Serving the One They Were Meant to Despise: Why Death Eaters Follow a Half-Blood Voldemort
His origins contradicted their ideology — but power and fear proved stronger.
Voldemort’s real name in the Harry Potter universe is Tom Riddle. The son of a witch and a Muggle, he was not pure-blooded — a fact he took great care to hide. Voldemort rejected his name, murdered his father and relatives, and erased all traces of his past. Most Death Eaters simply didn’t know he was a half-blood. He built his own myth: a great Lord, not a man, but the embodiment of magic.
He Bet on Power, Not Ideas
Voldemort’s ideology was just a façade — he triumphed by inspiring terror and awe. For people like Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, that mattered more than blood status: he gave them a sense of superiority and strength.
When There’s No Way Out
Voldemort not only promised power — he made retreat impossible. The Mark on the arm, the crimes committed, the isolation — many Death Eaters were trapped. And the fear of him was absolute, as he killed for failure and tortured for doubt.
