand (to avoid the effect of Priori Incantatem),<ref name="DH4">Modèle:HP7, chapter 4</ref> he goes on a murderous search for the Elder Wand, the most powerful wand ever created, seeing it as the weapon he needs to overcome Harry's and make him truly invincible. He goes on a quest that takes him out of the country to Gregorovitch's wand shop, where he kills the old wandmaker.<ref name="DH14">Modèle:HP7, chapter 14</ref> His journey also takes him to Nurmengard, the prison where Grindelwald is kept. He ends up killing Grindelwald as well. After finally locating the Elder Wand and stealing it from Dumbledore's tomb, he finds out that Harry and his friends are stealing his Horcruxes. After offering the occupants of the castle mercy if they give up Harry, he assembles a large army and launches an invasion of Hogwarts, where Harry is searching for Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem, one of the Horcruxes.<ref name="DH31">Modèle:HP7, chapter 31</ref> Voldemort murders Snape believing it would make him the true master of the Elder Wand, since Snape killed Dumbledore.<ref name="DH32">Modèle:HP7, chapter 32</ref> He then calls an hour's armistice, in exchange for Harry Potter.<ref name="DH34">Modèle:HP7, chapter 34</ref> When Harry willingly walks into Voldemort's camp in the forest, Voldemort strikes him down with the Elder Wand.<ref name="DH34" /> However, the use of Harry's blood to resurrect Voldemort's body proves to be a major setback: while Harry's blood runs in Voldemort's veins, Harry cannot be killed. Instead, the part of Voldemort's soul that resides in Harry's body is destroyed by Voldemort himself. Voldemort forces Hagrid to carry the lifeless body of Harry back to the castle as a trophy, sparking another battle. In the battle, Voldemort overpowers Minerva McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Horace Slughorn. Harry then reveals himself and explains to Voldemort that Draco became the true master of the Elder Wand when he disarmed Dumbledore; Harry, in turn, won the wand's allegiance when he took Draco's wand. Refusing to believe this, Voldemort casts the Killing Curse with the Elder Wand while Harry uses a Disarming Charm with Draco's, but the Elder Wand refuses to kill its master and the spell rebounds, killing Voldemort instead.<ref name="DH36">Modèle:HP7, chapter 36</ref>
J.K Rowling stated <ref name="bloomsbury"> Webchat with J.K. Rowling, 30 July 2007
(HTML)
. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. </ref> that after his death, Voldemort is forced to exist in the stunted form that Harry sees in the King's Cross-like Limbo after his confrontation with Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest.<ref name="DH35">Modèle:HP7, chapter 35</ref>
Portrayals within films
As of 2007, Voldemort appears in four Harry Potter films, namely Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, he is merely a face on the back of Quirrell's head. This was achieved by computer generated imagery. Ian Hart, the actor who played Professor Quirrell in the same film, provided both the voice and the facial source for this character. Voldemort also appears in a scene in the Forbidden Forest where he is seen sucking the blood of a unicorn. As Voldemort's face was altered enough by CG work, and Hart's voice was affected enough, there was no confusion by Hart's playing of the two roles. In that film, he was also shown in a flashback sequence when he arrived at the home of James and Lily Potter to kill them. In this scene Voldemort is played by Richard Bremmer.<ref name=mn-cast-confusion> Credit Confusion
. MuggleNet
. Retrieved on 2007-01-07. </ref> His next appearance would be in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as Tom Marvolo Riddle (portrayed by Christian Coulson).
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Voldemort is initially only heard, possessing the scratchy, weak voice heard in the first film. By the film's climax, however, he appears in his actual physical form for the first time, played by Ralph Fiennes. Voldemort is shown clad in dark black robes, being tall and emaciated, with no hair and yellowish teeth; his wand has a white tone and the handle appears to be made of bone; his finger nails are long and pale blue while his toe nails appear to be infected. Unlike in the book, his pupils are not snake-like and his eyes are green, because producer David Heyman felt that his evil would not be able to be seen and would not fill the audience with fear (his eyes do briefly take on a snake-like appearance when he opens them after turning human, but quickly turn normal). As in the book, the film version of Voldemort has no nose and has snake-like slit nostrils. Ralph Fienne's nose was not covered in makeup on the set, and was digitally removed in post-production. The film version of Voldemort also has a forked tongue.
