Where we learn all about Tom Riddle!
Apr. 11th, 2006 03:45 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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deathtocapslockOr do we?
– I understand that, in the year 2006, there are still people out there under the impression that the Harry Potter series are geared specifically for children. I invite these folks to read HPB – or, if they bought it and skimmed quickly to find out WHO KILLED DUMBLEDORE, to re-read it at a leisurely pace. Any whimsical notions of magical innocence will be chucked out the window once they've been introduced to the monster in Harry'strousers chest.
– Ah, the wee girl on the seventh floor, admiring a tapestry of trolls in tutus, who except for dropping a pair of scales neither moves nor speaks. (I suppose that tapestry is an "anvil-sized hint".) Under normal circumstances this might be seen as odd, and the Trio would be wise to question what the hell she's doing there, but...priorities! Ginny had a row with her man? Well, GOSH, that's important!
– Luna provides a refreshing break from the hormonal tedium – both for the reader and Ron, who is attempting to maneuver past the Scylla & Charybdis that are Hermione and Lavender. I found two things interesting about their interaction in this chapter: firstly, he compliments her on last chapter's Quidditch commentary (which I discussed here, if you scroll down a bit). If anyone knows how aggressive Ginny can be, it would be the brother closest in age to her; he seems genuinely impressed by how Luna managed to escape Zach Smith's fate!
Secondly, Ron willingly holds Luna's things while she delivers Dumbledore's message to Harry, and consequently accepts her gift of the Gurdyroot. All three items – the root, a toadstool (!!!) and cat litter (which is often made of clay) – are all things that come from the Earth. It's almost as if she's suggesting that Ron ground himself, not only because of his recent ordeal but also his current woman trouble. (I also like that she does this right in front of Hermione – roots have sexual connotations, both in their general shape and in the term "rooting about" as a euphemism for sex.) However, Hermione resumes doing the boys' schoolwork for them – and that's REALLY what matters to a man, ladies!
– Professor Trelawney is displeased at having to work with Firenze, and threatens to leave. Butonce you join La Cosa Nostra you cannot leave! the situation is hardly so simple; Dumbledore promised Firenze protection from the other Centaurs, and since Dumble's planned his entire game around Trelawney's prophecy he needs to keep her...close.
– Wow, what a passive-aggressive guilt trip Dumbles lays on Harry. I suppose it works to defuse Harry's aggressive tendencies – he'd have preferred if Dumbles had yelled at him (and frankly so would I – BRING IT, MICHAEL GAMBON!!!). ;)
– I quote this, because it's important. Please read and keep in mind (bold mine):
"Now you will remember, I hope, that I told you at the very outset of these meetings of ours that we would be entering the realms of guesswork and speculation?"
"Yes, sir."
"Thus far, as I hope you agree, I have shown you reasonably firm sources of fact for my deductions as to what Voldemort did until the age of 17?"
Harry nodded.
But now Harry," said Dumbledore, "now things become murkier and stranger..."
This means that despite the hype that HPB provides fresh information on Tom Riddle/Voldemort...it doesn't, really. Dumbledore tells Harry what he wants Harry to think; reasonably firm sources of fact are NOT the same as facts.
– Yet we still ascertain some things about Tom: he finished his schooling at Hogwarts with top grades, high honors and a special award. Several teachers – including Slughorn – suggested he join the Ministry but he chose not to, preferring to stay at Hogwarts and teach. He asked Dippet if there was a teaching position available. Under pressure from Dumbledore (Oh really? Fancy that!) Dippet refused, suggesting he come back when he's a bit older.
– Another quote from Dumbles: "I do think that he saw it as a useful recruiting ground, and a place where he might begin to build himself an army." NOT "I know", but "I do think". Perhaps Dumbledore is extrapolating from his own experience, since he certainly uses Hogwarts to indoctrinate young people to his way of thinking and...he's got an army, hasn't he? Not to mention an Order.
