Uncharacteristic Dumbledore

[Lynda Cordova]

No: HPFGUIDX 138650

Chris wrote:

> (1 and 2) [Dumbledore's] sense of humor and politeness are 
> a bit out of whack in two instances, first at the Dursley's and 
> then with Slughorn. He forces his way past Vernon and into the 
> house, forcefully sitting all three of them on the couch, and 
> then proceeding to knock them about their heads with goblets 
> full of mead. 

Matt wrote:

> The one exception is actually the piece I found most out of 
> character for Dumbledore in the whole scene -- his criticism of 
> the way the Dursleys have raised Dudley. I guess that piece 
> bothered me more than the rest because it was an *unnecessary* 
> swipe, whereas everything else Dumbledore did or said seemed 
> responsive to the situation.

 
Lynda says:
 
You know, Dumbledore's treatment of the Dursleys did/does not seem the least bit out of character to me.  He did, after all, leave a young child in their care, trusting that he would be raised as their son, not as an unwanted burden.  As for his comments about Dudley, they have the ring of truth to them and I've been waiting for six books for some character in the books to suggest openly that the Dursleys treatment of Dudley is other than beneficial to them.  Dumbledore finally did it and to me it seems like its perfectly within his character span.  One isn't a successful headmaster or teacher without sometimes being a bit sharp when the situation merits.  As for the offering of refreshments and Dumbledore's other  forays into near rudeness at the Dursleys home, perhaps he felt that the only way to respond to these people was to meet them on their own ground.  They are not polite people and by telling them how they should have responded to his visit, Dumbledore was attempting to make
 a point.
 
On to his visit to Slughorn:  Again, I am not sure he is acting out of character.  We are simply seeing him differently than in the other books.  We are seeing him on some of his normal work outside of Hogwarts.
 
Some of the theories about the reasons for storing his memories in bottles are interesting.  I tend to think that Dumbledore is indeed dead, but may be pleasantly surprised by the last book.  If he is dead, there is a strong possibility that another character may need to gain access to his memories (Harry, Slughorn, McGonagall, Snape...) and that the reason lies there.
 
Lynda



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