Fiennes himself stated that he had two weeks to shoot the climatic showdown scene where he is gloating at a terrified Harry Potter, played by Daniel Radcliffe. Fiennes said with a chuckle: "I have no doubt children will be afraid of me now if they weren't before." In preparation, he read the novel Goblet of Fire, but jokingly conceded "I was only interested in my scene, and I had to go through thousands and thousands of other scenes which I did, dutifully, until I got to my scene and I read it many, many, many, many, many times and that was my research."<ref> Fischer , Paul
. Ralph Fiennes for "White Countess" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
. Retrieved on 2007-01-07. </ref> Fiennes reprised his role as Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.<ref name=oop-press-release> Helena Bonham Carter Joins the All-Star Cast and Nicholas Hooper Signs on to Compose the Score of Warner Bros. Pictures' Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
. Warner Bros. (2006-08-02)
. Retrieved on 2006-12-23. </ref>
Voldemort appears only in flashbacks in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. For scenes of Voldemort as the child Tom Riddle, the role will be played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin, who is a real life nephew of Ralph Fiennes. Newcomer Frank Dillane, son of actor Stephen Dillane, will replace Christian Coulson as the adolescent Riddle.. There is a scene in the book in which an adult Voldemort seeks a teaching position at Hogwarts. It is unknown at this point if Ralph Fiennes will appear in this scene, or merely return to the series for the final film.
Attributes
Personality
Voldemort is highly ruthless and sadistic, even to his own henchmen who serve him out of a mixture of fear and respect. Rowling described him as "the most evil wizard for hundreds and hundreds of years"<ref name="rehm"> "J.K. Rowling on The Diane Rehm Show, WAMU Radio Washington, D.C., October 20, 1999"
. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
</ref> She elaborated that he is a "raging psychopath, devoid of the normal human responses to other people's suffering"<ref name="EW2000"> "Jensen, Jeff. "'Fire' Storm," Entertainment Weekly, September 7, 2000"
. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
</ref> who is able to attract cowardly but cruel minions, like "Wormtail, who out of cowardice will stand in the shadow of the strongest person."<ref name="EW2000"/> What seems to drive him is his megalomaniacal sense of entitlement. He believes he is superior and will frequently refer to himself in the third-person as "Lord Voldemort." Rowling alluded to this saying that Voldemort is "incredibly power hungry. Racist, really", and holds human life in utter disregard.<ref name="Grossmann2005"> "Grossman, Lev. "J.K. Rowling Hogwarts And All," Time Magazine, 17 July, 2005"
. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
</ref> Rowling has also stated that if Voldemort looked into the Mirror of Erised (the mirror that reflects a person's greatest wish), he would see "Himself, all-powerful and eternal. That's what he wants."<ref name="Grossmann2005"> "Anelli, Melissa and Emerson Spartz. "The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two," The Leaky Cauldron, 16 July 2005"
. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
</ref>
J.K. Rowling also stated that the fact that Voldemort was conceived under a love potion is related to his inability to understand love; it is "a symbolic way of showing that he came from a loveless union – but of course, everything would have changed if Merope had survived and raised him herself and loved him. The enchantment under which Tom Riddle fathered Voldemort is important because it shows coercion, and there can’t be many more prejudicial ways to enter the world than as the result of such a union".<ref name="AfterBook7"> "'J.K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript"
. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
</ref>
He suffers from a pathological fear of death, which he regards as a shameful and ignominious human weakness. According to Rowling, his Boggart would be his own corpse.<ref> "Anelli, Melissa and Emerson Spartz. "The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two," The Leaky Cauldron, 16 July 2005"
.</ref> Rowling also said that the difference between Harry and Voldemort is that Harry accepts mortality, and thus Harry is in the end stronger than his nemesis: "[T]he real master of Death [i.e. someone like Harry] accepts that he must die, and that there are much worse things in the world of the living."<ref name="AfterBook7"/>
Voldemort shows great charisma, inspiring many influential wizards and witches such as Lucius Malfoy and Augustus Rookwood to follow him. He is also gifted with a great intellect and great arrogance. He also possesses a dry cynical sense of humour, usually laughing at others but also able to laugh at himself, despite his usuallly narcissistic demeanour.