From an outside perspective, it looks like Dumbledore saw Tom as a younger, handsomer and somewhat emotionally unstable form of competition, and took measures to make things difficult for him. It's no surprise that Tom ended up at Borgin & Burkes – as an organization that doesn't discriminate between "Dark" & "Light" magic (much like Ollivander, perhaps? Where IS Burkes?) in the name of commerce, they were probably one of the few who didn't give a flying fuck what Dumbledore wanted. Tom was a handsome, charming fucker who knew how to get people to sell him their most valuable treasures – and this brought in business. Which brings us to Hepzibah Smith.
– Ah yes, Hepzibah! "...an immensely fat old lady wearing an elaborate ginger wig and a brilliant pink set of robes that flowed all around her, giving her the look of a melting iced cake." According to Harry, she looks "a long way from lovely", and she's in a room "so crammed with objects that it was difficult to see how anbody could navigate their way across it without knocking over at least a dozen things...In fact, the room looked like a cross between a magical antique shop and a conservatory." So not only is the lady FAT, but she HOARDS THINGS. Quite the positive, empowering statement, Rowling!
– Enter long-haired, gaunt-cheeked (couldn't resist, sorry!) Goth poster boy Tom Riddle, making Harry swoon just as hard as Hepzibah! The chest monster is silent here – as it was during Harry's obsession with Draco last chapter. Its responses seem to depend on Ginny's presence. While it's understandable that JKR may not care to promote The Homosexual Agenda – and I'm not suggesting she should! – it's surprising that a teenage fella full of hormones wouldn't have that monster busting out of hispants chest every time a girl walked past. Sorry – Ginny can't possibly be the only hottie at Hogwarts, JKR. I call Riddlemonster! ;)
– Tom was very businesslike, with a quiet voice and calm manner. Yet his "mechanical smile" is an interesting touch, coming after Hepzibah's concern that he's tired & overworked – NOT after her suggestion the he's "only here for my trinkets", which is where one might expect it.
– Hep (can I call her Hep?) was quite the geek; were she a Muggle she'd collect rare jazz on vinyl 78s, or archaeological bric-a-brac a la John Soane. (Considering how many people are avid collectors of Potter memorabilia, you'd think Rowling would be a bit kinder with Hep's characterization!) Collectors usually like to show off their stash, so it's not at all surprising that Hep wanted Tom to check out her cup and locket.
Tom might have been a bit of a geek himself – in order to be able to deal with B&B's clientele, he'd have to "speak their language" and understand the various types of value attached to the merchandise going in & out of the shop. Borgin & Burke's is no ordinary pawn shop – another reminder of how Hermone was so utterly out of her depth earlier when she walked in and tried to blag Borgin about the necklace.
– Again, Harry/the reader is blatantly told how to perceive Voldemort's reaction to the Smith & Gaunt Family Heirlooms. Harry thinks he sees "a red gleam in his dark eyes" when Tom holds the cup, and later definitely sees a "scarlet flash" when he hold the locket his mother sold so many years ago. But stepping away from yet another of Rowling's "anvil-sized hints", what's happening here? What did Hep actually say to Tom? I quote (bold mine):
"Burke bought it, apparently, from a ragged-looking woman who seemed to have stolen it, but had no idea of its true value..."
That's a pretty harsh thing to say about someone's dead mother. Granted, as far as we know Burke didn't make the connection between the desperate pregnant woman who sold him the locket and the brilliant employee who shows up for work twenty-odd years later. But if someone talked trash about MY mother – let alone accused her of being a thief! – my eyes would be flashing scarlet too! Why shouldn't Riddle be pissed off?
This doesn't excuse him for killing Hep, of course! (If indeed he did – we have no real proof either way.) We are aware after six books that Tom's not a stable person, and the fact that he quits B&B right after Hep's death doesn't look too good.
– Finally, Dumbledore shows Harry one of his ownfreshly concocted! memories, where Tom returns to Hogwarts to ask after the teaching position.
