Tom Marvolo Riddle

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 161533

Charles Walker wrote:
> 
> Perhaps the reason he decided that none should speak his name stems 
> from the fact that it comes from his father's name. I mean, the whole 
> thing starts out with an anagram, then he wants to be known as 
> Voldemort. But as it wears on, he realizes that his fathers name is 
> still inherent in proclaiming "I am Lord Voldemort" and he begins 
> first to lash out at his followers for speaking his name, which then 
> carries from them to the general population.

Carol responds:
When he first invented the name, he was a kid at school, sixteen years
old or younger. I don't think he wanted the nickname he created to
impress his Slytherin gang to be generally known, any more than he
wanted it to be known that he was a Parseltongue and the Heir of
Slytherin, the person who had opened the Chamber of Secrets. His
so-called friends were sharers of his secrets and, to a lesser extent,
sharers in his power. Secrecy was a necessary component of that power.
I think that's the reason why the Death Eaters don't speak his name
and why they refer to him almost reverentially as the Dark Lord.

Once the name became generally known, after he returned to England,
transformed beyond recognition by his Horcruxes and perhaps by other
experiments, his name would be enough, by itself, to cause fear,
especially if the general public didn't know who he really was. Quite
possibly, one of the duties of the early Death Eaters was to spread
rumors and fear. It might even have been Death Eaters passing as
upright citizens who first referred to their master as He Who Must Not
Be Named. (You Know Who would have come later, as shorthand among
Voldie's enemies after the custom of avoiding his name was
well-established.) Just speculating, naturally.

Carol, altering the subject line to fit the canon