Quirrell’s tale of “I played a hero, but it didn’t get me political power” doesn’t hold up. The “lonely superhero” is just as much a mere storytelling convention as the “zero-casualties superhero”. Either Quirrell is leaving something out, or the author is ignoring real-world politics for storytelling convenience.
In real life, successfully fighting societally recognized enemies gets you all kinds of political opportunity. Look at American Presidents Eisenhower, Grant, Taylor, Jackson, Harrison, and Washington. This is true in nondemocracies too: consider the Duke of Wellington, the Duke of Marlborough, or Sir Francis Drake.
What gets you loneliness and isolation is being a pioneer.
In real life, heroes go unrewarded exactly and only when their enemies aren’t yet regarded as enemies by the rest of society.
The socially isolating thing isn’t fighting Nazis when you’re an American, it’s fighting Nazis when you’re a German. Being a reformer is isolating.
“The lonely superhero” is just as much a mere literary convention as “the zero-casualties superhero”.
Of course, “the lonely superhero” reflects an underlying truth. The real bravery we could use more of from people is the bravery to give up status.
So the deeds we see Batman and Superman perform are mere stand-ins for socially brave deeds that make less good stories but matter far more: the scientist defending an unpopular hypothesis, the leader admitting to his followers he doesn’t have an answer, the skilled and intelligent person who chooses to work on something that matters instead of something that makes the most money. Those are the real heroes we need, and they really are lonely.
So just as “the zero-casualties superhero” is a literary figure for “we need people who’ll take risks for others”, the “the lonely superhero” is a literary figure for “we need people who are willing to be mocked for doing what’s right”.
But within the context of the story, Quirrell’s “I fought the villain but got no respect” is nonsense. Humans don’t work that way. We have to assume Quirrell is leaving something out.
Did Dumbledore see through him and undermine him politically at every turn?
Alternatively, perhaps Quirrellmort is as bad at mass politics as he is good at individual violence? There’s evidence he’s got no clue how to handle ‘inspiration’ as a motive, though he gets ‘greed’ and ‘fear’ just fine.
Good points, but reading carefully, it seems Riddle’s hero persona wasn’t a pure “lonely hero.” Rather:
There was a man who was hailed as a savior. The destined scion, such a one as anyone would recognize from tales, wielding justice and vengeance like twin wands against his dreadful nemesis.
Also:
Several times he led forces against the Death Eaters, fighting with skillful tactics and extraordinary power. People began to speak of him as the next Dumbledore, it was thought that he might become Minister of Magic after the Dark Lord fell.
However:
It was as if they tried to do everything they could to make his life unpleasant… I was shocked how they seemed content to step back, and leave to that man all burdens of responsibility. They sneered at his performance, remarking among themselves how they would do better in his place, though they did not condescend to step forward.
In particular, Quirrell’s Yule speech reminded Bones of one or more speeches hero-Riddle apparently gave, which she describes as “castigating the previous generation for their disunity against the Death Eaters.”
So taken together, it seems hero-Riddle was widely liked, and could have been the next Minister of Magic had he so chose. However, Riddle was upset about the fact that other people did not unite behind him strongly enough, did not take enough responsibility, and said mean things about him. (Note Riddle’s decision making process based on what he enjoys doing most.)
He may have also worked himself into the awkward situation where, though he intended “Voldemort” to lose the war, it wasn’t quite clear how that was going to happen because Voldemort’s followers were more united.
In real life, successfully fighting societally recognized enemies gets you all kinds of political opportunity.
Well, yeah, it got Quirrel’s “hero” political opportunity too. He was invited back to the fold of the Most Ancient House, and after the death of everyone else there, he would have wielded the vote in the Wizengamot. But they didn’t sufficiently obey him as leader.
Look at American Presidents Eisenhower, Grant, Taylor, Jackson, Harrison, and Washington.
Alcibiades was accused and recalled by the Atheneans while on the expedition he had been advocating.
Pausanias (victor of Plataies) and Miltiades (victor of Marathon) barely lasted a year after their famous victories, before getting accused of treason.
But within the context of the story, Quirrell’s “I fought the villain but got no respect” is nonsense. Humans don’t work that way
Knowing something of Ancient Greek history, and how they tended to treat all their most successful generals, it seemed very believable to me.