Now, this is where I step back and ask, WTF??? I'm supposed to believe this? Tom is trying to build himself up as LORD (Hush yo' mouth!) VOLDEMORT (And we can dig it!), he's already got Death Eaters buying him drinks, he's been all over the world studying various forms of DARK MAGIC. But I'm expected to fall for the idea that he's going to drop all his delusions of grandeur in order to...teach at Hogwarts?
Under Dumbledore?
RIGHT. I mean, check it:
"...nothing I have seen in the world has supported your famous pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore."
"Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places," suggested Dumbledore.
And who was supposed to teach Tom HOW and WHERE to search back when he was a student? Who was supposed to set a positive example? Dumbles set an example all right, what with the flaming wardrobe & all!
– This particular memory is really sneaky, because Dumbledore doesn't actually GET any information out of Tom. We do find out:
1) Tom already goes by the name of Voldemort.
2) Tom is starting to look pretty rough around the edges.
3) Tom has Death Eater friends waiting for him back at the bar.
4) Tom still wants to teach at Hogwarts.
Otherwise, nothing is given away: he comes in, asks for a teaching position, is refused, and leaves. Everything else is suggested by Dumbledore - even the idea that the DADA position is cursed!
– We know that every HP book gives us a new DADA teacher, but this memory doesn't tell us WHY. Tom doesn't specifically ask for that position (what if he really wanted Herbology? Oh, Neville!). But hey, let's go along with this. It's likely Tom DID hex the DADA position. Does that mean he really wanted that teaching gig? What if he was thinking more strategically? DADA is a crucial magical skill; if Hogwarts can't keep a DADA teacher, it can't keep up a consistent curriculum for the subject. This means the students don't learn the subject properly, and would be more vulnerable in later life to the effects of the Dark Arts.
To sum up, this chapter tells us very little about Tom Riddle's actual motivations – whether in acquiring the cup and locket, in desiring a teaching position, in working for Borgin & Burkes (and possibly killing one of their valuable clients), or in hexing the DADA postion. It's a fake-out – nothing is what it seems. I wonder if Dumbledore's insistence in assuming Tom works the same way he does contributed to his demise in HPB.
– I understand that, in the year 2006, there are still people out there under the impression that the Harry Potter series are geared specifically for children. I invite these folks to read HPB – or, if they bought it and skimmed quickly to find out WHO KILLED DUMBLEDORE, to re-read it at a leisurely pace. Any whimsical notions of magical innocence will be chucked out the window once they've been introduced to the monster in Harry's
– Ah, the wee girl on the seventh floor, admiring a tapestry of trolls in tutus, who except for dropping a pair of scales neither moves nor speaks. (I suppose that tapestry is an "anvil-sized hint".) Under normal circumstances this might be seen as odd, and the Trio would be wise to question what the hell she's doing there, but...priorities! Ginny had a row with her man? Well, GOSH, that's important!
– Luna provides a refreshing break from the hormonal tedium – both for the reader and Ron, who is attempting to maneuver past the Scylla & Charybdis that are Hermione and Lavender. I found two things interesting about their interaction in this chapter: firstly, he compliments her on last chapter's Quidditch commentary (which I discussed here, if you scroll down a bit). If anyone knows how aggressive Ginny can be, it would be the brother closest in age to her; he seems genuinely impressed by how Luna managed to escape Zach Smith's fate!
Secondly, Ron willingly holds Luna's things while she delivers Dumbledore's message to Harry, and consequently accepts her gift of the Gurdyroot. All three items – the root, a toadstool (!!!) and cat litter (which is often made of clay) – are all things that come from the Earth. It's almost as if she's suggesting that Ron ground himself, not only because of his recent ordeal but also his current woman trouble. (I also like that she does this right in front of Hermione – roots have sexual connotations, both in their general shape and in the term "rooting about" as a euphemism for sex.) However, Hermione resumes doing the boys' schoolwork for them – and that's REALLY what matters to a man, ladies!
