Minerva McGonagall-/Dumbledore

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 115816


Siriusly Snapey Susan wrote:
> > > Right.  I wonder, though, how/why things changed so much in the
intervening 10-11 years.  Why, for instance, he's "Albus" and she's
ostensibly sharing a cuppa hot chocolate with him in the evening....
>  
> Geoff wrote:
> > But she's on first name terms from the beginning....
> > 
> > <snip>
> > "Lily and James... I can't believe it... I didn't want to believe 
> > it... Oh, Albus..."
> > Dumbledore reached out and  patted her on the shoulder.' <snip>
> > 
> > Interestingly, she also referred to him rather familiarly as 
> > just "Dumbledore" in at least four places here. <snip> 
> > Bearing in mind Dumbledore's insistence on calling fok by their
title, this seems to imply a measure of familiarity and informality 
between them.
>  
> 
> SSSusan:
<snip> 
> Similarly, while she calls him Albus the one time at PD, I don't 
> think "Dumbledore" indicates much familiarity, and the remainder of 
> the scene strikes me as markedly different from what we see 10 years 
> later.  Again, she must directly fish for information; she's not in 
> the know & DD's not automatically volunteering much.  Also, he 
> doesn't give her any tasks to perform or errands to run; he seems to 
> just kind of tolerate her presence. <snip>
> 
> Maybe it really is just me, but their interaction at PD didn't seem 
> at all like that of close colleagues.  Perhaps it can be attributed 
> to the possibility that she *wasn't* yet Deputy HM at PD, and so 
> things were more formal between them at that time.


Carol responds:
To me, the "Oh, Albus!" represents a brief moment when McGonagall
loses her dignity or reserve and allows her real feelings to escape
her. (BTW, she seems to be almost the only person in the WW who's more
concerned with the deaths of the Potters than the victory over
Voldemort, which to me speaks well for her unselfishness and
humanity.) As for calling DD Dumbledore, surely that's less formal and
closer to equal than calling him "Professor Dumbledore," as she would
if they were in front of the students. (Note that Snape, in contrast,
always addresses him as "Headmaster," though I can think of at least
one occasion when he speaks of him in the third person, to Harry, as
Dumbledore.)

Setting aside how they address each other, I agree that McGonagall
appears to be very much on the fringe of things in this scene. I mean,
she's surprisingly ignorant of what's happening. Maybe it's all a
set-up, exposition for the reader's benefit, and McGonagall had to ask
questions in order to provide us with information. After all, SS/PS
was intended as a children's book and JKR wasn't expecting it to be
subjected to such intense scrutiny. OTOH, she was certainly in some
respects laying the groundwork for later books, with references to
everything from Godric's Hollow to Dumbledore's watch.

Re Geoff's comment about Dumbledore's insistence on using titles, I
think that relates to students showing respect for teachers, and
particularly Harry showing respect for Snape. He tends to address
students and teachers alike by their given names. In fact, even
Petunia is called by her first name, as is everyone from Argus Filch
to the supposed Alastor Moody. So his use of "Professor McGonagall" on
his first appearance is partly for the reader's benefit to introduce
the character, and partly, IMO, a rather humorous way to address a
cat. Dumbledore, unlike McGonagall, is very much at his ease
throughout the whole scene. If he's done any grieving, it was in
private and he's put it behind him (safely in the Pensieve?). I think
he had a very good idea of what was coming, but McGonagall is
thoroughly unprepared. Maybe his calling her "My dear Professor"
instead of "Minerva" throughout most of the conversation and
"Professor McGonagall" at the beginning and end is intended to help
her keep a stiff upper lip?

Carol, who thanks SSS for introducing this interesting thread