Draco's nature, LV's abiliity to love, Dudders and Harry, etc. (long)

[slgazit]

No: HPFGUIDX 110522

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "tylerswaxlion" <ctcasares at s...>
wrote:

> Now poor Tom Riddle, I always imagine him like Oliver Twist--mom 
> shows up outside the workhouse/orphanage, lives long enough to give 
> him his name, then dies.  Tom's then raised by a rotating staff that 
> don't ever give him any love--they are completely indifferent.  
> Riddle really *doesn't* experience love at all, and by the time he's 
> old enough to earn the respect of teachers in the Muggle-world or 
> impress wizards at Hogwarts, he no longer has the ability to 
> recognize love.  He sees it as an illogical, exploitable weakness.

This explanation does not accound for the thousands of people raised
in orphanages or by abusive families who manage to grow up to be law
abiding functional citizens, rather than serial killers. While the
environment that Riddle grew in was certainly unpleasant, I believe
that he has become Voldemort through inherent personality defects, not
because of upbringing. Whether a different, more caring environment
might have prevented that is open to question. Noone is a perfect
parent. The Unabomber came from a loving family who tried (too much
perhaps) to nurture his gifts, and yet threw away a professor position
at Berkeley to live in a Montana cabin and send letter bombs to people
he disliked. He even had a brother who is a complete opposite of him
morally and socially.

I think there was something inherently unstable if not outright evil
in Riddle to start with. This is not unheard of, especially with
geniuses (which he was without a doubt). Riddle is certainly an
appropriate name...

> Experiencing and understanding love, even in a twisted, 
> disfuncitonal manner, makes Draco and Dudley capable of redemption 
> (though I doubt they will ever take those steps.)

I believe that Dudley will be redeemed. He is not spoiled by his
school, and the fright he had facing the dementors, not to mention 
living a less privileged life with ordinary (if unpleasant) parents,
and with a sort-of brother (Harry), who is much smarter than him,
makes him more likely to become a decent person (even Vernon Dursley
has at least one positive quality - he was willing to raise Harry
after all).

There is nothing in Draco's environment to improve him however. His is
 probably a lost cause.

> Now Harry has experienced "true love"--selfless, self-sacrificing 
> love.  His parents died to save him.

However, that happened at 15 months of age. The next 10 years were
spent in a loveless abusive environment.

> His godfather broke out of 
> Azkaban to save him and died trying to save him.

This happened at 13 - after his personality was already defined.

> My mom's always said that hate is not the opposite of love, 
> indifference is.  When you hate someone, you still care--you care 
> quite a bit.  No one cared for Tom Riddle, and he grew into 
> Voldemort, who cares for no one.

Except for the first 15 months of his life and up till he started
Hogwarts, no one (to Harry's knowledge) cared about him either. A bad
upbringing is no explanation for Riddle's transformation. He was
rotten to start with...

Salit