– Professor Trelawney is displeased at having to work with Firenze, and threatens to leave. But
– Wow, what a passive-aggressive guilt trip Dumbles lays on Harry. I suppose it works to defuse Harry's aggressive tendencies – he'd have preferred if Dumbles had yelled at him (and frankly so would I – BRING IT, MICHAEL GAMBON!!!). ;)
– I quote this, because it's important. Please read and keep in mind (bold mine):
"Now you will remember, I hope, that I told you at the very outset of these meetings of ours that we would be entering the realms of guesswork and speculation?"
"Yes, sir."
"Thus far, as I hope you agree, I have shown you reasonably firm sources of fact for my deductions as to what Voldemort did until the age of 17?"
Harry nodded.
But now Harry," said Dumbledore, "now things become murkier and stranger..."
This means that despite the hype that HPB provides fresh information on Tom Riddle/Voldemort...it doesn't, really. Dumbledore tells Harry what he wants Harry to think; reasonably firm sources of fact are NOT the same as facts.
– Yet we still ascertain some things about Tom: he finished his schooling at Hogwarts with top grades, high honors and a special award. Several teachers – including Slughorn – suggested he join the Ministry but he chose not to, preferring to stay at Hogwarts and teach. He asked Dippet if there was a teaching position available. Under pressure from Dumbledore (Oh really? Fancy that!) Dippet refused, suggesting he come back when he's a bit older.
– Another quote from Dumbles: "I do think that he saw it as a useful recruiting ground, and a place where he might begin to build himself an army." NOT "I know", but "I do think". Perhaps Dumbledore is extrapolating from his own experience, since he certainly uses Hogwarts to indoctrinate young people to his way of thinking and...he's got an army, hasn't he? Not to mention an Order.
From an outside perspective, it looks like Dumbledore saw Tom as a younger, handsomer and somewhat emotionally unstable form of competition, and took measures to make things difficult for him. It's no surprise that Tom ended up at Borgin & Burkes – as an organization that doesn't discriminate between "Dark" & "Light" magic (much like Ollivander, perhaps? Where IS Burkes?) in the name of commerce, they were probably one of the few who didn't give a flying fuck what Dumbledore wanted. Tom was a handsome, charming fucker who knew how to get people to sell him their most valuable treasures – and this brought in business. Which brings us to Hepzibah Smith.
– Ah yes, Hepzibah! "...an immensely fat old lady wearing an elaborate ginger wig and a brilliant pink set of robes that flowed all around her, giving her the look of a melting iced cake." According to Harry, she looks "a long way from lovely", and she's in a room "so crammed with objects that it was difficult to see how anbody could navigate their way across it without knocking over at least a dozen things...In fact, the room looked like a cross between a magical antique shop and a conservatory." So not only is the lady FAT, but she HOARDS THINGS. Quite the positive, empowering statement, Rowling!
– Enter long-haired, gaunt-cheeked (couldn't resist, sorry!) Goth poster boy Tom Riddle, making Harry swoon just as hard as Hepzibah! The chest monster is silent here – as it was during Harry's obsession with Draco last chapter. Its responses seem to depend on Ginny's presence. While it's understandable that JKR may not care to promote The Homosexual Agenda – and I'm not suggesting she should! – it's surprising that a teenage fella full of hormones wouldn't have that monster busting out of his
– Tom was very businesslike, with a quiet voice and calm manner. Yet his "mechanical smile" is an interesting touch, coming after Hepzibah's concern that he's tired & overworked – NOT after her suggestion the he's "only here for my trinkets", which is where one might expect it.
– Hep (can I call her Hep?) was quite the geek; were she a Muggle she'd collect rare jazz on vinyl 78s, or archaeological bric-a-brac a la John Soane. (Considering how many people are avid collectors of Potter memorabilia, you'd think Rowling would be a bit kinder with Hep's characterization!) Collectors usually like to show off their stash, so it's not at all surprising that Hep wanted Tom to check out her cup and locket.
Tom might have been a bit of a geek himself – in order to be able to deal with B&B's clientele, he'd have to "speak their language" and understand the various types of value attached to the merchandise going in & out of the shop. Borgin & Burke's is no ordinary pawn shop – another reminder of how Hermone was so utterly out of her depth earlier when she walked in and tried to blag Borgin about the necklace.
