Well - it was pretty clear to me that Riddle (the child) *was* brain damaged, and that this was not his fault. Lack of love will do that to a child. the reason Harry is better off than young Tom socially/morally is precisely that he was able to bond with loving parents for the first 15 months of his life. Tom never bonded with *anyone*, and that is exactly what caused the damage.
The red hen has some further ideas on exactly how the wizarding world creates its own monsters. I think it might be the essay I was steered to above - "Riddle me this". It's worth a look.
But I think we agree that Rowling's sending a muddled message in the way she presents this child, and that Dumbledore's neglect arguably damaged him.
(just because I'm something of a medievalist - the original meaning of "monster" is the one that might, at a stretch, apply to Mozart. But I think it became perjorative very rapidly, so it already had negative connotations in the Middle Ages. I'd really need to look up the etymology, though, to be sure I knew what I was talking about!)
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Date: 2006-12-13 04:34 am (UTC)The red hen has some further ideas on exactly how the wizarding world creates its own monsters. I think it might be the essay I was steered to above - "Riddle me this". It's worth a look.
But I think we agree that Rowling's sending a muddled message in the way she presents this child, and that Dumbledore's neglect arguably damaged him.
(just because I'm something of a medievalist - the original meaning of "monster" is the one that might, at a stretch, apply to Mozart. But I think it became perjorative very rapidly, so it already had negative connotations in the Middle Ages. I'd really need to look up the etymology, though, to be sure I knew what I was talking about!)