Lord Voldemort aka Tom Marvolo Riddle: Character Analysis

[Mayzie]

Quick question: I was having a debate about this on another forum and so I'm hoping y'all can help me out here.

Is there a definitive answer to the translation and meaning of the name Voldemort?

Thank you for your help!

[JimmyPotter]

I don't know if Rowling ever confirmed this, but it seems to me that Voldemort's paternal relatives were British nobility. There is the large manor house they lived in as well as the fact that Dumbledore referred to Tom Riddle Sr. as the "squire's son." If they were nobility, that leads to another question: Is this where Voldemort got the idea to call himself "Lord Voldemort"? If so then it shows Voldemort's hypocrisy. He hates Muggles and everything about them, yet he has no problem appropriating a Muggle title.

[Dobson]

Originally Posted by Mayzie

Quick question: I was having a debate about this on another forum and so I'm hoping y'all can help me out here.

Is there a definitive answer to the translation and meaning of the name Voldemort?

Thank you for your help!

Yes. It's french. "Mort" means death, and "Volde" or "Vold" means "fly from", creating "fly from death". I'm not sure if that's entirely correct, because I don't speak French, but that is essentially the translation. (According to MuggleNet anyway.)

[RemusLupinFan]

Originally Posted by Mayzie

Is there a definitive answer to the translation and meaning of the name Voldemort?

According to the Harry Potter lexicon entry for Voldemort, the name means "flight from death" in French.

[Mayzie]

That's what I believed as well... the fellow arguing this with me insisted that it probably meant robber of death whereas I told him that the most commonly accepted translation was flight of death.

[Bathsheda]

Originally Posted by Mayzie

That's what I believed as well... the fellow arguing this with me insisted that it probably meant robber of death whereas I told him that the most commonly accepted translation was flight of death.

Well, that's actually both possible. The french phrase is "vol de mort" and "le vol" means both "theft" and "flight" (the corresponding verb "voler" means both "to steal" and "to fly"), "de" means "from/of" and "mort" means "death" or "dead". I do think that "flight from death" is the meaning JKR was going for I can certainly see why someone may come to a different conclusion.

[AccioDobby]

Either one (flight or thief) works well for Tom Riddle though, flight from death because he's scared of death and thief as he is trying to defeat death too.

[JohanT]

I wanted to give my opinion on whether or not Voldemort's personality was a result of nature or nurture. I have to agree with those who say nature. From a young age, Tom Riddle displayed tendencies for cruelty and manipulation, and a strong need for power. Even if Merope had stayed alive for him, I have my doubts that he would have turned out much different. I think he was simply born with a predisposition towards evil. Not born evil necessarily, just with a natural tendency for it.
A question was posed about how Tom and Harry would react if they switched their childhoods with one another. I have a feeling Harry would have still turned out loving and caring (keep in mind that this Harry was abandoned by his parents like Tom's parents abandoned him), but if Tom was raised by the Dursleys... I don't think the Dursleys would dare lay a hand on him, in fact, I imagine he would have free reign in their household. He's naturally power-hungry and cruel.

[SlytherinZolf20]

I just want to give a quick recap of what I personally think about his character. To me, he actually became a wasted and devalued villian near the end of Deathly Hallows for his character was just made to be someone who would make stupid mistakes over and over again. He went from being a terrible and powerful dark lord who inspired fear and respect and whom even Dumbledore saw as the most dangerous enemy he had ever faced to a comedy sideshow who could never think or do anything right. He seemed to be destined to fail just so that Harry could win. After Deathly Hallows, it seemed sad that Voldemort was ever seen as a credible threat or thought as a genius for he died with a whisper.

[JohanT]

Originally Posted by SlytherinZolf20

I just want to give a quick recap of what I personally think about his character. To me, he actually became a wasted and devalued villian near the end of Deathly Hallows for his character was just made to be someone who would make stupid mistakes over and over again. He went from being a terrible and powerful dark lord who inspired fear and respect and whom even Dumbledore saw as the most dangerous enemy he had ever faced to a comedy sideshow who could never think or do anything right. He seemed to be destined to fail just so that Harry could win. After Deathly Hallows, it seemed sad that Voldemort was ever seen as a credible threat or thought as a genius for he died with a whisper.

