Polite Dumbledore - Assumptions of Courtesy

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 142739

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "H.M.S" <h.m.s at m...> wrote:
>
> Sharon:
> ...
> Quite frankly - I don't care whether Dumbledore was being polite
> or not in his treatment of the Dursleys.  I LOVED reading this 
> scene!!! I actually thought that Dumbledore was being remarkably
> restrained. He came inside (invited or not) because it was TOO 
> DANGEROUS to remain outside ... Dumbledore could have shut the 
> Dursleys into the kitchen ..., instead of offering them a seat 
> and a drink. In effect, he was taking the role of the host, 
> which Vernon declined to be; and the Dursleys even refused to be
> gracious guests.
> Sharon
>


bboyminn:

Others clearly don't agree with you but I think you are taking a much
more sensible approach than most.

First, this is fiction, not everything exists to a real world
standards. I'm sure JKR meant this chapter to read humorously. Think
about your average TV sit-com; how realistic are they? Not very, but
they are usually funny.

I like your comment about Dumbledore coming in because it was
dangerous to hang around outside.  Expanding on that, I think if Harry
had told the Dursleys that Dumbledore was coming, they would have had
time to mentally prepare, and would have responded better; not
necessarily with courtesy, but at least, responded better.

However, opening the door late at night and finding a full-fledged
wizard in full wizard garb left Vernon a little dumbfounded; he really
didn't know how to respond. It was probably like his brain had jammed.
Dumbledore saw this and realized that Vernon was incapable of taking
even the most basic initiative toward courtesy, or toward moving
things along and getting it overwith. So, Dumbledore speeds things
along by saying 'let us assume you have invited me graciously into
your home'. If Dumbledore didn't take that initiative, things were
going to move VERY very slowly. 

Dumbledore is not their, the Dursleys, enemy. He is not there to hurt
them. Regardless of his feeling, Dumbledore always maintains an
outwardly polite and mostly non-threatening demeanor. He has every
right to be treated with the minimum degree of courtesy, the degree of
courtesy that you would afford any stranger. Though, admittedly with
Vernon, the minimum degree is pretty low. At bare minimum, he has the
right to be treated with indiference; but not with Vernon's stunned
inaction.

So, as I said before, Uncle Vernon is too dumbfounded to respond.
Dumbledore has other tasks that need to be accomplished that night,
and it is already late. So, Dumbledore and Vernon can stand there
staring at each other and things can move along at a snails pace, or
Dumbledore can take the initiative and move things along quickly so
that he and Harry can get out and get on with their night.

Further, and more importantly, JKR needs to move things along. She
needs to resolve a few plot point and get Dumbledore and Harry on to
their next adventure which is where the story really starts. I think
all the characters in that scene acted in-character, yet JKR is able
to move through all of the first three chapters very quickly. From a
writer's perspective, those first three chapters exist only to set the
scene and lay the ground work necessary for the central part of the
book to get started. JKR doesn't have time for a long dramatic scene
between Vernon and Dumbledore, so she speeds things along by having
Dumbledore make his verbal /assumptions/ of courtesy.

Really, try to keep these things in perspective.

Just one man's opinion.

Steve/bboyminn