Why Voldemort is a fascist/sparing Lily

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 108969

Kneasy wrote:
>>> He hates; that's his credo and it's a personal grudge writ large. 
Even so he was willing to let Lily live. His agenda might be more 
flexible than you think.<<<
 
SSSusan enquired:
>> I'm sure it's a bit disappointing after a lengthy post like this 
was that I'm going to just pull this little piece out.  But, well, 
it's the part that interests me most just now.  

Can you flesh this out, Kneasy?  Just what are you saying?  Why 
*might* Voldy have been willing to let Lily live?  I've some 
thoughts on this, too, but I'm always interested to hear multiple 
views.<<

 
Kneasy responded: 
> It all depends on which level you want to look at it and how JKR
> has constructed  the Voldy character.
> 
> Firstly and most probably IMO, it's a wrinkle in the plot that 
> will have/has had significance that we can't at the moment fathom.
> 
> Secondly and in terms of the current thread *if* Voldy is an 
> ideologically driven fanatic determined to instute the  primacy of
> purebloods at any cost then one would expect him to wipe out
> Lily with absolutely no compunction. He didn't. So maybe he's
> not being ideologically driven; maybe he's a pragmatist doing 
> what he sees as necessary to achieve his personal ends. 
> 
> Lily has defied him 3 times we're told. For a murdering ideologue 
> this would be unforgivable and would merit the ultimate sanction.
> But Voldy isn't thinking along those lines - he wants to kill Harry,
> that seems to be his sole aim. James possibly and Lily for sure 
> need not have died. But if they get in the way then die they will.
> That is a very cold pragmatic way of assessing the 'mission' - that
> it's a safeguard for his future security, not an aspect or 
> reflection of a wider political agenda. 
> 
> You can bet your house that Bella would have viewed it differently
>  - she would have killed Lily because of what Lily is and James 
> because he's a 'blood-traitor'. (Assuming James is pureblood - 
> not certain but quite likely.) 
> 
> There's a big difference between the two approaches IMO, though
> the results would have been the same.

 
SSSusan again:
Your discussion of the second point is what I suspected you were 
going to go for--and it *is* a strong argument for Voldy's being just 
that thug w/o a political ideology.  It is especially convincing when 
you compare Voldy's actions to what you anticipate Bella would have 
done.  (Nora, I shall enjoy reading your take on this. :-))  

It was in your discussion of the first point that I was hoping you'd 
be able to give me some hypothesis/es.  Since I don't think up things 
on my own very well, I was hoping for ideas, you see.  While I'm 
convinced that Voldy had a *reason* for suggesting she didn't have to 
die--that he really did *mean* it when he said it--I can't come up 
with much in the way of WHY, beyond the rather tired ideas of his 
somehow being related to Lily or having promised to try to spare her 
for someone else, i.e., Severus. 

Siriusly Snapey Susan