Quirrel as a metaphor

[Hermione]

Perhaps Quirrel having Lord Volemort in the back of his head is sort of a metaphor for addiction. Think about it, a person who is addicted to something had that evil in their head, they don't always act on their own will. And ultimatly, they must either banish the evil or it will consume and kill them.

[Alz]

Interesting thoughts - I like it!

In Quirrell's case it seemed like he was a gibbering wreck a lot of the time - like he was some lacking real self esteem and confidence ...
Perhaps the possession by Voldemort did him a favour as he at least got to share what it was like to be powerful and in control - to the point of meglomania - this is a direct contrast to what we saw of Quirrell ...

He did seem jumpy and uptight - he has a terrible stammer that is a sign of someone lacking self confidence - well not always but you know what I mean I hope! - he just seemed like someone who was really self lacking in confidence

[Hermione]

I imagine being possesed like Voldemort being a lot like having an addiction. To have that other self, that other voice in your head, telling you to do things and having little or no power over it, the two sound so similar.

Now I am thinking of Quirrel more as a victim and feeling very sorry for him.

[Tinkerbell]

I imagine being possesed like Voldemort being a lot like having an addiction. To have that other self, that other voice in your head, telling you to do things and having little or no power over it, the two sound so similar.


Yeh, a lot of people who end up with some form of addiction, whether this is alcohol, drugs, gambling or whatever, have issues regarding self esteem, self worth, etc, and tend to be drawn into these addictions by others who are much stronger than they are and whom they wish they were like. These usually leads to an ever decreasing circle of decline, unless they show a real strength of character that allows them to pull themselves out, or someone else pulls them out - neither of which Quirrel had!

[Kingsley]

I like this--it makes sense
Lets not forget that also people with this addiction keep it hidden from most of the people who care--and when you initially offer them help, they turn on you

This could go in hand with him keeping the possession hidden from Dumbledore and the teachers and in the end, lashing against Harry and being prepared to kill him

[Alz]

You cant help but feel thou that for the few split seconds it gave value to his life - he was acting in a manner he never would have - he was being the contra of himself and I wonder if he didnt at least die with a little satisfaction that Quirrell got to be the big man for just that small amount of time ...

[Tinkerbell]

You cant help but feel thou that for the few split seconds it gave value to his life - he was acting in a manner he never would have - he was being the contra of himself and I wonder if he didnt at least die with a little satisfaction that Quirrell got to be the big man for just that small amount of time ...

Umm. fair point. I know people, particularly young and vulnerable people who believe that if they are useless and deserve to be ill/put in prison, etc, because they have no self worth and that the only kudos they get is from doing things for others (usually illegal) they gives them some sort of feeling of importance.

Quirrel was, basically, a complete woosiepants, and had it not been for the fact he had Voldemort in the back of his head, no-one would have given him a second glance.

[Alz]

I just think he experienced something he had never had before and was probably never going to feel again - I'm not saying he knew exactly about what has going on in his head - I just feel that he would know in the back of his mind where Voldemort resided that the had this power he never experienced before.
It would have been with grim satisfaction (to coin a phrase) that this ultimately lead to his death ... but for a split second or more he felt more alive and powerful - more unlike he had ever felt before - and I think he might have enjoyed this other side .. just for those brief moments.

[Hermione]

There also is the issue that any addict is not always an addict. Druggies make the choice to take their first hit, bulimics chose to throw up at first...at one point Quirrel had free will. Yet he chose Lord Voldemort.

Low self worth and self esteem yes probably had something to do with it, but was there more? IN the case of eating disorders a predisposition to dieting can trigger one, did Quirrel feel competition with the DE, or Snape?

[Alz]

Umm - how did he choose Voldemort?
My understanding he was possessed by Voldemort - not sure that precludes free will!
He would have had a strange feeling but not sure he was able to control it - if he could then I am sure he would have ran to Dumbledore from the start!
Free will isn't free when something is imposed on you ;)

[Boing]

I agree with you there Blaise - he didn't choose Voldemort, Voldemort simply hitched a ride on him/in him. But, I do think that as Voldemort's power over him grew, he got more and more brazen and gained more confidence - like he realized the power of this other side of him and began to think himself invincible. Probably much in the same way Voldemort originally felt - he starts to realize this power he can have, over nature, over others, etc. and bit by bit he grows into this evil wizard who believes his power knows no bounds and that he has become invincible (that's his ultimate goal, isn't it?).

[Nagini]

Perhaps Quirrel having Lord Volemort in the back of his head is sort of a metaphor for addiction. Think about it, a person who is addicted to something had that evil in their head, they don't always act on their own will. And ultimatly, they must either banish the evil or it will consume and kill them.

Interesting thread :) but I dont think Quirrell would have felt that being possessed by Voldermort was like an addiction. Judging from someone else who has been possessed by Voldemort (Ginny Weasley) he would not have been aware of moments when Voldemort had complete control of him. I think there would have been a lot of blank spots in his memory and that Voldemort would have managed to cause some kind of pain on Quirrell to make him do tasks he didn't want to do.

Although I note with interest in PS/SS movie that Quirrell calls Voldemort "master" in the scene where he is trying to get the Stone from the mirror of erised. So you might be onto something but I was thinking that some form of mind control instead of addiction might have been going on.