Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

by

J. K. Rowling

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Voldemort / You-Know-Who Character Analysis

Voldemort is an evil wizard and the supreme antagonist of the series. Before Harry is born, Voldemort gains power and followers in the wizarding world, making people suspicious of each other and killing everyone who dares to defy him. Voldemort is also referred to as “You-Know-Who” and sometimes “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” because people fear his power so much that they do not want to say his name. When Harry is just a year old, Voldemort goes to the Potter home (for reasons that are not fully explained in this book) in order to kill Harry. He kills James and Lily, who try to defend their son, but when he attempts to kill Harry, Voldemort loses his powers and disappears, leaving only a lightning bolt-shaped scar on Harry’s forehead. Ten years later, Voldemort starts to gain power once more, and gains a faithful follower in Professor Quirrell, a Hogwarts teacher. Eventually Voldemort takes over Quirrell’s body, feeding off of him like a parasite and forcing him to do his bidding. For instance, Voldemort forces Quirrell to slaughter unicorns and drink their blood in order to keep Voldemort alive, and Quirrell goes after the Sorcerer’s Stone in order to give Voldemort eternal life. Fortunately, Harry prevents this from happening: Quirrell dies at the end of the novel, but Voldemort simply disappears once again, thwarted only for the time being. Voldemort is greedy for both power and life, and in making these the defining characteristics of one of the darkest wizards in history, Rowling demonstrates the dangers of greed and power.

Voldemort / You-Know-Who Quotes in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

The Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone quotes below are all either spoken by Voldemort / You-Know-Who or refer to Voldemort / You-Know-Who. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Magic, Difference, and Belonging Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

“See, there was this wizard who went…bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. […] This wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin’ fer followers. Got ’em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o’ his power, ’cause he was gettin’ himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry.”

Related Characters: Rubeus Hagrid (speaker), Harry Potter, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Quirrell, Lily Potter, James Potter
Page Number: 54
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

“Not Slytherin, eh?” said the small voice. “Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it’s all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no? Well, if you’re sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!”

Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet.

Related Characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Draco Malfoy
Page Number: 121
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

“It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible.”

Related Characters: Albus Dumbledore (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Lily Potter, James Potter
Related Symbols: The Mirror of Erised
Page Number: 213
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16 Quotes

“SO WHAT?” Harry shouted. “Don’t you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort’s coming back! Haven’t you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won’t be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He’ll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! […] I’m going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?”

Related Characters: Harry Potter (speaker), Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Snape
Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone
Page Number: 270
Explanation and Analysis:

“Oh, come off it, you don’t think we’d let you go alone?”
“Of course not,” said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you’d get to the Stone without us? I’d better go and look through my books, there might be something useful…”

Related Characters: Ron Weasley (speaker), Hermione Granger (speaker), Harry Potter, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Snape
Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone
Page Number: 271
Explanation and Analysis:

“That’s chess!” snapped Ron. “You’ve got to make some sacrifices! I’ll make my move and she’ll take me — that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!”

“But —”
“Do you want to stop Snape or not?”
“Ron —”
“Look, if you don't hurry up, he’ll already have the Stone!”

Related Characters: Harry Potter (speaker), Ron Weasley (speaker), Hermione Granger (speaker), Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Snape
Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone
Page Number: 283
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

“A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it.”

Related Characters: Professor Quirrell (speaker), Harry Potter, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Snape
Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone
Page Number: 291
Explanation and Analysis:

“Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign… to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good.”

Related Characters: Albus Dumbledore (speaker), Harry Potter, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Quirrell, Lily Potter
Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone
Page Number: 299
Explanation and Analysis:

“You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone — find it, but not use it — would be able to get it, otherwise they’d just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life.”

Related Characters: Albus Dumbledore (speaker), Harry Potter, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Quirrell
Related Symbols: The Mirror of Erised, The Sorcerer’s Stone
Page Number: 300
Explanation and Analysis:
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Voldemort / You-Know-Who Quotes in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

The Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone quotes below are all either spoken by Voldemort / You-Know-Who or refer to Voldemort / You-Know-Who. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Magic, Difference, and Belonging Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

“See, there was this wizard who went…bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. […] This wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin’ fer followers. Got ’em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o’ his power, ’cause he was gettin’ himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry.”

Related Characters: Rubeus Hagrid (speaker), Harry Potter, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Quirrell, Lily Potter, James Potter
Page Number: 54
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

“Not Slytherin, eh?” said the small voice. “Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it’s all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no? Well, if you’re sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!”

Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet.

Related Characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Draco Malfoy
Page Number: 121
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

“It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible.”

Related Characters: Albus Dumbledore (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Lily Potter, James Potter
Related Symbols: The Mirror of Erised
Page Number: 213
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16 Quotes

“SO WHAT?” Harry shouted. “Don’t you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort’s coming back! Haven’t you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won’t be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He’ll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! […] I’m going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?”

Related Characters: Harry Potter (speaker), Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Snape
Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone
Page Number: 270
Explanation and Analysis:

“Oh, come off it, you don’t think we’d let you go alone?”
“Of course not,” said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you’d get to the Stone without us? I’d better go and look through my books, there might be something useful…”

Related Characters: Ron Weasley (speaker), Hermione Granger (speaker), Harry Potter, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Snape
Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone
Page Number: 271
Explanation and Analysis:

“That’s chess!” snapped Ron. “You’ve got to make some sacrifices! I’ll make my move and she’ll take me — that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!”

“But —”
“Do you want to stop Snape or not?”
“Ron —”
“Look, if you don't hurry up, he’ll already have the Stone!”

Related Characters: Harry Potter (speaker), Ron Weasley (speaker), Hermione Granger (speaker), Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Snape
Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone
Page Number: 283
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

“A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it.”

Related Characters: Professor Quirrell (speaker), Harry Potter, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Snape
Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone
Page Number: 291
Explanation and Analysis:

“Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign… to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good.”

Related Characters: Albus Dumbledore (speaker), Harry Potter, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Quirrell, Lily Potter
Related Symbols: The Sorcerer’s Stone
Page Number: 299
Explanation and Analysis:

“You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone — find it, but not use it — would be able to get it, otherwise they’d just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life.”

Related Characters: Albus Dumbledore (speaker), Harry Potter, Voldemort / You-Know-Who, Professor Quirrell
Related Symbols: The Mirror of Erised, The Sorcerer’s Stone
Page Number: 300
Explanation and Analysis: