Dumbledore on the Dursleys in OotP (was:Re: Old, old problem.)

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 151099

> >>Alla:
> > <snip>
> > I get that DD had a horrible choice to make and as I said       
> > earlier I do think he tried, but even though I in general       
> > refrain from criticising JKR's writing,because I think it is    
> > very good, about this speech I completely agree with Lupinlore - 
> > I think this speech was badly written, I really do.
> > Why? Because again as I said earlier I don't think JKR meant to 
> > show Puppetmaster!Dumbledore AT ALL and the fact that after said 
> > speech so many people DID think that DD comes off as            
> > Puppetmaster shows that JKR did not wrote what she wanted her   
> > audience to get from it.
> > <snip>

> >>>Magpie:
> Add me to the list who thought that speech was just awful and     
> hated DD at the end of it.  I think the first time I read it I    
> especially hated where DD refers to Harry showing up "a little     
> less well-fed" than he'd have liked. 
> I just thought, um, it's not really up to you to decide that      
> Harry's childhood wasn't all that bad, or to dismiss it as him    
> being just "a bit underfed."  But it wasn't just that, it was that 
> the whole speech just seemed like crazy DD to me.
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
Hmm.  I really didn't hate the speech at all.  (I mean, other than 
the usual, "Oh my lord, get *on* with it!" that I tend to have when 
Dumbledore launches into full pontification mode. <g>)

I think there a couple of different reasons why this speech didn't 
bother me.  One is that of *course* Dumbledore was a bit crazy in 
this scene.  He'd just had his grand plan blow up in his face.  And 
Sirius was dead because of it.  He's exhausted and grieving and 
trying very hard to give Harry as much comfort as he can while at 
the same time keep Harry from descending into toxic rage. (Hence his 
admittedly bizarre segue into House elf rights when Kreacher is 
brought up.)

And I think that first reason hinges on my second: Dumbledore just 
isn't all that, IMO.  Both Magpie and Alla mention the fairytale 
motif: Harry as Cinderella; Dumbledore as fairy god-mother or 
Merlin.  But neither of them are really in that role.  Harry's life 
at the Dursleys, while not good, doesn't sink to the level of 
fairytake abuse.  And Dumbledore, while a relatively wise character, 
doesn't rise to the level of a fairytale wiseman. 

For me, the moment of decision on Dumbledore's character came at the 
end of PS/SS, when Harry is discussing going after the Stone with 
Ron and Hermione:

"D'you think he meant you to do it?" said Ron.  "Sending you your 
father's cloak and everything?"
"*Well*" Hermione exploded, "if he did -- I mean to say -- that's  
terrible -- you could have been killed."
"No it isn't," said Harry thoughtfully.  "He's a funny man, 
Dumbledore.  I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. [...] 
It's almost like he thought I had a right to face Voldemort if I 
could...." (SS scholastic paperback p.302)

There are two roads offered to the reader here.  You can take 
Harry's path and consider Dumbledore a man who willingly put three 
children's lives at risk merely to ascertain Harry's character, to 
give Harry a "chance".  (A chance that nearly ended with both Ron 
and Harry dead.)  Or you can take Hermione's path and consider 
Dumbledore a man who would *never* risk a child's life in such a 
reckless way.  But since he's not perfect, his plans can screw up 
royally, and only his quick thinking and quick response to change 
keeps complete disaster from occuring.

The first path is the classic fairytale one, with all the blood-
letting and cruelty and ruthlessness (and yes, puppetmastery) that 
fairytales are known for.  The second is a bit more realistic, and 
gives you a Dumbledore with considerable less power, but a much more 
human heart.  

I prefer Hermione's path.  It's the one I chose before even moving 
on to CoS.  Consequently I really do see Dumbledore as a man hanging 
on by the skin of his teeth.  He comes up with these plans, but 
since they involve human beings with minds and issues of their own, 
the plans often go awry.  And Dumbledore is often forced to deal 
with the changes mid-battle.

So, rather than seeing a Puppetmaster in the OotP speech, I see a 
man admitting that his power is not all that large.  He can keep 
Harry alive; he can't keep Harry in comfort.  And that's in 
contradiction to the more powerful fairytale!Dumbledore, who should 
have been able to do both.

Is this how JKR sees Dumbledore?  I've no idea.  The speech in OotP 
fits in with my flawed!Dumbledore.  As does the venting in HPB.  She 
may well do an interview in which she states that "oh yes, 
Dumbledore meant for Harry to go after the Stone in PS/SS" and throw 
my understanding of the character into shambles.  But until that 
interview happens, the way I see Dumbledore is shaped by my 
understanding of what happened in PS/SS.  And that Dumbledore is no 
Merlin.  Not by a long shot. (Though he does have his moments of 
grace.)      

Betsy Hp