Making mistakes does not mean a person lacks intelligence...
Voldemort understands things intellectually, but not emotionally.
Voldemort's downfall mirrors those of other dictators, namely Hitler. They started out as brilliant, powerfully dangerous men, but in the end, they appear unintelligent and silly. It is a side effect of absolute power that people become careless. They are not actually unintelligent, but they become too arrogant.
Voldemort is rather accurately portrayed in this case, and I do not think it in anyway brought down his villain status. He is one of the most realistic ones in my opinion.

I think people generally only see Voldemort's mistakes when they think of his character, but they never even consider his accomplishments. He took over the ministry in a silent coup, created a Taboo on his name to track down former Order members, tracked down the Elder wand, set up a trap for Harry in Godric's Hollow, and used propaganda to make Harry appear like a criminal in the public's eyes. Remember what Lupin said, that the wizarding population was now questioning whether or not they should support Harry. Voldemort caused so much doubt and fear that he basically destroyed a lot of morale that the wizarding world previously had. And this is all in Deathly Hallows of course.

[iphonegirl02]

Originally Posted by JohanT

I think people generally only see Voldemort's mistakes when they think of his character, but they never even consider his accomplishments. He took over the ministry in a silent coup, created a Taboo on his name to track down former Order members, tracked down the Elder wand, set up a trap for Harry in Godric's Hollow, and used propaganda to make Harry appear like a criminal in the public's eyes. Remember what Lupin said, that the wizarding population was now questioning whether or not they should support Harry. V

That's a very good point. I feel like Voldemort truly enjoyed showing off his intelligence and doing things in a more clever way, if that made any sense. Rather than just coming back to power in an obscure way with the blood of any "good" witch or wizard, he insisted on using Harry's blood. The ways in which he got the items for his horcruxes was also intelligent (cruel, but you have to admit that changing someone's memory to make them admit to the crime is pretty smart).
His ability to quietly take over the government and bring fear, rather than just shooting curses all over, makes him very sly and dangerous, in my opinion.

[SlytherinZolf20]

Yeah, but the thing is that Voldemort made mistakes that completley contradict the fact that he was shown to be a genius. That was the key thing in my opinion that made Tom Riddle such an accomplished young boy and allowed him to become the most dangerous dark wizard to have ever lived. His intelligence was what made him such a great foe for if he wasn't smart, he would have easily been beaten by Dumbledore. Unlike most dictators such as Hitler who was never particualry bright but had great generals like Rommel, Voldemort was only matched in intelligence by Dumbledore in my opinion. Therefore, all the things he did like taking over the ministry and going after Harry seem to be lessen in impact for he became way too foolish for someone of his intelligence. The fact that he was arrogant and cocky does not mean that he had to become so incompetence that he would try to kill Harry with the killing curse despite seeing that it never worked before and make silly mistakes. Just because you are evil doesn't mean that your IQ fall.

[JohanT]

Originally Posted by SlytherinZolf20

Yeah, but the thing is that Voldemort made mistakes that completley contradict the fact that he was shown to be a genius. That was the key thing in my opinion that made Tom Riddle such an accomplished young boy and allowed him to become the most dangerous dark wizard to have ever lived. His intelligence was what made him such a great foe for if he wasn't smart, he would have easily been beaten by Dumbledore. Unlike most dictators such as Hitler who was never particualry bright but had great generals like Rommel, Voldemort was only matched in intelligence by Dumbledore in my opinion. Therefore, all the things he did like taking over the ministry and going after Harry seem to be lessen in impact for he became way too foolish for someone of his intelligence. The fact that he was arrogant and cocky does not mean that he had to become so incompetence that he would try to kill Harry with the killing curse despite seeing that it never worked before and make silly mistakes. Just because you are evil doesn't mean that your IQ fall.

You have good points, but you have to keep in mind what absolute power does to the mind and body. He was not incompetent, but he was arrogant to a degree that is incomprehensible to some readers. The reasons for his arrogance are justified, but arrogance is the fatal flaw of many leaders. I don't believe Hitler was unintelligent, an unintelligent individual would never be able to accomplish what he did.

Evidently Voldemort's IQ didn't change, he was still a genius in many ways, but certain things go over his head. The reason is pure arrogance, and the fact that Voldemort is no longer human, so he does not think like a normal human. Power destroys people in ways that normal citizens will never be able to understand.

