Michał: Whew … I have to admit that Dumbledore’s defense was not easy – you used really solid counter-arguments! But while we’re talking about Albus, we should also touch on someone who is the complete opposite of him. Well, Sami-Wiecie-Who is undoubtedly one of the – paradoxically – the highlights of the series, a character against whom, I think, one can confidently use the statement that he remains to this day one of the most expressive antagonists in the entire pop culture. Well, what kind of antagonist do you think Lord Voldemort is? In the world of Harry Potter himself, did he really deserve to be called the greatest wizard in history? And how does he compare with another legendary wizard, Dumbledore’s former friend, Gellert Grindelwald?
Eliza: Absolutely – it’s very expressive. It’s probably because he’s absolutely bad – we won’t find anything good in his character. This is one of the few characters in Harry Potter that is completely zero. Even the Malfoys will eventually find some scruples; and Voldemort had been cruel since he was a child, and never showed a hint of kindness. It combines the strongest features of typical villains – evil, the desire for power and power, the satisfaction of oppressing the weaker, ignorance of love, great intelligence and charisma. Today, the word “Voldemort” in popular culture has the same meaning as “incarnate devil”! Contrary to appearances, however, he is not the complete opposite of Dumbledore, whose character had many “shades of gray”.
Krzysztof: I agree that Voldemort is actually a completely evil character. However, in my opinion, this is not a plus. One-dimensional heroes are simply not interesting, and Voldemort himself seems a bit detached from the rest of the characters – he is almost an exaggerated, fairy-tale monster, designed to scare naughty children. This creation fits more “mythological” works – such Tolkien’s Sauron works well, because all characters are clearly good or bad there. Here, however, we have many human weaknesses, contradictions and heroes with problems, and at the same time, a cruel, irredeemable magic Hitler is on to all of them somewhere.
Rowling was probably trying to save this situation eventually. She presented us with scenes from the youth of Tom Marvol Riddle, full of sadness, alienation and abandonment, at the same time showing us – perhaps even inborn – the boy’s tendencies to sadism and calculation. She also informed us that the process of creating horcruxes “tears the soul apart” and completely literally dehumanizes their creator, turning him into a monster. So I appreciate this attempt of a kind of damage control , but still I would prefer an antagonist with a slightly more human face (no, this is not a joke about the lack of a nose, shame on you!) And understandable motivations.
Mateusz: Voldemort was a great boogeyman for young readers. He played the role of a scarecrow for children, an urban legend and the main motivator for Potter. However, with subsequent books, we do not see the development of this character, because even the aforementioned Hitler had his own broader plans and ideologies. In this case, we are only watching a powerful “evil”, which ultimately cannot cope even with Harry (let’s face it, a high level of skill was not needed here).
Grindelwald is definitely a more interesting character. Dumbledore once said of him that he did things that Voldemort never dreamed of. I see in him a magic version of Magneto, a hero fighting for equality, and even the superiority of his race / wizards over others. He also had extraordinary charisma, leadership skills and the ability to hit (theoretically) the commoners, and above all, he attracted crowds. He did not do it, as Voldemort did, causing fear, but playing on the needs and weaknesses of others.
Krzysztof: Oh, I called you with a mustache because Rowling was strongly inspired by the rule of this individual, for example when creating the vision of the Death Eater’s state in the last volume. And the foundations of their “ideology” are also similar – we hold everyone from their origins accountable, at the top only pureblood wizards, whoever does not support them ends up in propaganda as a public enemy, etc. a different world order, just a conglomerate of what historically we consider the worst and most criminal.
