Harry's moral core vs. Voldie's

[ginnysthe1]

No: HPFGUIDX 117924


Kim had written:
>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.<

Geoff replied:
>If I may disagree, according to canon, she did:

"You live in a muggle orphanage during the holidays, I believe?" said 
Dippet curiously.

"Yes, sir" said Riddle,reddening slightly.

"You are Muggle-born?"

"Half-blood, sir," said Riddle. "Muggle father, witch mother."

"And are both of your parents - ?"

"My mother died just after I was born, sir. They told me at the 
orphanage she lived just long enough to name me. Tom after my father, 
Marvolo after my grandfather."

(COS "The Very Secret Diary" p.182 UK edition)

Geoff again:
>Your idea of an attendant or midwife naming him would probably have 
been unlikely anyway, because they would also have had to have known 
the grandfather's name....<

Kim now:
Thanks again to someone who checks the books before they post (unlike 
yours truly who still offers the lame excuse that I didn't have the 
book with me at the time)!

I tend to agree now based on what you quoted, that Tom Riddle's 
mother did name him before she died, although I guess we still could 
remain skeptical of the absolute validity of anything that's reported 
straight from TR's mouth (who is also reporting what was told to him 
by the orphanage).   Nevertheless this could be one of those 
instances of there not being any reason to doubt what someone says, 
even if that someone is the young Lord Voldemort. 

As for the whether an attendant did or didn't know that TR's 
grandfather's name was Marvolo, that's still debatable.  I'd actually 
thought of that too right after I'd posted.  It all depends on who 
was there during the birth and also on who might have been in the 
vicinity (as in, in the next room, at the family mansion nearby, 
etc.) and known that the birth was taking place.  I agree with you 
that it's not likely for a birth attendant to know the name Marvolo, 
but it was still quite possible.  I can imagine a pregnant and 
probably very sick young Marvolo(?) girl (i.e. Tom R.'s mother, whose 
first name we don't know, do we?) in the throes of giving birth -- 
who was there with her?  Did she give birth all alone?  Not likely, 
or else when she died, baby Tom might easily have died too, and he 
obviously didn't.  So what state of mind was she in, was she becoming 
delirious?  Perhaps she had finally told her family (the Marvolos?) 
about her predicament, especially now that her husband had abandoned 
her?  So maybe the attendant/midwife didn't name the baby, but 
someone who knew who the baby's grandfather was could have been 
nearby to name him.  In any case someone had to have been there 
during or very soon after the birth for Tom Riddle Jr. to have been 
taken to an orphanage.  Who took him to the Muggle orphanage?  Just 
tossing that question out there, since I have no idea myself ;-)

Kim