Plugging my theory

[naamagatus]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "nkafkafi" <nkafkafi at y...> 
wrote:
>> > 
> 
> Neri:
> I agree that the snake allusion is very obvious in Voldemort's 
>case, and the vampire metaphor much less obvious. We don't really 
>know what it is the mechanism of Voldy's immortality – is it 
>possession? Death eating? Both? Something else? But in any case JKR 
>seems to suggest that it is something parasitic in nature. A snake 
>is not a parasite. 
> It brings death on others and it (in the mythical sense) cheats 
> death, but these are two separate properties. The snake does not 
> cheat death by killing others, and certainly not by stealing life 
> from others. It's the vampire that does that. 

Naama:
I guess I just don't see much of the parasite in Voldemort. I see no 
evidence that he draws strength from killing or from any other 
Unforgivable curse. I see no evidence that he draws strength from the 
Dark Marks. I also don't see any evidence that he draws strength from 
possession - once he had been embodied. Even when he was vapor and 
possessing animals and people, this seems to have helped him survive, 
but it didn't give him the strength to regain his body. 


> 
> > Naama:
> > BTW - on what do you base the notion that Voldemort takes power 
> from people's fear of him? From the name taboo? 
> > 
> 
> Neri:
> This is a very vague notion, but it is suggested by both Bella and 
> Snape that the connection between Voldy and the DEs has something 
>to do with not pronouncing his name. 

But the entire WW (almost) don't say his name. That should give him a 
huge boost, no? And yet, until Pettigrew came to help him, he was 
helpless. It also doesn't sit well with DD saying that fearing a name 
makes you even more fearful of the thing <terrible paraphrase>, which 
puts the emphasis on psychology, not magic.

<snip>
> But my main point was: Voldy and Snape seem to be connected by some 
>Dark Arts magic. 

Again, I just don't see it. I probably missed some of your arguments 
on this point, but I really don't see any evidence for it. Other than 
the regular Dark Mark, what is this special Snape-Voldemort 
connection? 

>It will be simpler and more economical to 
> assume that this connection is the same thing that the vampire!
>Snape allusions refer to. 

Since I take the "erm.. I don't think so" very much at fact value, I 
hereby discount any vampirish allusions as merely coincidental or 
atmospheric only (that is, creating a gothic ambience around Snape, 
but not specifically vampirish). 

 
> Neri:
> My personal impression was that the Boa represented Harry himself 
>in 
> this case. The Boa was born in captivity and never knew Brazil, the 
> same way Harry didn't know his parents and the WW. Setting the Boa 
> free was symbolic of setting Harry free from the Dursleys (and 
>maybe also setting Harry's magical powers free). 

I like that. It certainly resonates.

>In any case, the Boa was 
> presented as a nice creature, and this doesn't work well with a 
> central Snake!Voldemort theme, but it does fit with JKR typical 
> refutation of biological determinism: no kind of creatures is 
> presented as all bad (except for things like dementors that are not 
> really creatures but representations of pure evil). So this would 
> suggest that it's not the snake element in Voldy that makes him 
>evil. But if so, what does make Voldy evil? 
>  

I think, with Susan, that he is evil due to his choices. It's evil to 
want immortality and to become part snake for that. But that doesn't 
mean that snakes, as animals, are evil. 
That's why it doesn't make thematic sense for Voldemort to have 
merged with a demon (or Salazar Slytherin, for that matter), in fact. 
I think it's important that Tom Riddle made himself into Voldemort, 
all by himself, deliberately and without external influence. For him 
to have merged with some evil entity would water down the stark 
reality of evil as choice, which I think is what JKR is going for.


Naama