Significance of Dumbledore's name

[kewiromeo at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 49430

Tyler wrote:

>I suggest that the name Dumbledore has meaning.
>Dumbledore is old English for bumblebee. What does a
>bumblebee do? Pollinate. In its search for nectar, a
>bumblebee spreads pollen, fertilising flowers (in "The
>Botany of Desire", author Michael Pollen refers to
>bees as 'flying penises'). Dumbledore could have been
>the one who cast the spell, or gathered ingredients,
>or otherwise helped Lily and James 'pollinate' their
>special creation. JKR has apparently claimed that she
>just liked the word Dumbledore, but we wouldn't
>expect her to divulge a clue that large, would we?
>One more small tidbit about bumblebees-they are
>solitary, they don't hive like other bees. Sounds a
>little like Dumbledore, doesn't it?

~<(Laurasia)>~ Wrote:

Using a bee analogy for Dumbledore also has other implications. When 
a bee stings, it dies. Relating that in an allegorical sense to 
Dumbledore, it suggests that Dumbledore will "sting" Voldemort and in 
doing so will cause his own destruction.

I've always liked this analogy because it is so simply and because 
such a noble character like Dumbledore seems exactly the type to 
sacrifice his own life for the greater good. 

Using this analogy it suggests that when Dumbledore dies it will be 
extremely calculated and voluntary resulting eventually with the 
ultimate downfall of Voldemort. (Whether it's Harry that finishes him 
off or not, it's likely Dumbledore will have a large part to play in 
the undoing of Voldemort, IMO)

(Just one small note: According to my research on bumblebees, their 
sting isn't barbed, like honeybees, so they can sting more than once. 
Comparing Dumbledore to a bee that dies when it stings when his name 
is derived from one that *doesn't*, doesn't really strike me as that 
much of an issue because I'm talking in a symbolic sense. Bee 
enthusiasts, however, might disagree ;D )

Now Me:

The only other mood we associate Dumbledore besides pure radiating energy is 
a nice passive pleasant mood. Look at all of the passwords to his Headmaster 
Quarters. At the end of PoA, with the Buckbeak trial, he was seemingly 
pleasant when everything was going wrong for the ministry. I wouldn't have 
been surprised if JKR wanted to simply call him Bumblebee in the first place. 
And not that I am a bee expert, but most flying insects don't bother you or 
attack until you attack them, defense mechanism.

It is also nice to know that fact about bumblebees, so that doesn't mean he 
has to sacrifice himself.

I like Dumbledore. I like bumblebees. You simply are supposed to feel warm 
towards them.

Tzvi of Brooklyn


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