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

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 151169

Pippin:
<SNIP>
> Dumbledore cuts off Harry when he starts to rant about Petunia not
> because he can't stand to hear his choice of guardians criticized 
but,
> IMO, because he recognizes that this is a diversion. Harry has 
indeed 
> suffered  from lack of love, but it has never mattered to him that 
*she*
> didn't love him.

Alla:

How do we know that? Harry IS distressed when he says it, so whether 
it is a diversion or not, which again I am not sure how you made 
such conclusion, I would say it was Dumbledore's obligation ( if he 
indeed loves Harry as much as he claims) to listen to him. IMO of 
course.


Pippin:
> As for DD's apparent digression into Elf rights,  IMO, it's vital 
that Harry 
> understand that Voldemort's non-human allies see him as the lesser 
evil,
> though Iike much else he was told in that interview, Harry does not
> yet fully understand this.

Alla:

Oh, don't get me started. Please, please, Pippin it is by no means 
directed at you, you know I really like you and respect you, but 
every time I remember Dumbledore's "let's blame the dead man" act 
(IMO of course), I just get so angry. So, it is directed at 
Dumbledore. :)
 I know, it is emotional reaction again, which I never make a secret 
of ( yep, yep am emotionally attached to many characters in 
Potterverse, guilty as charged :)), but I found DD conduct in this 
part of his speech to be not just self serving, but so very 
despicable.

I truly think that Magpie nailed it. JKR was just trying to put in 
DD speech as much information as possible - how we supposed to look 
at Kreacher's conduct, Sirius attitudes to Kreacher, etc, so to 
speak exposition at the end, but in my book there could not have 
been a worse place to put it in.

I would have much more respect for Dumbledore if he just did not say 
anything about Sirius. I would expect him to award THAT much respect 
to Harry's grief. He did not do so and I still find his conduct to 
be horrible.

Harry did not need the recap of Sirius misgivings when only couple 
of hours passed after his death, IMO. When would be a good time to 
do so? I woul say never. I understand that JKR felt a need to tell 
the readers how we are supposed to look at the characters behaviour 
in OOP, but I just don't find it to be a good writing at all. 
 

Pippin:
> On first reading I was sorry for both of them -- sorry that Harry 
had to
> hear all this at such a difficult time, and sorry that Dumbledore 
could
> not afford to wait any longer. There was never going to be a time 
when
> it felt right to tell Harry these things, and Dumbledore had 
brought the
> wizarding world almost to disaster by waiting in hopes that there 
would
> be.

Alla:

Oh, no, no sorry for Dumbledore from me at the end of OOP, and his 
single tear did not move me either, but I think it is very telling 
that JKR tried so hard to rehabilitate him in HBP. She convinced me, 
but I am not surprised that she did not convince all the readers 
that Dumbledore is an epithome of goodness, because Dumbledore at 
the end of OOP did not looked like one to me. :)



JMO of course,

Alla