[HPforGrownups] Re: The use of the name Voldemort

[Jai Marie]

No: HPFGUIDX 41165

BBOY_MN said:
<<There is a similar precedent in speaking Satan or the Devil's name; afear that speaking it is inviting the devil to join you. >>

Reading that made me think of something else I read about in doing some research for a project I'm working on.  This may seem a little off-base, but in a way it makes sense (at least to me).

In researching homosexuality in nineteenth-century America, I have found that when homosexuals were brought to trial and charged with their acts, the trial documents (or any surrounding press) would not name the acts themselves.  It always was "the crime against nature" or "the crime that must not be named" or other such euphamisms.  The thought was that if other people saw the actual name of the act, they'd want to try it and be lured into the same sinful lifestyle (since in the thinking of that era, all men were weak and prone to sin).

So, would the same mentality apply here?  Maybe they do not say Voldemort's name because if his name is said freely, it would make people (especially the weaker children) more curious about him and want to explore and perhaps follow him?  Sort of Victorian in principle, but it seems like the same mentality applies, because of how horrified people act when his name is said.

Just some thoughts, which at least made sense to me.  At the time.

Jai




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]