I don't know if it's just me, but when I first read the series as a kid, I got the impression that Riddle Sr. was some deadbeat dad who left poor Merope. I guess it's just the tone JKR used when she described the story.

Now that I'm older, I think Riddle Sr. was a victim and that his actions were justified and that Merope should have gone to jail or to a mental asylum since she basically raped him.

 

I think must people got that he was a victim. He was brain washed and raped. Then murdered for it. Even tumblr would have a hard Time picking on that cis white guy.

 

You weren´t the only one, I also found him a "bad" parent.

 

I don't know. Some people seem to be making excuses for Merope saying she was abused as a child (ehm...most rapists and serial killers had abusive families, it doesn't justify their actions) and the tone Dumbledore used when he was speaking about Tom and Merope, made Merope sound like some sort of victim (or at least that was the impression I got).

It just seems to me that the situation would be treated differently if Merope was a man.

 

Oh my. AU where Tom Riddle Jr. is raised by the Riddles.

 

To be fair, we don't know exactly at which point Tom Sr. walked out, maybe he didn't even know Merope was pregant even if Dumbledore speculates otherwise.

 

I never felt TR Sr. was a bad guy. My general feelings towards him was that he was an idiot for drinking water offered by the girl from the weird af house with a couple of criminals that had been jailed (if Muggles are told that wizards in Azkaban are in jail) and a creepy snake nailed to the door. Like if it were me I woulda booked it as soon as Merope came up to me. Also, after you're cleared of the love potions you don't just go back to your old house when a witch or wizard could come after you for revenge. You get out the country and hope they don't track you down.

But yeah, never saw Riddle Sr. as the bad guy. If he is portrayed that way though, then yes it is rather unfair.
General impression was that he was somewhat stupid, but not bad per se.

 

This perception was caused to some us because of our age and a selfish point of view. Been abandoned by our father causing our mother´s death is so unforgiven that we couldn´t see Tom Riddle Sr. point of view.

edit:

Losing his will and being raped is good enough reason to run a way.

 

He knew there was a baby. Dumbledore specifically mentioned the possibility that Merope believed he would stay for the baby. Which means that she had to have been pregnant and thus Riddle Sr. prolly knew about it.

Dunno where exactly it is, but Id be willing to bet it's in that section of HBP where Ogden visits the Gaunts. Or somewhere close after. Although you might've already known this..

 

That was just Dumbledore's speculation though.

 

But it means that Merope was pregnant and she knew it. Somehow I find it hard to believe she wouldn't tell TR Sr. about that.

 

1)Merope was probably insane.

2) Do we know exactly about how the timeline was?

Anyway, even if Tom Sr. knew about the pregnancy he was justified for walking out. I imagine he wouldn't want to have anything to do with witches and wizards after that.

 

I suppose Tom Riddle Sr. didn't belive her. She wasn't exactly trustworthy person after raping him and making him run away with her.

 

Eh, the guy was right to nope the hell out of there. His mind was clear after an entire year being drugged, tricked into thinking that he loved an unstable woman. Worse, what was stopping her to drug him again, mindfucking him back into that state? Hell, how does one feel after realizing that they were having thoughts, memories and feelings that now felt utterly alien. One whole year of that. Fuck.

It's sad that he left Tom behind, but he has as much blame as a raped woman that denied giving birth to the rapist's child. Which means, none at all.

 

Could Riddle Sr. really have explained it to police or authorities though? I'm not too familiar with society's view on women raping men in the 1920s, but even today people don't always take it very seriously. Riddle Sr. might have looked like the insane one with a story about a witch drugging him into a relationship.

Merope also died shortly after giving birth to Voldemort, so who knows whether or not his father even knew there was a problem. Voldemort ended up in a London orphanage while Riddle Sr. was off in Little Hangleton. If the orphanage didn't contact him, Riddle Sr. might have never realized Merope died and his son orphaned.

There are so many parts to this that we don't know enough about that I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. Especially since he was the victim, and who knows how this whole thing affected his mind.

 

If Riddle went to the police and said that a woman used "magic" on him, they would either consider him crazy or assume that he was lying.

 

I don't remember if there is anything that states how far into the pregnancy Merope was but if it was reasonably late then it would have been a very different series if he left taking the baby with him. He was justified and Merope was insane but ickle Voldemort suffered the most.