Harry's moral core vs. Voldie's

[ginnysthe1]

No: HPFGUIDX 117574


Kelsey wrote:
> <snip> And we don't know the circumstances of the death of Tom's 
Slytherin-heir mother (who fell in love with a Muggle). [insert 
outrageous theory about her sacrificial death here]. I think that, 
deep in the psyche of these two children, the abandonment issues are 
_about_ equal."<

Del replied:
> Not necessarily. Harry was loved during 15 months. Tom might not 
have been. This could be enough to create a major difference between 
the two.<

Carol notes:
> We know that she lived just long enough to give Tom a name. To all 
intents and purposes, she died in childbirth. That, I suppose, is a 
kind of sacrifice--she gave her life for his--but it wasn't a 
deliberate action, a choice, as Lily's sacrifice was. (Or Mrs. 
Crouch's, for that matter.) Mrs. Riddle making the effort as she's 
dying to name her son after his father and her own strikes me as an 
act of love not only for the infant but for the two men involved. Sad 
that one of them was the wretch who abandoned his pregnant wife, and 
unfortunate that Tom could have no memory of that loving moment.<

Kim commenting now:

I agree with Del, that Harry was greatly loved by both his parents, 
though even for such a short time.  Not only that, IMO his parents 
loved each other too and exposed Harry to that love also for that 
short time.  We know so little about Tom Riddle's birth circumstances 
that's it's hard to say anything more specific about it than what Tom 
said himself.  However, I've been constructing a history of Tom 
Riddle's parents and of Tom's early childhood these last few days, so 
see what y'all (now that really gives my region of the US away!) 
think of a few tidbits, if you dare...

Firstly, I don't think it's certain that Tom Riddle's mother was the 
one who named her son, as Carol suggests.  She may have died before 
she could do that, she may not have known he would be a boy (although 
she could have picked out a boy's and a girl's name ahead of time, 
just in case).  Maybe it was the birth attendant, the midwife, or 
someone else who named him after his father (which would mean they 
had to know who the father was).  I admit it's all maybe.  

Secondly, I'm not sure Tom Riddle (LV's father) necessarily knew that 
his wife was pregnant when he left her.  We know that he left her 
when he learned she was a witch.  (And who told him this?  Maybe she 
did, maybe she didn't).  She could have known she was pregnant and 
not told her husband this, but told him she was a witch first, and 
then he left her, never knowing that she *was* pregnant.  Maybe his 
fatal encounter with Tom Ridddle (son) years later in the Little 
Hangleton House was the first he knew that he had a son.

Thirdly, there are all kinds of questions about the relationship Tom 
Riddle's father and mother had with one another (and I think this was 
probably discussed in previous posts that I should look up in the 
archives if only I knew how!) before Tom Riddle the son was 
conceived.  How and why did Mrs. Riddle keep her witch status a 
secret from her boyfriend and then husband?  Did she know he disliked 
wizards when she got involved with him, or did he say that his family 
disliked wizards, but that he might have been more tolerant?  Did her 
family dislike Muggles as much as his family disliked wizards?  Or 
maybe it was only he, not necessarliy his family, who disliked 
wizards, but the young witch was so in love (or lust) with him that 
she lied by omission about who she was?  

Anyhow, that's all for now.  If there's any interest, I can keep 
going on another post.

Til later, Kim