7 Heavenly Virtues: Fortitude (long)

[Peg Kerr]

No: HPFGUIDX 4797

We shall call the third of the 7 Heavenly Virtues "fortitude."  The
cluster of concepts related to fortitude include strength, courage,
endurance and resoluteness.  Americans in some regions might call it
"grit."  This virtue is the first of the 7 Heavenly virtues derived from
what the Greeks termed the cardinal virtues.  See:

http://www.deadlysins.com/virtue.htm

Note the etymology:  the words "fort" and "fortify are derived from the
same Latin root, 'fortis,' meaning 'strong.'  Like a fort, fortitude is
something which shields the hero under siege, like Harry and his
friends, all assailed by Lord Voldemort.  Fortitude thus is a protective
virtue, both for individuals and groups.  Groups survive best under
siege when they cooperate.  The group that Dumbledore gathers around him
at the end of GoF, the "old crowd," are like the blocks in a siege wall,
standing together against Voldemort's attack, the last and best hope for
protection for the wizarding world.

At the beginning of PS/SS, Harry's powerlessness, living with the
Dursleys, is continually emphasized.  He sleeps in the worst space in
the house, the closet under the stairs; he is continually beat upon by
Dudley; he is ordered about and insulted by his aunt and uncle; he has
no permission to do as he likes; he is deprived of privileges, decent
clothing and food; he is made to work while Dudley loafs, etc., etc.  In
contrast, Dudley seems to have all the power in the household, even more
than his parents, whom he orders around without impunity (note, for
example, how quickly Aunt Petunia folds when Dudley discovers that he
has received a mere 37 birthday presents).

And yet, as we have seen before in discussions of other virtues and
sins, Harry's upbringing with the Dursleys has in a sort of backhanded
way both warned him away from sins and given him a unique perspective on
virtues.  Specifically, the way the Dursleys have failed to nurture
Harry has forced him to develop a core of inner toughness which
ironically serves him well in his adventures at Hogwarts.  Unlike
Dudley, who has had his every whim catered to since birth, Harry has had
no one to rely upon but himself since he was fifteen months old.

Fortitude, I think, manifests itself both in active and passive forms.

Passive fortitude means bearing things (ranging from the merely vexing
to the dreadful) without giving up or giving in.  For Harry, at a more
minor level, this means for example enduring the jibes of classmates who
mistakenly think he cheated to get his name in the Goblet of Fire (of
course it helps to have Hermione sitting beside him intoning, "ignore
them, ignore them, ignore them.")  This kind of fortitude, because it is
passive, can be easily underestimated or overlooked.  A very subtle
example of this, perhaps, might be Neville Longbottom, who earns Harry's
belated respect once Harry realizes that Neville has lost his parents to
Voldemort, too.  Neville carries on, nevertheless, trying to conquer his
fear of Snape in Potions class, without a murmur of complaint, without
even telling anyone.  Just quietly going on about his life and humbly
doing his best, while continuing to faithfully visit his parents at the
hospital on his holidays, although they are unable to even recognize
him.  Harry is ashamed that he has never truly seen the truth about
Neville before learning it in Dumbledore's Pensieve, but it is
understandable why he did not--this kind of fortitude does not draw
attention to itself.

Ron, on the other hand, is someone who has a great deal of trouble with
this particular virtue.  Again and again, he rises to the bait Draco
offers, utterly losing control of himself in the process.  He doesn't
seem to be getting any better at keeping a rein on his temper.

If Ron is an example of someone lacking fortitude in minor matters, then
Peter Pettigrew serves as an example of someone who lacked fortitude at
a major critical juncture, when life and death hung in the balance:

"He [Voldemort] was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. 'Wh--what
was to be gained by refusing him?"

Sirius' answer is withering: only innocent lives.  THAT is what is lost
when fortitude fails.  (PoA, Ch. 19).

Passive fortitude stands against two of the greatest tools of evil: fear
and despair. Voldemort knows this, which is why he leaves the Dark Mark
to hang in the sky over the sites of his murders.  He knows that this
sign awakens terror in the hearts of those who would resist him,
weakening their fortitude.  And when his enemies' fortitude wavers,
Voldemort's job is all the easier.