Magical abilities and skills
Throughout the series, Rowling establishes Voldemort as a supremely powerful, intelligent, and ruthless Dark Wizard. He is also known as one of the greatest Legilimens in the world and a highly accomplished Occlumens, and is thus able to read minds as well as shield his own from penetration. However, in the seventh book, he loses control, allowing Harry to see occasionally through his eyes and hear his thoughts.<ref name=LeakyCauldron20070730>"
J.K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript " , The Leaky Cauldron , 2007-07-30 . Retrieved on 2007-07-30 . </ref> Voldemort can fly without support, defying the law of magic that states only objects can fly through use of a flying charm. Voldemort first exhibits the ability to fly while in pursuit of Harry Potter over Little Whinging.<ref name="DH4" /> He has the ability to speak over a vast area, sounding (to the recipients) as though he were standing next to them. He does this in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when he speaks to Hogwarts and the surrounding area of Hogsmeade<ref name="DH31" />.In addition, Voldemort is a Parselmouth, a trait he inherited from his ancestor, Salazar Slytherin. It seems that most of his Gaunt ancestors inherited this highly unusual trait: such traits are commonly passed down through families through inbreeding, a practice employed by the Gaunt Family. When Voldemort attempts to kill Harry, turning him into a Horcrux, his ability to speak Parseltongue is passed to Harry through the small bit of the former's soul. After that bit of soul is destroyed, Harry loses this ability.<ref name=LeakyCauldron20070730> "JK Rowling web chat transcript (2007-07-30)
.</ref> Voldemort shows himself capable of holding his own well even against an Elder Wand-wielding Albus Dumbledore. Voldemort claims he has experimented and pushed the boundaries of magic farther than they had ever been pushed. Albus Dumbledore states that Voldemort's knowledge of magic is more extensive than any wizard alive, and that even Dumbledore's most powerful protective spells and charms would not likely be sufficient if Voldemort returned to full power.
On her homepage, Rowling wrote that Voldemort's wand is made of yew, whose sap is poisonous and which symbolises death.<ref name="WAND"> Section: Extra Stuff WANDS
. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
.</ref> It forms a deliberate contrast to the wand of his nemesis Harry Potter, whose wand is made of holly, which she chose because holly is alleged to repel evil.<ref name="WAND"/>
Rowling establishes in the books that Voldemort is magically connected to Harry Potter via Harry's forehead scar. He disembodies himself when his Killing Curse targeting Harry Potter rebounds on him, leaving the scar on Harry's forehead. In the books, Harry's scar serves as an indicator of Voldemort's presence: it burns when the Dark Lord is near or whenever Voldemort is feeling particularly murderous or exultant. According to Rowling, by attacking Harry when he was a baby Voldemort gave him "tools [that] no other wizard possessed – the scar and the ability it conferred, a magical window into Voldemort's mind."<ref name="scarfaq"> jkrowling.com F.A.Q
.</ref> Rowling also has established that Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter are distantly related through their ancestors, as most wizards are.<ref name=LeakyCauldron20070730>"
J.K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript " , The Leaky Cauldron , 2007-07-30 . Retrieved on 2007-07-30 . </ref>
Outward appearance
After he has regained his body in the fourth book, Rowling describes Voldemort as having very pale skin, a chalk-white, skull-like face, snake-like slits for nostrils, red eyes and cat-like slits for pupils, a skeletally thin body and long, thin hands with unnaturally long fingers.<ref name="Modèle:HP4ch32333435">Modèle:HP4, chapters 32 to 35</ref> As mentioned in the first chapter of the seventh book, he also has no lips. Earlier in life, as seen through flashbacks contained in the second and sixth books, Tom Marvolo Riddle is described as very handsome which is seemingly an inherited trait from his father, for his mother "...was no beauty".<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch13">Modèle:HP6, chapter 13</ref> The transformation into his monstrous state is believed to have been the result of creating his horcruxes, becoming less human as he continued to divide his soul.<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch23">Modèle:HP6, chapter 23</ref>
Family
Family tree
Note: the names 'Thomas' and 'Mary' Riddle are taken from the films.
Riddle family
The Riddle family consisted of old Mr and Mrs Riddle (named Thomas and Mary Riddle in the film adaptation of the fourth novel) and their son, Tom Riddle (Senior). They owned over half of the valley in which the town of Little Hangleton lay, and Thomas was the most prominent inhabitant of that town. They lived in The Riddle House, a large house with fine gardens, and were very unpopular locally, due to their snobbish attitudes. Tom, apparently the only child of Thomas and Mary, certainly indulged in the typical pursuits of the upper class in the first half of the twentieth century, socialising with attractive women of his class, riding horses, and enjoying his status in the town.
