In Defense of DD (was Re: DD's dilemma)

[someoneofsomeplace]

No: HPFGUIDX 126530


Lupinlore:
> 
> Put simply, many of us find DD's explanation at the end of OOTP 
cold 
> and unsympathetic, and notably lacking in remorse for what he has 
put 
> Harry through, whether with good reason or not. 
> 
> <SNIP>
>
> Now, many people have postulated that Dumbledore has experienced a 
> great deal of anguish and tension over this issue.  We see little 
> evidence of that.  If indeed we are to see Dumbledore as JKR 
> obviously wants him to be seen, making some of that anguish and 
> tension clear would be helpful.  Otherwise, he simply seems like a 
> cold chessmaster, perhaps fond of Harry and sorry for some of the 
> things he did during Harry's fifth year, but overall really very 
> uncaring about Harry as a person and simply concerned that 
his "plan" 
> (whatever it is) move on apace.
> 



John, again:
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. JKR cannot re-mould 
DD's character, refine his flaws, just to satisfy the demands of us 
readers. He is supposed to be seen as "good", yes, but JKR has made 
just as concerted an effort to show that DD is not perfect, not 
infallible; in short, he's human. DD does *appear* a fairly detached 
individual at times(such as at the end of OOTP, as cited by 
Lupinlore), I agree, but that does not mean he is any less 
compassionate/sympathetic then those of us who "proudly wear [our] 
hearts on our sleeves." DD's persona seems, to me, to be a coping 
mechanism for all the ills he has seen and experienced during his 
time. His acting whimsically, etc., appears to be another way of 
bearing that burden. [Just one question: to what extent do you think 
DD has been desensitized by his many experiences of human suffering?]

There is one other point to be made here, I think. DD, when he 
planned Harry's future and ultimately left him on the Dursley's 
doorstep, may have felt some attachment to the boy, but I doubt very 
much whether he *loved* him, as such. The same applies to Harry's 
first ten years with the Durlseys. Only after Harry came to 
Hogwarts, and met the challenges confronting him there, did DD's 
feelings for the boy develop. That must be kept in mind, I feel, 
when analyzing his original decision, and the said anguish and 
tension that went into it.   

As to the supposed lack of remorse 15 years later, well I've given 
my view on that. Note that those very mistakes DD made during OOTP 
that you refer to were, in fact, borne out of his *love* for, and, 
as a consequence, certain blindness towards, Harry. So he certainly 
cares deeply about Harry even though, one might argue, he isn't 
under *any* duty to "love" him, such as a father would love a son, 
such that DD now does.


Obviously these fairly irreconcilable positions mean that we aren't 
going to reach genuine consensus on this topic; I suppose both 
points of view are subjective ones, and I suppose it is the rather 
different approaches to these books employed by readers that lie at 
the very heart of the issue. Unless I'm much mistaken many of the 
readers identifying with Lupinlore find Harry's suffering very
real 
(sorry, can't really express that any better; hope you understand 
what I'm getting at). For me, the fact that Harry and his suffering 
are fictional events make it quite easy to, firstly, see DD's 
decisions from a logical standpoint and, secondly, to put forth a 
defense of his actions. In "real life" I daresay my stance would be 
a little different. 

Just a (particularly long-winded) pile of Storge, I guess, but 
that's my point of view.

John.