Consider, too, the Dementors.  They also act by weakening fortitude,
literally sucking it away, leaving only fear and despair behind.  The
critical importance of fortitude as a virtue is demonstrated by the
dread everyone has of Azkaban.  Because the Dementors rule there, the
prisoners' lives are indeed bleak.  Stripped of their fortitude, the
prisoners are utterly pitiable, screaming until they fall into
despairing silence, and many eventually die.  The Dementors' most
concentrated attack (their Kiss) leaves only a soulless husk.  They can
be fought, Lupin tells Harry, but doing so is very advanced magic.
Dumbledore is right to argue with Fudge that the Dementors should be
removed from the protection of Azkaban--the Dementors indeed are
Voldemort's natural allies.

Here we see that Fortitude's natural ally is Hope.  Passive fortitude,
the ability to wait out a siege, is strongest when hope is there to
sustain.  Conversely, then, the strongest fortitude--and perhaps the
most critical in resisting evil--is resistance which continues when all
hope is gone:

"Harry crouched behind the headstone and knew the end had come.  There
was no hope . . . no help to be had.  And as he heard Voldemort drawing
nearer still, he knew one thing only, and it was beyond fear or reason:
He was not going to die crouching here like a child playing
hide-and-seek; he was not going to die kneeling at Voldemort's feet . .
. he was going to die upright like his father, and he was going to die
trying to defend himself, even if no defense was possible. . . . " (GoF,
Ch. 34).

The other kind of fortitude, which manifests itself actively, can be
called courage.  "Courage in the face of the unknown is an important
quality in a wizard," as Harry is told when he joins the other
Tri-wizard champions after his name is drawn from the Goblet of Fire
(Ch. 17).  If passive fortitude is the fortress in which the hero waits
out the siege, then its active manifestation, courage, is what drives
the hero from the safety of the fortress to engage the enemy in the
field: "I'm going through that trapdoor tonight," as Harry puts in SS/PS
(Ch. 16) "and nothing you two say is going to stop me!"  Fortitude
stands resolute in the face of fear and despair; courage keeps moving
without giving up.  It makes Harry face a dragon in the first task, and
keep reaching for the next book on the stack (the next one . . . the
next one . . .) while desperately trying to find the answer to how to
breath under water for the second task.  Cowardice is fleeing from the
task at hand, as Gilderoy Lockhart tries flee Hogwarts when challenged
by the staff to open the Chamber of Secrets to rescue Ginny.  Courage
instead means facing the unknown and going into the tunnel to face the
basilisk.

I want to make note one final, special courage which is particularly
demonstrated in GoF, and that is the courage to face the truth.  Again,
we see contrasting examples.  Dumbledore, speaking to Harry in his
office after Harry has returned with Cedric's body, clearly sees this
virtue for what it is: "You have shown bravery beyond anything I could
have expected of you.  I ask you to demonstrate your courage one more
time.  I ask you to tell us what happened."  Facing the terrible truth,
bearing witness to it and telling it, is healing: "It was even a relief;
he [Harry] felt almost as though something poisonous were being
extracted from him.  It was costing him every bit of determination he
had to keep talking, yet he sensed that once he had finished, he would
feel better."  And he does; it is not coincidental that as he finishes
speaking, Fawkes' magical tears heal his physical wound.

Harry's example of courage here contrasts with Cornelius Fudge's
cowardice.  "Take the steps I have suggested," Dumbledore urges him,
"and you will be remembered as one of the bravest and greatest Ministers
of Magic we have ever seen [note the use of the word "brave," signaling
that it is courage we are talking about here].  Fail to act--and history
will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a
second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!"

Despite Dumbledore's urging, however, Cornelius succumbs to his inner
fears and rejects the truth, leaving all wizards more vulnerable to
Voldemort.  The unknown awaits: we will have to see whether the courage
Harry and his friends have will be enough to face it.

Comments, as always, are welcome.

For those of you who would like to review the earlier essays I have
written about the 7 Deadly Sins and the 7 Heavenly Virtues up until this
one, following are the message numbers:

7 Deadly Sins:
Pride: 1553
Envy: 1699
Gluttony: 1878
Lust: 2118
Anger: 2545
Covetousness: 2877
Sloth: 2998

7 Heavenly Virtues:
Faith: 3468
Hope: 3660
Charity: 4371

Related essays, possibly also of interest:

Loyalty: 788
Secrets: 957
Courtesy and Ambition: 1209

Peg