Successful generals are threats. You also see this in Byzantine history (inspiring a similar situation in Asimov’s Foundation universe), and Chinese history too: a successful general like Belisarius becomes a threat to the throne and may be sabotaged in various ways. Belisarius was lucky: all his emperor did was short-change him and set him impossible missions. Chinese generals might just see themselves executed.
In real life, successfully fighting societally recognized enemies gets you all kinds of political opportunity. Look at American Presidents Eisenhower, Grant, Taylor, Jackson, Harrison, and Washington. This is true in nondemocracies too: consider the Duke of Wellington, the Duke of Marlborough, or Sir Francis Drake.
Depends on the situation. A good Samaritan who stopped the kidnapping of the president’s daughter because he was in the right place at the right time will get some fame but probably won’t be able to leverage that incident into a political career.
I’m assuming the ‘past-Quirrell’ that Quirrell tells Hermoine about in Chapter 84 is the ‘young man’ that Amelia Bones believes is now Quirrell. (Is this reasonable?)
If that’s the case, then one way of understanding the situation is this: Riddle assumed two personas—Voldemort and Light Riddle—in order to experiment with different ways of acquiring power. He found that the Voldemort-path was much more preferable on account of the loyalty he could obtain via the Dark Mark. The Dark Mark was so effective that the loyalty he earned as Light Riddle seemed negligible by comparison; thus he complains that he got no help from his ‘allies’.
So Riddle retired his Light persona by faking his own death and continued only as Voldemort. Now that he sees Harry as a potential puppet, he wants to ensure that he/Harry have loyalty comparable to that secured with a Dark Mark. He therefore calls for a ‘Light Mark’ in his speech before Christmas.
EDIT: Of course ‘Light Riddle’ (if he existed) and Voldemort would have looked different; Minerva remembers Voldemort as snake-like. If the above is right, then Voldemort’s disfiguration would have to be a disguise rather than real damage from Dark Rituals.
He found that the Voldemort-path was much more preferable on account of the loyalty he could obtain via the Dark Mark. The Dark Mark was so effective that the loyalty he earned as Light Riddle seemed negligible by comparison; thus he complains that he got no help from his ‘allies’.
Amelia claims that Quirrell’s Yule speech calling for a Mark of Britain / Light Mark “struck her as familiar”, and was one of the clues that brought to mind the vanished Noble Hero.
If the above is right, then Voldemort’s disfiguration would have to be a disguise rather than real damage from Dark Rituals.
Or he could have been possessing the actual body of his former classmate.
It always seemed to me that ‘light Riddle’ was not Riddle, but Quirrell before he was possessed by Voldemort. Remember that he visited a dojo and learned to fight, Later Voldemort attempted to do the same and failed. There would be little point in coming back to learn again if he was the same person.
Quirrell’s tale of “I played a hero, but it didn’t get me political power” doesn’t hold up. The “lonely superhero” is just as much a mere storytelling convention as the “zero-casualties superhero”. Either Quirrell is leaving something out, or the author is ignoring real-world politics for storytelling convenience.
In real life, successfully fighting societally recognized enemies gets you all kinds of political opportunity. Look at American Presidents Eisenhower, Grant, Taylor, Jackson, Harrison, and Washington. This is true in nondemocracies too: consider the Duke of Wellington, the Duke of Marlborough, or Sir Francis Drake.
What gets you loneliness and isolation is being a pioneer.
In real life, heroes go unrewarded exactly and only when their enemies aren’t yet regarded as enemies by the rest of society.
The socially isolating thing isn’t fighting Nazis when you’re an American, it’s fighting Nazis when you’re a German. Being a reformer is isolating.
“The lonely superhero” is just as much a mere literary convention as “the zero-casualties superhero”.
Of course, “the lonely superhero” reflects an underlying truth. The real bravery we could use more of from people is the bravery to give up status.
So the deeds we see Batman and Superman perform are mere stand-ins for socially brave deeds that make less good stories but matter far more: the scientist defending an unpopular hypothesis, the leader admitting to his followers he doesn’t have an answer, the skilled and intelligent person who chooses to work on something that matters instead of something that makes the most money. Those are the real heroes we need, and they really are lonely.