Rowling revealed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that young Merope Gaunt made efforts to get as close to Tom as she could, peering at him through the windows and bushes at every opportunity. Morfin noticed his sister's affection for Tom Riddle, and hexed Tom as he rode by, covering him in hives. As surmised by Dumbledore, once Merope was alone she was able to make her move for Tom Riddle. She offered Tom a drink laced with a love potion as he rode by one day without his attractive companion, Cecilia. He became infatuated with Merope and they eloped. Within three months of the marriage, Merope became pregnant. Merope decided to stop giving Tom the love potion; she either believed that he had fallen in love with her on his own or he would at least stay for their unborn child. She was wrong, and Tom quickly left his pregnant wife and went home to his parents, claiming to have been "hoodwinked" and tricked into marrying Merope.<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch10">Modèle:HP6, chapter 10</ref> Tom Marvolo Riddle, their son, was born on the 31st of December<ref name="voldbirthdatefaq">F.A.Q</ref> and was left to grow up in an orphanage.
Readers first learn about the doom of the Riddles in the beginning of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Tom Riddle Sr and his parents were murdered by Tom Marvolo Riddle himself; however it was the Riddles' gardener Frank Bryce who was blamed for the murders in the Muggle world,<ref name="Modèle:HP4ch1">Modèle:HP4, chapter1 </ref> while in the Wizarding world Morfin Gaunt was framed for them.<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch17">Modèle:HP6, chapter 17</ref>
Gaunt family
Most of the House of Gaunt background is exposed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince through Dumbledore's Pensieve. The Gaunts were once a very powerful and influential family, the last known descendants of Salazar Slytherin, but were reduced to poverty, as shown in the Pensieve's memory that Harry Potter and Dumbledore witnessed.<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch10">Modèle:HP6, chapter 10</ref>
Marvolo Gaunt was the last Gaunt family patriarch. Marvolo was sentenced to a short term in Azkaban for his assault upon Ministry of Magic officials. He died soon after returning home. His signet ring passed to his son, Morfin Gaunt, who was convicted on the grounds of assaulting a Muggle, and later died in Azkaban after being convicted again, this time for the murder of Tom Riddle Sr and Riddle's parents, a crime actually committed by his nephew.<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch17">Modèle:HP6, chapter 17</ref> The truth was discovered much later by Dumbledore, who visited Morfin at Azkaban to gather information about Voldemort. After Dumbledore successfully extracted Morfin's memory of his encounter with his nephew, he tried to use the evidence to have Morfin released, but Morfin died before the decision could be made. As he was the last male Gaunt, the House of Gaunt ended with Morfin's death.
Merope Gaunt was the daughter of Marvolo, sister of Morfin. Harry's first impression of her was that she looked "like the most defeated person he had ever seen", probably due to the fact that she lived in raggedness, squalor and abuse. She married Tom Riddle Sr. and became pregnant within three months of the wedding.<ref name="Modèle:HP6ch10"/> It is suggested that she tricked her husband by using a love potion, but when she became pregnant, she decided to stop administering the potion. It is implied that Merope had grown tired of living a lie and thought that her husband might have grown to love her, or that he might have stayed for the sake of their unborn child; however, he left her. Desperate, Merope wandered through the streets of London. The only thing she had left was the heavy gold locket that had once belonged to Salazar Slytherin, one of her family's most treasured items, which she sold for a very small amount. By the time she was due to give birth, she stumbled into a Muggle orphanage; within the hour, she gave birth to her only son, Tom Marvolo Riddle, and died within the next hour.
The Gaunts and Lord Voldemort are distantly related to Harry Potter because all of them are descendants of the Peverell brothers. <ref>"
TIME Person of The Year Runner-up: J.K. Rowling " , Time Magazine , 2007-12-23 . Retrieved on 2007-12-23 . </ref>
References
Bibliography
- Lev Grossman, "J.K. Rowling Hogwarts and All". TIME Magazine, July 25, 2005.
External links
Modèle:Harrypotter Modèle:Harry Potter characters
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