One particular character who’s attitude shift surprised me the most over the series is Lucius Malfoy. His attitude without Lord Voldemort in power is extremely cocky and malicious. When reading the encounter between him and the Weasleys at the book shop in the Chamber of Secrets, Lucius appears to be almost evil. Then we hear about the treatment that he shows Dobby and how cruel he is towards those who he considers lesser than himself. In my mind, I always saw him as a villain, someone to hate, but then I read The Goblet of Fire. Seeing Lucius cower, frightened of Voldemort in the graveyard made me realize what true evil was. As awful as Lucius seemed before, it was nothing compared to the wickedness Lord Voldemort showed. Lucius was at least able to love his son and his wife. He had emotion ability beyond hatred. Then in the beginning of The Deathly Hallows, we see how broken he has become. He appears completely defeated and weak as he sits at the table with his fellow Death Eaters. Lucius’s reaction to Voldemort giving his son Draco rather impossible tasks shows his humanness, something that Voldemort clearly lacks. It was shocking for me to think of one character as a villain and then see that character as someone to pity. After seeing the evil of Voldemort, I was reminded that Lucius is human, with the ability to love and even empathize (although he doesn’t frequently show this side). It made me think about what Professor Heller said about the movie that humanizes Hitler and how angry people were about it. Voldemort is no longer human, his soul has been ripped into pieces and he therefore unable to feel the way we do. Lucius though, is still human, blindly following the orders of someone he feels is right. I think we need to remember that in life. Sometimes those who we think are evil or horrible aren’t as inhumane as we might think. These are the people we should pity, not hate.
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