Character:Morfin Gaunt
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| Character profile | |
|---|---|
| Morfin Gaunt | |
| Parents | Marvolo Gaunt |
| Sibling | Merope Gaunt |
| Blood status | Pure-blood |
| Appearance | Filthy; thick matted hair, missing teeth; eyes that looked in opposite directions. |
| Special abilities | Parselmouth |
| First appearance in canon | The House of Gaunt (HBP) |
Morfin Gaunt was a Pure-blood; he was the brother of Merope Gaunt, the son of Marvolo Gaunt and the uncle of Tom Marvolo Riddle. His death occurred during his incarceration in Azkaban.
Contents |
Characteristics
Psychological
Morfin was most certainly a fervent Pure-blood supremacist and a sociopath - the mixture of these two almost certainly led to numerous attacks on Muggles. This crazed mentality was most likely adopted from his father, compounded by family inbreeding, Anti-Muggle propaganda, and incredible egotism and pride.
Morfin was, indisputably, aggressive--another trait inherited from his father. When not hexing Muggles, Morfin would persecute his sister, both physically and psychologically.
It is unknown whether Morfin actually spoke English. He was a Parselmouth and never attempted to communicate with Bob Ogden, Head of the Ministry's Magical Law Enforcement Squad, in English, preferring to hiss at him.
Physical
Morfin’s appearance matched the condition of his hovel and his persona. Unlike many other Pure-bloods, it is quite clear that he kept no pride in his appearance, for he was unkempt, filthy and dressed in rags. Morfin was so covered in grime that it was impossible to discern the colour of his thick hair. The same went for his repulsive dental hygiene: he was missing several teeth. His eyes were akin to those of his sister, Merope (small and dark, facing opposite directions), another result of the family’s incestuous tendencies. Harry stated “that the effect might’ve been comical, but it was frightening” (HBP10).
Life
Over the course of his life, Morfin had strong support and approval from his father. Seemingly archetypically of the family, he loathed Muggles and Muggle-borns, and established an extensive record of unjustifiable, somewhat malicious attacks on Muggles. His attack on Tom Riddle, Sr. (which caused the latter’s face to erupt into hives) was a result of his sister’s (unrequited) harboured passion for the man.
As a result, he was called to a hearing by the Ministry, yet he failed to answer the summons; consequently, Bob Ogden visited to Little Hangleton to retrieve him. Morfin attempted to hex Ogden on his arrival – as he tended to do to anyone who approached the Gaunt house. During the course of the visit, Morfin ignored the conversation for the most part, preferring to mutter to himself in Parseltongue:
Hissy hissy, little snakey, Slither on the floor, You be good to Morfin Or he’ll nail you to the door.
When the voice of Tom Riddle, the oblivious object of his sister’s affections, came floating through the house, Morfin alerted his father of his Merope’s sentiments by whispering in Parseltongue: “’darling’, he called her, he wouldn’t have you anyway.” He continued the vicious attack, ruthlessly informing Marvolo of Merope’s attempts to spy on Tom Riddle, which resulted in her strangulation.
When Bob Ogden attempted to stop the assault, Morfin “leapt out of his chair, brandishing the bloody knife and firing hexes indiscriminately from his wand”. Upon Ogden’s return, he was apprehended and sentenced to three years in Azkaban, along with his father.
By the time he was discharged, his immediate family was dead; he continued to live in his decrepit childhood hovel with the family ring (bearing the Peverell insignia). Morfin was ascetic and reclusive, without any company for nigh on 15 years, until 1943, when his nephew, Lord Voldemort, paid him a visit.
The young Riddle, only recently aware of his Muggle heritage, wished to destroy any remaining traces of his non-wizarding family, but didn’t wish for any repercussions, and most certainly did not wish to be incarcerated. Crafty and sly, a typical Slytherin, he killed The Riddle Family himself with Morfin’s wand, but not he stupefied Morfin and implanted memories of their murder in Morfin’s head, with the view that Morfin himself had committed the discrepancy. Upon his departure, he stole the Marvolo's Ring from his framed uncle.
As a result, Morfin freely admitted to the murders at his enquiry; he was self-righteous, sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban and was led away unminding of his incarceration, merely distraught at the loss of his last remaining precious family heirloom. Some years later, Dumbledore suspected that Morfin, despite his confession, had in fact been framed, and successfully retrieved his memories. Nevertheless, attempts to nullify Morfin’s sentence came too late; he was buried inside the things of Azkaban, just as any other prisoner.
This article has to be revised, because it needs proper references, formatting, grammar, and info.
