Villainy

[jwcpgh]

No: HPFGUIDX 109649

> Neri:
> The subordinate villains are interesting because they still retain 
a considerable amount of humanity. <snip> Voldy made the proverbial 
deal with the devil: lots and lots of power for the price of his 
humanity. The minute he lost his humanity, JKR lost her interest in 
him.<snip>The only 3D aspect of Voldy is his Tom Riddle 
> aspect, the rejected and abused kid before he made his final deal 
> with the devil. BTW, I predict we will see more of Tom. <snip>

Hi everyone, it's Laura, back from lurkdom and energized by her 
attendance at ConAlley.  Nice thread, Kneasy, except that as usual 
you miss the point.  Neri has hit it on the head.  LV isn't complex 
because he traded his complex humanity for power and immortality.  
His very appearance tells us that he's not the same kind of creature 
we are.  He was probably a lot more clever and devious when he was 
still Tom.  As it is, he is not the least bit subtle about what he 
wants or what he is.  The plot he devised to trick Harry into going 
to the DOM wouldn't have worked on anyone more worldly and 
experienced than Harry-think Fred and George would have fallen for 
it?  Or even Hermione?  

I agree that we'll be seeing more of Tom-DD's use of his name in the 
DOM is a good indicator of that.  One could theorize that Tom sought 
to shed his humanity because it was so painful for him, and that 
from the point of view of a young person who has been deeply hurt in 
childhood, absolute power, immortality and universal deference would 
look pretty desirable.  (Obviously not every child who's suffered 
emotional damage goes this route, but I would guess that not too 
many brutal dictators or serial killers have had well-adjusted 
childhoods.) 

And no matter how complicated the reasons are that a person turns to 
the evil overlord lifestyle, once he's headed that way, the 
motivation tends to fade and the drive for power and domination come 
to justify and feed on themselves.  So sure, it all gets very simple 
and straightforward, until the power hunger is all that's left.  To 
be multilayered means to allow vulnerability and that's what these 
guys want to avoid at all costs, even the cost of their own 
humanity.  That's because vulnerability risks pain, and villains 
like LV have decided that he'd much rather be inflicting pain than 
feeling it.  

The desire for immortality is an interesting condundrum for people, 
isn't it?  On the surface, it looks like a pretty attractive idea.  
If you're happy, you want more of the same, and if you're not, you 
can have unlimited time to rectify the situation.  But I don't know 
of any respected moral philosopher (correct me if I'm wrong), 
including theologians and founders of major religions, who see it as 
truly desirable.  I suspect that if we were immortal, there would be 
more LVs among us than Nicholas Flamels.  We as a species just don't 
seem to deal well with a lack of boundaries, do we?  I haven't 
thought about this much though-maybe we'd all just go about our 
lives, always getting in the slowest line in the grocery store and 
complaining about gasoline prices forever and ever until the whole 
thing blows up.  

Thanks, Kneasy, for getting me back in the game!

Laura