– Again, Harry/the reader is blatantly told how to perceive Voldemort's reaction to the Smith & Gaunt Family Heirlooms. Harry thinks he sees "a red gleam in his dark eyes" when Tom holds the cup, and later definitely sees a "scarlet flash" when he hold the locket his mother sold so many years ago. But stepping away from yet another of Rowling's "anvil-sized hints", what's happening here? What did Hep actually say to Tom? I quote (bold mine):
"Burke bought it, apparently, from a ragged-looking woman who seemed to have stolen it, but had no idea of its true value..."
That's a pretty harsh thing to say about someone's dead mother. Granted, as far as we know Burke didn't make the connection between the desperate pregnant woman who sold him the locket and the brilliant employee who shows up for work twenty-odd years later. But if someone talked trash about MY mother – let alone accused her of being a thief! – my eyes would be flashing scarlet too! Why shouldn't Riddle be pissed off?
This doesn't excuse him for killing Hep, of course! (If indeed he did – we have no real proof either way.) We are aware after six books that Tom's not a stable person, and the fact that he quits B&B right after Hep's death doesn't look too good.
– Finally, Dumbledore shows Harry one of his own
Now, this is where I step back and ask, WTF??? I'm supposed to believe this? Tom is trying to build himself up as LORD (Hush yo' mouth!) VOLDEMORT (And we can dig it!), he's already got Death Eaters buying him drinks, he's been all over the world studying various forms of DARK MAGIC. But I'm expected to fall for the idea that he's going to drop all his delusions of grandeur in order to...teach at Hogwarts?
Under Dumbledore?
RIGHT. I mean, check it:
"...nothing I have seen in the world has supported your famous pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore."
"Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places," suggested Dumbledore.
And who was supposed to teach Tom HOW and WHERE to search back when he was a student? Who was supposed to set a positive example? Dumbles set an example all right, what with the flaming wardrobe & all!
– This particular memory is really sneaky, because Dumbledore doesn't actually GET any information out of Tom. We do find out:
1) Tom already goes by the name of Voldemort.
2) Tom is starting to look pretty rough around the edges.
3) Tom has Death Eater friends waiting for him back at the bar.
4) Tom still wants to teach at Hogwarts.
Otherwise, nothing is given away: he comes in, asks for a teaching position, is refused, and leaves. Everything else is suggested by Dumbledore - even the idea that the DADA position is cursed!
– We know that every HP book gives us a new DADA teacher, but this memory doesn't tell us WHY. Tom doesn't specifically ask for that position (what if he really wanted Herbology? Oh, Neville!). But hey, let's go along with this. It's likely Tom DID hex the DADA position. Does that mean he really wanted that teaching gig? What if he was thinking more strategically? DADA is a crucial magical skill; if Hogwarts can't keep a DADA teacher, it can't keep up a consistent curriculum for the subject. This means the students don't learn the subject properly, and would be more vulnerable in later life to the effects of the Dark Arts.
To sum up, this chapter tells us very little about Tom Riddle's actual motivations – whether in acquiring the cup and locket, in desiring a teaching position, in working for Borgin & Burkes (and possibly killing one of their valuable clients), or in hexing the DADA postion. It's a fake-out – nothing is what it seems. I wonder if Dumbledore's insistence in assuming Tom works the same way he does contributed to his demise in HPB.
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Date: 2006-04-11 08:24 pm (UTC)I really was disapointed with the portrayals of both Tom and Dumbledore in the most recent book, and you've really been pointing out the stuff that's bothered me.
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Date: 2006-04-11 08:57 pm (UTC)I really was disapointed with the portrayals of both Tom and Dumbledore in the most recent book
I felt the same way – Here I am looking forward to finding out what's up with Tom, and...I got more assumptions and double talk than anything else. :( So here I am, trying to pick through it all and find some information of value.