LV never loved anyone

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 110475

SSSusan asked :
"Do we know what he did or didn't learn about morality in the
orphanage?  In what way does power provide a life of relative *peace*
within an orphanage?"

Del replies :
We don't know, I agree, but we can guess a few things.

First, we know that Tom never loved. That seems to indicate that he
was never loved either as a little boy. Little kids are hungry for
affection ; smiling at them is sometimes enough to earn their
unfailing devotion.

Second : Tom doesn't seem to have had any kind of morality as a
teenager. So either he wasn't taught it, or he didn't internalise it.
I'd go for the latter, and I'd even dare to say that it didn't sink in
because the discrepancy between what he was taught verbally and by
example was too great. It's all nice and good to tell kids to love
their neighbour, but they won't learn that if they see the grown-ups
authorising nasty behaviour. We can guess that the orphanage was not a
nice place to be at, if Tom was so desperate to stay at Hogwarts over
the holidays. There must have been quite a lot of nasty behaviour
occuring there. Not conducive to learning about good and evil.

As for power bringing peace, my answer is : pecking order. The higher
up you are, the less you are bullied yourself and the more you bully
others and get it your way.

SSSusan wrote :
"On the other hand, Hogwarts is a lot about comradeship, as well.  
Kids working together on projects, studying together in their common 
rooms, forming Quidditch teams & clubs.  I think Hogwarts DID afford 
Tom a chance to reach out to others, had he chosen to do so.  He 
managed to become a house & school leader, so I doubt he was totally 
isolated or not respected."

Del replies :
Let's take Draco as an example. He's got friends, he's respected, he's
a leader. But has he learned *anything* about love and comradeship ?
Nope. Because he's respected and valued for the *wrong* reasons : his
dad's powerful influence, his money, his sweets, his sharp tongue, and
so on. Draco might have many friends and followers, but I'd bet all my
Galleons that he's intensely alone inside and that he doesn't love any
of his friends nor does he feel loved by any of them.

Tom did reach out to others : he had friends. That doesn't mean he
loved them or felt loved by them.

SSSusan wrote :
"What about HARRY, then?  Some of these same feelings factor in for 
him, too."
(snip)
"Why doesn't HARRY go right along with the nasty kids?  Alternately,
why doesn't Harry strut about as "Savior of the Wizarding World",
being an arrogant berk?  Because he chose not to.  "

Del replies :
There is a *huge* difference between Harry and Tom.

Harry discovered that his parents were heroes who died fighting evil
and defending him personally. He also discovered that *he* is a hero,
worshipped by the entire WW (well, almost) for having rid the world of
the greatest evil wizard of the century. Everyone assumes that he is
good and nice, like his parents. In other words : Harry was firmly
entrenched in the Good and Light side before he even knew it, and he
was *loved* by all the nice people.

Tom, on the other hand, discovered that he was the Heir of a powerful
but very *disliked* wizard. Slytherin was driven out of Hogwarts by
the other 3 founders. His ideas are supported by a minority in the WW,
and many of the rest outright fight them. Slytherin was associated
with the Dark Arts, he was a Parselmouth, and so is Tom. So Tom
discovered that a majority of the WW was *not* going to like him for
being the Heir of Slytherin : he was going to be hated and despised
because of the path Slytherin's legacy had put him on. After all, just
look at the way people reacted in CoS when they thought Harry was the
Heir of Slytherin.

Both Tom and Harry arrived at Hogwarts feeling bad about themselves
and angry about the world. But when one discovered that most people
had a hugely positive preconception of him, the other one discovered
that his legacy was a dark and terrible one. Huge difference.

As an example, take a look at how Sirius reacts to different members
of his family. He's quick to point out that Tonks is his cousin's
daughter, because he knows Harry likes Tonks. But if Harry hadn't
discovered on his own that Bella was Sirius's cousin, would Sirius
have pointed that out ? And when Harry does discover it, Sirius very
quickly says that he's not proud of it. Just like he's not proud of
his parents, and so never mentioned them before. Preconceived ideas
and their power.

And by the way, Harry did come close to strutting around. During the
summer in OoP, he does repeat to himself that *he* did all those
things, so how do his friends *dare* keep him in the dark.

As for Tom, he never made it widely known that he is the Heir of
Slytherin. It's still a secret up to this day. He's made a name for
himself, he didn't just bask in Slytherin's glory reflected on him.

SSSusan wrote :
"if we see Harry choosing to fight the impulses for revenge, hate &
cruelty, why CAN'T we expect Tom to choose to fight them, too, once
he's at Hogwarts?  "

Del replies :
Harry doesn't fight them very well, does he ? He did spare Peter's
life, but he wasn't feeling any hate or anger at that time. But he
sure was feeling a lot of anger when he attempted to Crucio Bella...

As for why we can't expect the same things from Tom and Harry, the
answer is simple : because Harry knows better. Harry knows love, he
knows how good it feels to do the right thing, he believes in good and
evil. Tom doesn't know love, he doesn't believe in good and evil. Tom
is barely a toddler when it comes to good and evil : that's where his
stunted emotional development comes into play. He's stuck in the "I"
phase : I want this or that, I like this or that, I, I, I. He's
completely inconsiderate of others' needs and feelings, just like very
young children, because he never grew up emotionally. Harry did, even
though it's kind of a miracle that he did, considering his circumstances.

SSSusan wrote :
"I doubt Tom found out about the Heir of Slytherin thing right away--
you've suggested a year or two into his time there."

Del replies :
I don't have CoS with me, but I seem to remember that it took Tom
several years to find the Chamber, after he discovered he was the Heir
of Slytherin. Since he was 15 (if I'm not mistaken) when he opened the
chamber, I don't think I'm too much off the mark when I say he must
have been 12 or 13 when he discovered who he was.

And before that, he also had to deal with discovering that his father
was a Muggle who had abandoned his witch mother because of what she
was. Tough. Harry was 15 when he discovered that his dad had been a
bit of a jerk in his youth, and he took it badly enough. Imagine how
he would have felt if he'd discovered right away in his first year
that his dad was as despicable as, say, Snape.

SSSusan wrote :
"Harry chose how to act after a horrible childhood & facing all kinds
of temptations; Tom did, too--they were just different choices than
Harry's."

Del replies :
Before he even reached school, Harry had already experienced an
exchange of affection with Ron. Harry had a true friend, someone whom
he knew liked him for who he was, not what he was, before he even set
foot in Hogwarts.
Tom didn't even know what liking and being liked was.


Del