So just as “the zero-casualties superhero” is a literary figure for “we need people who’ll take risks for others”, the “the lonely superhero” is a literary figure for “we need people who are willing to be mocked for doing what’s right”.
But within the context of the story, Quirrell’s “I fought the villain but got no respect” is nonsense. Humans don’t work that way. We have to assume Quirrell is leaving something out.
Did Dumbledore see through him and undermine him politically at every turn?
Alternatively, perhaps Quirrellmort is as bad at mass politics as he is good at individual violence? There’s evidence he’s got no clue how to handle ‘inspiration’ as a motive, though he gets ‘greed’ and ‘fear’ just fine.
Good points, but reading carefully, it seems Riddle’s hero persona wasn’t a pure “lonely hero.” Rather:
Also:
However:
In particular, Quirrell’s Yule speech reminded Bones of one or more speeches hero-Riddle apparently gave, which she describes as “castigating the previous generation for their disunity against the Death Eaters.”
So taken together, it seems hero-Riddle was widely liked, and could have been the next Minister of Magic had he so chose. However, Riddle was upset about the fact that other people did not unite behind him strongly enough, did not take enough responsibility, and said mean things about him. (Note Riddle’s decision making process based on what he enjoys doing most.)
He may have also worked himself into the awkward situation where, though he intended “Voldemort” to lose the war, it wasn’t quite clear how that was going to happen because Voldemort’s followers were more united.
Well, yeah, it got Quirrel’s “hero” political opportunity too. He was invited back to the fold of the Most Ancient House, and after the death of everyone else there, he would have wielded the vote in the Wizengamot. But they didn’t sufficiently obey him as leader.
Alcibiades was accused and recalled by the Atheneans while on the expedition he had been advocating. Pausanias (victor of Plataies) and Miltiades (victor of Marathon) barely lasted a year after their famous victories, before getting accused of treason.
Knowing something of Ancient Greek history, and how they tended to treat all their most successful generals, it seemed very believable to me.
Successful generals are threats. You also see this in Byzantine history (inspiring a similar situation in Asimov’s Foundation universe), and Chinese history too: a successful general like Belisarius becomes a threat to the throne and may be sabotaged in various ways. Belisarius was lucky: all his emperor did was short-change him and set him impossible missions. Chinese generals might just see themselves executed.
Depends on the situation. A good Samaritan who stopped the kidnapping of the president’s daughter because he was in the right place at the right time will get some fame but probably won’t be able to leverage that incident into a political career.
I’m assuming the ‘past-Quirrell’ that Quirrell tells Hermoine about in Chapter 84 is the ‘young man’ that Amelia Bones believes is now Quirrell. (Is this reasonable?)
If that’s the case, then one way of understanding the situation is this: Riddle assumed two personas—Voldemort and Light Riddle—in order to experiment with different ways of acquiring power. He found that the Voldemort-path was much more preferable on account of the loyalty he could obtain via the Dark Mark. The Dark Mark was so effective that the loyalty he earned as Light Riddle seemed negligible by comparison; thus he complains that he got no help from his ‘allies’.
So Riddle retired his Light persona by faking his own death and continued only as Voldemort. Now that he sees Harry as a potential puppet, he wants to ensure that he/Harry have loyalty comparable to that secured with a Dark Mark. He therefore calls for a ‘Light Mark’ in his speech before Christmas.
EDIT: Of course ‘Light Riddle’ (if he existed) and Voldemort would have looked different; Minerva remembers Voldemort as snake-like. If the above is right, then Voldemort’s disfiguration would have to be a disguise rather than real damage from Dark Rituals.
It’s certainly what I immediately assumed.
Not actually Riddle, but yeah.
Amelia claims that Quirrell’s Yule speech calling for a Mark of Britain / Light Mark “struck her as familiar”, and was one of the clues that brought to mind the vanished Noble Hero.
Or he could have been possessing the actual body of his former classmate.
It always seemed to me that ‘light Riddle’ was not Riddle, but Quirrell before he was possessed by Voldemort. Remember that he visited a dojo and learned to fight, Later Voldemort attempted to do the same and failed. There would be little point in coming back to learn again if he was the same person.
Unless he just wanted to play the part of the angry Dark Lord, and get people to treat him as such, to his own advantage.