#it doesn't seem like his blood supremacy is just a randomly selected political rallying point — though it's no accident

[greenerteacups]

it always intrigued me that tom riddle chose to go by the name "Riddle" up until he created the Voldemort persona and the Death Eater movement. because we know as of Chamber of Secrets that Tom is aware of his Gaunt heritage by the time he's 17, if not earlier, and the backstory of the Riddle murders in HBP confirm this account: by his last years at Hogwarts, Tom knows that he's the Heir of Slytherin and a direct descendant of the House of Gaunt. but he continues to go by his muggle father's name, even in Slytherin, where that lack of pedigree immediately marks him out as Outsider.

maybe it would just have been too much of a hassle to change his name while he was at Hogwarts — that's fine. but he continues to go by Riddle even afterward (during his time at Borgin and Burkes, see his encounter with Hepzibah Smith, cf. HBP), when he could've reinvented himself rather seamlessly as Thomas Gaunt, Heir of Slytherin. it's possible that Tom didn't want to associate himself with the pathetic remains we see of the Gaunt family, but I would still assume that the name, with its attendant Slytherin legacy, would be worth a considerable amount in certain pureblood circles.

all of that leaves me to imagine that Tom's disdain and loathing for Merope is just so strong that he would rather have a muggle's name than hers, even if it means he can't claim her heritage as his own. of course, this is also evidence that Tom never actually cared all that much about pureblood supremacy or birthright as such; he cared about power, magic, and his ability to control others' access to each.

#though he does have a marked disdain for muggles that i haven't quite puzzled out #whether that's because of his father/orphan upbringing (personal and non-ideological) #or something that his slytherin friends rubbed off on him (learned and possibly ideological) #or a conclusion that he drew himself based on his own ideas e.g. wanting to be “special” (purely ideological) #it doesn't seem like his blood supremacy is just a randomly selected political rallying point — though it's no accident #that it's the ideology that gives him most access to pureblood society #i think tom's relationship to power and philosophy is subtly hinted to be complex in ways the actual plot never engages with #anyway. #tom riddle