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

[OctobersChild48 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 151155

In a message dated 4/17/06 11:20:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
belviso at attglobal.net writes:


> Only in those kinds of stories, like with King Arthur, the idea is usually 
> that the hero is raised in the country on a farm.  Even if he's treated as a 
> 
> sort of servant or his greatness isn't recognized, he's not abused like 
> Cinderella is and like Harry is.  So it's just very hard to reconcile the 
> two. When Harry gets to Hogwarts we get that we're supposed to see 
> Dumbledore as this wonderful protector and a wise man, but if you think 
> about it you can't not ask, "Hey, Mr. Really Nice and Wise Guy...could you 
> not have done something about the years of abuse there?"  For me it really 
> seems like you just have to let it go or not, because you can't really 
> reconcile it.  The blood protection is the best thing we've got, I think, 
> because it suggests that Dumbledore did have to give Harry to this family 
> (though still only interfering only when his plan is threatened, not Harry's 
> 
> well-being).
> 
> 

I guess this all comes down to what you interpret as Harry's well being. 
Dumbledore did interfere at the beginning of OoP, when Vernon was hell bent to 
throw Harry out, by sending Petunia the howler, which resulted in Harry staying 
put. 

This situation indicated to me that Dumbledore had some kind of clout when it 
came to Petunia, which has baffled me since. Exactly what was the clout he 
had with Petunia, and if sending her a howler kept Harry from being thrown out 
then why weren't others sent to her protesting the Dursleys overall 
mistreatment of Harry? I think this can again come down to how one interprets Harry's 
well being. Throwing Harry out would have literally put his life in danger 
whereas the other mistreatment did not. But, looking at it from that POV does not 
put Dumbledore in a very good light, making it seem that his only interest was 
in keeping Harry alive, which I just don't see as being the case. I believe 
that Dumbledore truly cared about Harry but had a lot to weigh and balance when 
it came to Harry's overall treatment at the Dursleys. As others have mentioned, 
too much interference from DD could have caused Petunia to wash her hands of 
the whole situation, and then where would Harry and all of his protection 
been?

For what it's worth, I was very touched by DD's speech to Harry in OoP, and I 
feel it did an excellent job of explaining a very unpleasant situation.

BTW, Carol, I totally agree with you and your assessment of how the Dursleys 
treatment of Harry helped his character developement and formed him into the 
character he needs to be to fulfill his most important mission. 

Sandy