[HPforGrownups] Re: Dumbledore the parselmouth?

[Peggy Wilkins]

No: HPFGUIDX 151143

On 4/19/06, Jennifer Carlson <somedayalive at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >Jazmyn:
> > Why does it matter if Dumbledore speaks to snakes anyways?
>
> Jen:
> Considered it, yes, but I somehow doubt it, considering how dark JK
> has made it out to be.  That is also why it matters if DD is able to
> talk to snakes.  It is what Voldemort is famous for, and is quite
> often throughout the books referred to as the mark of a dark wizard.

The reason this topic interests me so much is that it has an impact on
the characterization of Dumbledore.  I find it difficult to imagine a
"squeaky clean" Dumbledore who would never, under any circumstances,
do anything that is considered "dark" or that has "dark" associations.
 I don't believe that everything can be categorized into lists of good
vs. bad; it should depend on a context for interpretation.

On the one hand, we have McGonagall in SS/PS calling Dumbledore "too
noble" to use Dark Magic.  On the other hand, we have Professor Binns
in COS referring indirerectly to Dumbledore (in the context of all
Hogwarts headmasters) saying "just because a wizard *doesn't* use Dark
Magic doesn't mean he *can't*".  (Sounds contradictory, but I believe
the point is that one can use it when it is necessary or useful
without being a bad/evil wizard.)

I think that anyone with above a certain amount of intelligence and
power (and I mean Dumbledore) doesn't get to a position of power
without a direct acquaintance with "dark" things.  It simply can't be
avoided.  At some point, in order to accomplish something important
(defeat of Grindelwald could be considered a case in point; as could
working against Voldemort) one can and *should* choose to do something
that would under ordinary circumstances be considered improper or
undesireable.  However, one does such a thing with full understanding
of why it is being done.  This takes it out of the realm of being
strictly "bad"; there are prices that must be paid in order to
accomplish what must be done.  War is not a pretty, clean business.

Considering Voldemort as Dumbledore's foe, it would be to Dumbledore's
advantage to understand as much as Voldemort's world as possible, and
that can and should include understanding Parseltongue regardless of
its association with all that is "dark".  It would be shortsighted  of
Dumbledore to collect and review memories involving Parseltongue
without attempting to understand them directly.

I think that when people say it isn't necessary to understand
Parseltongue to understand the Pensieve memories, the gist is enough,
they may be forgetting that there are multiple Pensieve memories where
Parseltongue is involved.  True, the gist may be enough in the first
one; but it is not enough in the second (scene between Morfin and the
teenaged Tom Riddle).  For some reason the second scene is really easy
to forget, in fact I forgot it myself at first.

I don't think it's really that important a point, except in the impact
on one's characterization of Dumbedore; and I really don't like the
squeaky-clean version of Dumbledore, I find it too unrealistic to
accept.

--
Peggy Wilkins
enlil65 at gmail.com