Lord Voldemort is the main antagonist in the Harry Potter series, portrayed as the last practitioner of the Dark Arts, bent on dominating both magical and non-magical worlds. In the sixth book, readers learn about his troubled past and his quest for immortality. The books build towards a final conflict between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort, but the character is not one dimensional, with glimpses of a difficult past that build sympathy for the monster he has become.
Lord Voldemort is one of the main characters in the Harry Potter fantasy series, written by JK Rowling. He is considered by many readers to be the personification of evil and plays the role of nemesis of the protagonist of Harry Potter. The books are not terribly informative about who Lord Voldemort is, although his actions are well documented and discussed. The theme of good and evil that plays out in the books is resolved in a final battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort in the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
In the Harry Potter novels, Rowling creates a fantasy world where a magical community exists side by side with the real one. Most witches and wizards are thoughtful and law-abiding people, but others choose to pursue the “Dark Arts,” magic that is supposed to be harmful. The pursuit of the dark arts is frowned upon by most of the wizarding community. Lord Voldemort is portrayed as the last practitioner of the Dark Arts, bent on dominating both the magical and normal worlds. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, engaging in murder, torture and acts of greed to advance himself and his followers.
In the first five books of the series, the novels don’t convey much information about Lord Voldemort, who is referred to as “He Who Must Not Be Named” by wizards. The fact that Lord Voldemort is evil and that his name is an anagram of Tom Marvolo Riddle, his real name, is essentially all that readers know about him. In the sixth book, however, much more information is given about Lord Voldemort’s past. Harry Potter goes through a series of memories with his mentor and teacher, Albus Dumbledore, to learn more about Lord Voldemort in hopes of defeating him.
In memories, readers learn that Lord Voldemort is the son of a witch and a muggle, a member of the non-magical community. The witch is a member of a very old wizarding family that has fallen on hard times and falls in love with the muggle, eventually casting a spell on him. However, the muggle abandons her and she dies giving birth to Tom Marvolo Riddle, who is taken to an orphanage. It’s clear from the start that the child is troubled and strange, and this only becomes more evident when a much younger Dumbledore arrives to take Riddle to school.
Memories reveal important incidents from Lord Voldemort’s past that provide clues about his personality and actions. They make it clear that Lord Voldemort is on a quest for immortality and that he is a very private and independent person who only cares about himself. In his fight for immortality and domination, Lord Voldemort becomes less than human and slowly more evil. Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort first meet when Harry is a child and Lord Voldemort attempts to kill him, due to a prophecy suggesting that Harry may be the one to put an end to Lord Voldemort.
Though the books slowly build to a final conflict between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort, Harry’s nemesis is far from straightforward. Like other evil characters in the books, Lord Voldemort is not one dimensional. Readers are offered glimpses of a difficult past that build sympathy for the monster Lord Voldemort has become. This tactic is characteristic of Rowling’s books, which often provide deep perspective into otherwise relatively simple characters.
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