For those of you who have no idea who Voldemort is, he is the evil villain in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. Even people who know of Harry Potter, and have never read any of the novels, know who Voldemort is. Although, a lot of people don't know Voldemort; they just know of him. I, personally, am in love with Voldemort's character, and after looking at who he is in greater detail, I have found his role in the novels to be entirely fascinating.
A lot of people who have read the Harry Potter novels despise Voldemort because he is so evil, but I love how in depth Rowling went to make him as evil as he is. To start off with, Voldemort wasn't always Voldemort. He used to be known as Tom Riddle. Riddle's mother was a witch who came from a poor family, and she found a man named Tom Riddle to be extremely handsome. Voldemort's mother, Merope, made a love potion so that Tom Riddle would drink it and be infatuated with her. They ended up moving away together and Merope became pregnant with Riddle's son who would later be named Tom Riddle Jr. Merope eventually stopped feeding Riddle Sr. the potion, and he was frightened by Merope, so he ran away while she was pregnant. During childbirth, Merope had passed away.
The abandonment of Voldemort's father, growing up without a mother, and living in an orphanage, caused Riddle to become distant from everyone else. As Tome Riddle grew up, he had become manipulative, charming, and cunning. He never wanted any friends, he was never in love with anyone, and he was perfectly fine with being alone. As time grew on, Riddle was becoming who he would later be known as Lord Voldemort.
Voldemort wanted to become an all powerful wizard, so he tore his soul apart in 8 pieces which would lead him to be inhuman. Voldemort lacks love, forgiveness, and remorse. He committed many crimes, and murdered many people. Voldemort never had any close friends, only people who followed him. Voldemort never had a spouse and family.
When Harry was competing his final battle with Lord Voldemort, he told Voldemort that he can be a man again. Harry told Voldemort he can feel remorse and guilt for all he has done, and live once again as a man. This did not register in Voldemort's mind, and he attempted to kill Harry anyways.
The meaning behind the soul in the novels is quite deep. The fact that a person who grew up without any parents had become so distant from society that he was willing to tear apart his soul, his entire identity, into 8 parts in order to become an entirely different person. Not only did his personality change, but so did his structure. Voldemort changed physically, but never changed mentally. He still stood being as wicked as he was, and was unable to even feel any sort of guilt for all he had done.
Most stories you read with a villain, the antagonist is just evil because he chooses to be, or because he or she too was abandoned as a child. But in Harry Potter, it is so much more than that. Voldemort is vicious because he tore apart his soul. He even changed his name.
I am so fascinated with Voldemort because his character is so deep. Rowling went above and beyond at giving each character in her novels their own personalities that are far beyond just a description--she includes their history as well. Voldemort may be an immoral character that one should loath in the Harry Potter novels, but I think that without knowing his background, and without Voldemort being who he is, the novels would not be nearly as well written, and as captivating as they are.
