Merope Gaunt

Merope Gaunt was a Pure-blood witch, the daughter of Marvolo Gaunt, and a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin. Abused by her father and brother, Morfin Gaunt, she lived a life of misery and squalor. Her unrequited and obsessive love for a local Muggle, Tom Riddle Sr., led her to bewitch him into marriage. The subsequent abandonment by her husband left her destitute and heartbroken, culminating in her death shortly after giving birth to her son, Tom Marvolo Riddle. Merope's tragic story is fundamentally important to the series, as it explains the loveless origin of Lord Voldemort and provides the crucial backstory for two of his Horcruxes.

Merope grew up in a dilapidated shack near the village of Little Hangleton with her father, Marvolo, and brother, Morfin. The Gaunt family, despite their poverty, were immensely proud of their pure-blood heritage and their lineage tracing back to Salazar Slytherin. Merope was subjected to constant emotional and physical abuse, which severely suppressed her magical abilities to the point where her father frequently accused her of being a Squib. She was quiet, downtrodden, and developed a secret infatuation with a handsome and wealthy Muggle from the village, Tom Riddle Sr.. Her obsession became apparent when a Ministry of Magic official, Bob Ogden, visited the Gaunt shack regarding Morfin's magical assault on Tom Riddle Sr. During the visit, Marvolo attacked Ogden, leading to both him and Morfin being sentenced to Azkaban.

Freed from the oppressive and abusive presence of her father and brother, Merope's magical powers flourished. She seized the opportunity to act on her desires, brewing a Love Potion to ensnare Tom Riddle Sr.. Under its influence, he eloped with her. Merope soon became pregnant. At some point, she made the fateful decision to stop administering the Love Potion, perhaps believing that he had genuinely fallen in love with her or that he would stay for the sake of their unborn child. However, upon regaining his senses, a horrified Tom Riddle Sr. abandoned his pregnant wife and returned to Little Hangleton, claiming he had been “hoodwinked” and “taken in.”

Alone, pregnant, and destitute in London, Merope was forced to sell her most valuable possession, Slytherin's Locket, to Caractacus Burke for a mere ten Galleons. Albus Dumbledore speculated that she lost the will to live and, despite being a capable witch, chose not to use magic to save herself. On New Year's Eve, she staggered to Wool's Orphanage, gave birth to a son, and, just before dying, instructed the matron to name him Tom after his father and Marvolo after hers, giving him the surname Riddle.

Merope was described as looking “defeated.” She was a plain-looking young woman with lank, dull hair and a pale, heavy, coarse-featured face. A prominent and unfortunate family trait she shared with her brother was strabismus, with her eyes pointing in opposite directions. She was consistently seen in rags, a reflection of her family's extreme poverty. Due to years of abuse, Merope was initially timid, subservient, and perpetually frightened. However, beneath this cowed exterior lay a deep capacity for obsessive love and a quiet determination. Her ability to brew a powerful Love Potion and orchestrate her escape and marriage to Tom Riddle Sr. reveals a cunning and resourceful side. Ultimately, her personality is defined by tragedy; her hope for love was so completely shattered that she gave up on life, a choice that had profound consequences for the son she left behind.

• Magic Suppression and Flourishing: Her magical talent was suppressed by fear and abuse, but she was, as Albus Dumbledore noted, a “not untalented witch” once freed from her family's influence.
• Potions: Merope was highly proficient in potion-making, specifically in brewing a Love Potion potent enough to keep Tom Riddle Sr. enchanted for many months.
• Parseltongue: As a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin, she was a Parselmouth. While she is never depicted speaking the language, her father and brother spoke it openly, and it was an ability passed down to her son.

• Slytherin's Locket: A heavy gold locket marked with a serpentine 'S', an ancient Gaunt family heirloom passed down from Salazar Slytherin himself. Merope sold this priceless artifact to Borgin and Burkes for ten Galleons out of desperation. Her son, Lord Voldemort, would later retrieve it and turn it into one of his Horcruxes.

• Marvolo Gaunt (Father): Marvolo was a cruel and abusive father who despised Merope for her perceived lack of magical talent and her affection for a Muggle.
• Morfin Gaunt (Brother): Morfin was equally cruel, taunting and physically assaulting his sister. He shared his father's violent temperament and fanatical Pure-blood beliefs.
• Tom Riddle Sr. (Husband): The handsome Muggle who was the object of Merope's obsession. She used a Love Potion to force him into a marriage he would later flee in disgust, an act of abandonment that sealed Merope's fate.
• Tom Marvolo Riddle (Son): Merope died an hour after his birth and had almost no direct relationship with her son, who would become Lord Voldemort. However, her actions—conceiving him through magical coercion and then orphaning him—are considered by Albus Dumbledore to be the source of Voldemort's inability to understand or feel love.

• Merope: In Greek mythology, Merope is one of the seven star-sisters known as the Pleiades. She is unique among them for marrying a mortal, Sisyphus. As a result of this union, her star is said to be the dimmest of the seven. This name aptly reflects Merope Gaunt's tragic love for a Muggle and her “faded,” downtrodden existence.
• Gaunt: The word “gaunt” means lean, haggard, and grim in appearance, typically due to suffering or age. This perfectly describes the physical and economic state of the Gaunt family when they are introduced.

In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Merope's story is significantly abridged. The scene depicting Bob Ogden's visit to the Gaunt shack was cut from the final film, though it exists as a deleted scene. As a result, Merope is never seen on screen, and her physical appearance, the direct depiction of her family's abuse, and the circumstances of their arrest are omitted from the narrative (film). Albus Dumbledore's crucial speculation that Merope, a capable witch, simply chose not to use magic to save her own life is also absent from the film adaptation.