There is very little doubt in my mind that Riddle is getting the short-end of the stick here in terms of choices. Yes, he is a monster in your definition of the word. I was going more for the ye olde type definition of something horrible, inhuman, and a figure more for nightmares than any sort of positive inspiration.
But then, I think one could just as easily call Riddle and Mozart and such freaks of nature. Though I don't think Mozart could go either way and I doubt he'd much appreciate being called a monster, Riddle, if given the choices Rowling rambles on about through Dumbledore, could have gone either way; good or bad.
In order for him to go anywhere, choices for him would have to be made. One can't just let that sort of brilliance go to rot. But as a child, he'd have very little options left to him. He could run away but that's not helpful. He could be placed into a different home with a loving foster family but that's not his decision to make. His life was left into other people's hands and, during that time, he developed into a very angry and scared little boy.
Personally, I tend to wonder who the real monster would be. Would it really be Riddle as you call it, or would it be the person who helped him to become what he is? The ones who encouraged his behavior, the ones who helped endorse him, the ones who purposely overlooked him, or the ones who lashed out at him as Dumbledore did. Or were they just simple mistakes?
It takes a lot of work to create and foster a true monster. I think Rowling's wizarding world managed very nicely. But then, I also think the Muggles deserve a bit of blame. However, we still don't have all the answers as to how Riddle turned out as he did. We don't know what happened.
And it could even be something so simple as suffering a head injury that was left untreated while he wasn't looked over. Something that culminated in brain damage that wasn't so obvious as to leave him drooling and screwed up, but small enough to go under the radar while damaging the still-growing sections of his brain that control primal impulses and emotions. And if that's what happened, then he really didn't have any sort of choice whatsoever.
I suppose that is the real tragedy of Riddle/Voldemort.
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Date: 2006-12-13 04:17 am (UTC)But then, I think one could just as easily call Riddle and Mozart and such freaks of nature. Though I don't think Mozart could go either way and I doubt he'd much appreciate being called a monster, Riddle, if given the choices Rowling rambles on about through Dumbledore, could have gone either way; good or bad.
In order for him to go anywhere, choices for him would have to be made. One can't just let that sort of brilliance go to rot. But as a child, he'd have very little options left to him. He could run away but that's not helpful. He could be placed into a different home with a loving foster family but that's not his decision to make. His life was left into other people's hands and, during that time, he developed into a very angry and scared little boy.
Personally, I tend to wonder who the real monster would be. Would it really be Riddle as you call it, or would it be the person who helped him to become what he is? The ones who encouraged his behavior, the ones who helped endorse him, the ones who purposely overlooked him, or the ones who lashed out at him as Dumbledore did. Or were they just simple mistakes?
It takes a lot of work to create and foster a true monster. I think Rowling's wizarding world managed very nicely. But then, I also think the Muggles deserve a bit of blame. However, we still don't have all the answers as to how Riddle turned out as he did. We don't know what happened.
And it could even be something so simple as suffering a head injury that was left untreated while he wasn't looked over. Something that culminated in brain damage that wasn't so obvious as to leave him drooling and screwed up, but small enough to go under the radar while damaging the still-growing sections of his brain that control primal impulses and emotions. And if that's what happened, then he really didn't have any sort of choice whatsoever.
I suppose that is the real tragedy of Riddle/Voldemort.