Chapter Ten: The House of Gaunt
In chapter ten of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry learns that Voldemort was one step away from the Hapsburg jaw, and I talk about Riddle vs. Voldemort.
(Please be advised that this is a reread and I will be discussing book and movie spoilers.)
Dumbledore and Harry discuss Dumby’s bad hand and the lessons Harry will be receiving and while this was super intriguing and mysterious on first read, on subsequent reads it’s exposition so I’m jumping to some complaining.
Everyone reading this blog….
I am as sick of nit-picking this book as you might be reading this, but in “The House of Gaunt” we get to one of my absolute biggest problems with Half-Blood Prince so I’ve got to whinge.
See, this might sound weird but I was really curious about Tom Riddle, the character, before this book was published. Voldemort? Not so much. But how this young, handsome charismatic orphan turned into Wizard Hitler was interesting to me. Riddle, from what we saw of him in book two, was clever and complicated. Good at turning people to his side and convincing others that he was good. Voldemort is a pasty snake men with red eyes that I have trouble understanding how he has so many followers when he’s so awful to them. I know they are technically the same character. However, I’ve always viewed this Voldemort as separate. He’s been out of his original body for thirteen years. It’s implied he used to look more human before his original “death.” And dark magic was used to bring him back. So how much does Voldemort, with only one small piece of his soul, resemble teenage Tom Riddle? So if you’d told me before I read this book that I’d get Riddle backstory I would’ve been thrilled. Until I started to read it.
Because this is some over the top Voldemort 2.0 esque shit, y’all. His mom is cross-eyed! His Uncle and Grandfather and mother are all wildly inbred and poor. His Uncle and Grandfather are dumb (Uncle more so then Grandfather) and crazy and prideful to an absurd degree. Basically if you read this chapter and banjos played in your head you aren’t alone. Morfin makes up a dumb rhyme from a Snake’s point of view in Parseltongue COME ON. If it had just been dialed down a smidge! From ultra cliched comic book supervillain origin to oh, say, the Muggle Riddle backstory, which I find far more intriguing.
Tom Riddle, Senior and his parents were asses, as we get proof of this chapter. But did Senior deserve to get brainwashed and raped? Because that’s what happens here. And it’s gross. Do I feel some sympathy for Merope, who clearly is abused and sad and alone? Of course. But my goodness does a traumatic childhood not excuse RAPE. I’m not sure why no one (talking Harry and Dumbles) feels sorry for Riddle senior. Yes he technically abandoned his son. But can we blame him, when he was conceived through mind control and again, rape? Does he even know Riddle Junior exists? Dumbledore thinks so but is there proof we are shown? No. Of course, Riddle Senior probably did know and he was an ass about it. But I can’t help but feel he’s the bigger victim here.
We do get some important information here when we see Slytherin’s locket (the Horcrux that will haunt us all in the second half of this book and the first half of the next) and Marvolo’s Peverell ring *coughHallowcough* but say it with me now, don’t worry, none of this will be included in the movie!
I wonder if anyone has seen the movies but not read the books. and is willing to give an opinion, because movie four on…how do they make sense? There are plot holes you can drive a Death Star through!
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Do you prefer Riddle, Voldemort, or find them to be identical characters?
What do you think of the Gaunt backstory?
Did you want more Riddle Senior backstory?
Is Merope a victim? Is Tom Riddle Senior? Or both?
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