Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

The connection between Voldemort and the Devil is reinforced by the description of Voldemort.
“Chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake,” Voldemort‟s face is “the most terrible
face Harry had ever seen” (SS 293). This first look associates Voldemort with both snakes and evil spirits as
Voldemort describes himself as “mere shadow and vapor” and complains that he has “form only when [he]
can share another‟s body” (293). Similarly, the Bible references evil spirits which overtake the bodies of
others (Neal 39). Christians are instructed to “try the spirits whether they are from God” and told to “resist
the devil and he will flee from you” (1 John 4.1, James 4.7). Voldemort‟s spirit, like the devil, flees once
Dumbledore arrives to save Harry who is trying Voldemort‟s evil spirit by resisting him. This both
references God‟s promise in James and associates Voldemort with Satan in Rowling‟s first novel. This
association only strengthens as the novels progress, until Voldemort seemly becomes the wizard form of
popular culture‟s Satan.
Voldemort‟s introduction in Sorcerer’s Stone also introduces the link between Voldemort and snakes
as his face is likened to a snake during his first interaction with Harry, a description that carries through the
rest of the series. Before his rebirth Voldemort is described as “hairless and scaly-looking, a dark, raw
reddish black. [His] arms and legs [are] thin and feeble, and [his] face…flat and snakelike, with gleaming red
eyes” (GoF 640). Once again, Harry compares Voldemort‟s face to a snake‟s, but he also notes that
Voldemort‟s limbs are “thin and feeble”. Unlike a snake, Voldemort has limbs, but like a snake, they are
useless; Voldemort must rely on his servant to carry and feed him. After his rebirth, Voldemort is returned
to a human body, but retains snake like qualities in his face (643).
Voldemort‟s association with snakes goes deeper than his appearance. As a child, Voldemort takes
pride in his ability to control snakes as he believes it sets him apart from the general masses. While
attending Hogwarts he is a Slytherin and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets reveals that he is the heir of
Salazar Slytherin and the master of Slytherin‟s basilisk (Rowling 314). Of course, the Slytherin house
mascot is a serpent and its namesake sounds like „slithering‟ as it “is full of hissing serpentine sounds and
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