Dumbledore, the master of restraint

[Freud]

No: HPFGUIDX 114594


Recently a thought has occurred to me that it is certainly a good 
thing for myself and especially others, that the Gods did not grant 
me magical powers.  Were it otherwise, my annoying supervisor at 
work would soon find himself running around as something less cuddly 
than a ferret, and innocent strangers who just happen to be in my 
way on the freeway may find themselves as fish.  In other words, I 
know that I lack the restraint required to wield magic in an ethical 
fasion. 

Which leads me to pondering the mighty Dumbledore. 

Dumbledore has already defeated dark wizards.  He has been around 
the magical ferris wheel many, many times and surely knows a great 
deal about how to wield and manipulate magic - yet he practices 
incredible restraint when displaying his powers.  He doesn't appear 
to interfere in the lives of others unless it is absolutely 
necessary and he often shows up in the books at the very last 
minute - forcing other people to face, challenge, and even defeat 
the foe ahead of time.  

I have wondered if Dumbledore deliberately holds himself back so 
that others who are less experienced can find their way through 
serious challenges on their own...

If so, I find that is the mark of a great, great wizard.  To have 
the power - yet be able to resist using it - to be able to practice 
that restraint - that is ispiring to me. 

Also, Dumbledore seems to make baffling choices - that lie on the 
edge of compassion rather than common sense.  For example, he had to 
know that conceited git, Gilderoy Lockhart was a big fat liar, yet 
he hired him to be a teacher anyway.  Why?  He keeps Trelawney as a 
teacher even though he knows most of her self-proclaimed ablities 
are a figment of her own imagination... he kept Hagrid at Hogwarts 
even though Hagrid had been in serious trouble and forbidden to do 
magic. He also had to know Hagrid would be trouble in the future for 
him simply because of Hagrid being Hagrid.  But he shows him a great 
deal of loyalty.   Dumbledore hired a werewolf, a centaur, a 
sadistic squib, an elf who had been fired from her previous post,  
an elf who left his master on purpose, a weird guy in a turban,  a 
guy with a rotating eye...need I go on?   

And then there is Snape.  He hired a bitter death eater with a 
disturbing personality disorder to teach potions at Hogwarts. What a 
CRAZY thing to do.  It is all such a mystery. 

This eccentric group of people must give him a continual headache - 
and yet - he seems to be unruffled by it.

Clearly Dumbledore is trying to teach the students at Hogwarts many 
things about the world beside how to do magic.  He certainly exposes 
them to a wide variety of unusual people.

And then there is his mysterious relationship with Harry - 
Dumbledore sentenced Harry to a loveless home when he lost his 
parents.  How could he do that?  Yes, it kept Harry alive - but 
surely Harry deserved to have some happiness too?

Dumbledore keeps Harry in the dark most of the time.  He keeps 
forcing Harry to react to circumstances without pre-conceived 
perceptions.  Is he cruel?  Or is he brilliant? And how does he know 
Harry won't die from one of these encounters?  Does he have a way of 
seeing the future?

Dumbledore did befriend Harry when he finally came to Hogwarts for 
the first couple of years.  But in the last book he totally backed 
away from Harry and left him emotionally defenseless.  Why would he 
do that?  It has been very troubling to me.  

The explanation that he gave Harry about being afraid Voldemort 
would try to get to him through Harry just doesn't sit well with 
me.  Dumbledore does not appear to be the kind of person who is 
afraid.   Surely he could have made some kind of physical gesture to 
Harry to let him know he still cared about him - or given him some 
form of emotional reassurance in a letter.  It makes no sense. 

The only logical explanation that I can come up with is that 
Dumbledore simply doesn't want Harry to rely on him for his own 
good.  (And perhaps, there is some of that in reverse as well....)  

It will be very interesting to see how this plays out in the 
following books.  

The underdogs appear to be "forced" to live out their destiny 
without interference.  Yet I think it is possible we will find in 
the end Dumbledore was the master puppeteer all along. 

Freud