In the last hour of the last day in 1926, a young pregnant woman about to give birth staggered up the steps in front of an orphanage in London. Soon after, she gave birth to a baby boy, but an hour later she died.
The baby boy was Tom Riddle. He grew up in an orphanage. From an early age, he was out of place, not interested in food, clothing, shelter, toys, etc., all the things that interested the children. However, he inadvertently exhibits some magical abilities that make the Muggles who take care of him feel incomprehensible and even afraid.
Little Riddle always showed a look of contempt for the Muggles around him. But he was very afraid of death, so he never made a mistake, even if he pretended to be very obedient and endured the strange eyes of others.
His actions may have been inherited from his mother, Melope. As we all know, when Meropp was in the Gaunt family, she was always discriminated against and even humiliated by her father and brother. And Melop has been smiling and enduring all this, but in fact she is a very rebellious person in her bones.
When her father and brother were captured in Azkaban, she immediately eloped with the Günter family heirloom (A Slytherin's locket) with Old Riddle.
The story of Harry Potter often emphasizes the influence of mothers on wizards. For example, Lily protected Harry with her own life; Molly dueled with the Dark Witch Bella Cretes for her daughter; Narcissa betrayed Voldemort for Draco; and so on.
And what was the biggest impact of Melop on Tom Riddle Jr.?
As mentioned earlier, Meropp died shortly after giving birth to her son. As a witch, even if she is poor, extremely weak, or even difficult to give birth, she can use the power of magic to save her life.
In the wizarding world, unless he is hit by a fatal spell or has dragon pox, it is difficult for a wizard to die of excessive bleeding. But why did Meropp "die" after giving birth?
On foreign fan forums, there is an interesting theory that some fans believe that Melop may have cast a powerful protective spell on the child with her own life like Lily.
Coming from an extreme pure-blood family, Merup knew that children of Muggle descent were not tolerated by her father and brother. Not to mention, she also gave birth to the child in a Muggle orphanage.
When her father and brother came out of Azkaban, they would come to her, or at least to return the family treasure, the Slytherin's locket. In order to protect the child's safety, Meloop chose to sacrifice herself to ensure that little Tom Riddle could grow up safely.
Although this theory is only a personal speculation of fans and has not been endorsed by Rowling, such speculation also coincides with one of the themes of Harry Potter, "love".
In Harry Potter, all mothers are willing to give everything to protect their children, even with their lives, and Merop should be no exception.
The death of a mother has a huge impact on every child.
Harry Potter felt his mother's love for him, so he took it with him and grew up to be the savior of the wizarding world.
Voldemort, as a product of ecstasy, did not know what love was, nor could he feel Merlop's love for him. And the death of his mother, the biggest impact on little Tom Riddle, may be the fear of death, resulting in a lifetime of searching for a way to live forever.