I know a lot of people think that Voldemort's final Avada Kedavra was so stupid, but look at the guy's emotional state. He listened to Harry, which was a smart thing to do because Voldemort wanted to know why Harry was still alive, but he didn't gain anything from it because Harry basically said that Voldemort was done for regardless of what actions he took. He could not harm any of the other Hogwarts fighters because of Harry's sacrifice, he could not harm Harry because of the elder wand... He must be freaking out.
And what do people do when they freak out? They do something in desperation, they are so emotionally broken at that point that they just do the first thing that comes to their minds...

Think of it that way. It was not stupidity, but a last, desperate attempt. He could not escape, and he pretty much didn't have a choice.

[SlytherinZolf20]

You make excellent points, but the thing that I would have like to see was that he would die in a manner like Luca Blight from Suikoden II who despite being corned and completely defeated still reinforced his evilness by mocking the heroes and showing just how insane and detached from reality he was. He was also arrogant beyond belief, but he showed that he was still a horrible monster that never felt anything and not some weak villian who looked goofy. In a way, Voldemort's death scene and change of character with his intelligence to me seem to be like Franz Bonaparta in Monster having a totally reverse of character from the evil and unreptent young man who had no qualm about poisoning people to death or forcing a mother to choose between her kids to the kind wise man at the end. Their characters changed in ways so that you felt some bizzare pity for them.

[JohanT]

Originally Posted by SlytherinZolf20

You make excellent points, but the thing that I would have like to see was that he would die in a manner like Luca Blight from Suikoden II who despite being corned and completely defeated still reinforced his evilness by mocking the heroes and showing just how insane and detached from reality he was. He was also arrogant beyond belief, but he showed that he was still a horrible monster that never felt anything and not some weak villian who looked goofy. In a way, Voldemort's death scene and change of character with his intelligence to me seem to be like Franz Bonaparta in Monster having a totally reverse of character from the evil and unreptent young man who had no qualm about poisoning people to death or forcing a mother to choose between her kids to the kind wise man at the end. Their characters changed in ways so that you felt some bizzare pity for them.

Ah you know Monster? My favorite story of all time! (Just look at my signature).
Back on topic, yes it would have been very nice to see Voldemort go out with a bang, but it's not realistic in the sense that Harry could never have beaten Voldemort. It was essential for Voldemort to destroy himself, because that is a key element of his character. He is a human who dehumanizes himself, and as a result, destroys his soul and the rest of his humanity. He is simply a shadow, he is both much more and much less than a human being. So when the spell backfired, it was symbolic because it was so mundane. Voldemort fears the ordinary, and he died in a very ordinary way. It was fitting for his personality.
You know, I would love to discuss Franz Bonaparta, but I don't know if this is the right thread... I don't want the moderators to get mad at me...

[SlytherinZolf20]

Yeah, you made very good points, I can see your prespective and how it all fits with Voldemort. In the end, I just felt like his death could have backed him his horrible reptuation as a monster. I do know Monster and Johan is one of my favorite villians along Dio Brando, Griffith, So Dakki, Sicks, Aji Tae and Zolf Kimblee from Fullmetal Alchemist.

[JohanT]

Originally Posted by SlytherinZolf20

Yeah, you made very good points, I can see your prespective and how it all fits with Voldemort. In the end, I just felt like his death could have backed him his horrible reptuation as a monster. I do know Monster and Johan is one of my favorite villians along Dio Brando, Griffith, So Dakki, Sicks, Aji Tae and Zolf Kimblee from Fullmetal Alchemist.

I don't know if it completely destroyed his status as a monster, though. I mean, he does seem very vulnerable at the end, but that's because he is once again mortal, which is his worst fear. Voldemort is still as evil as he was before, but now we're seeing the side that he hides, his vulnerability when it comes to death. I know, Johan is one of my favorite villains of all time too. He literally blew my mind away.

[SlytherinZolf20]

I wonder if there is a place here where we can discuss about Monster and Johan and Franz Bonaparta.

[JohanT]

I know, those two characters have more depth than most of the Harry Potter characters put together in my opinon.

[SlytherinZolf20]

Yes, they are very unique character whom have multiple depths and layers to their personality. It would be interesting to hear your take on whom was the real monster all along. Was it Johan, Franz, Johan's mother? Anyway, I will try to see if they have a place for us to discuss Monster. I hope you try as well. If I find it first or you do before me, we can tell it here and then go make the topic in another section. I just wish I knew how to create a new topic.