Christian Forgiveness and Snape (was Would Harry forgiving )

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 164440

> Magpie:
> Personally I have no problem with Dumbledore not saying "I'm sorry for your 
> loss," but I don't know where you're getting "cold" from this scene. 

Pippin:
I can't speak for Alla, but Dumbledore insists on cutting every single 
one of Harry's heroes  down to size,  not allowing Harry to idolize 
his godfather, implying that James did irreparable damage to Snape, 
and admitting that he himself has been weak and foolish. 


Then there's that brutally insensitive "I know how you
feel." My sense is that's not how Alla and many others would like to see
a man who's supposed to be wise and good deal with a bereaved child.

But JKR isn't writing a textbook on how one deals with a bereaved child,
she's writing a novel about a bereaved child whose upbringing and 
situation are extremely peculiar. If Dumbledore had said something
gentle and encouraging about Harry's need to grieve for his loss,
Harry would have clammed up and not said anything -- his instinct
as we saw in HBP, is to avoid talking about Sirius at all. So Dumbledore
used a little reverse psychology. The "I know how you feel" elicits
a fierce denial, and soon Harry is telling Dumbledore exactly how
he feels. 

Sirius's mistakes had to be pointed out because the more Harry
idolizes Sirius, the more he demonizes everyone who contributed
to his death, and the more guilt is generated to be pushed off
onto Snape and others. 


Magpie:
 I think Dumbledore was actually giving in this  scene *exactly* the 
kind of stuff people were demanding of the Queen. "Show 
 us you care!" the headline said--Dumbledore is Showing He Cares!

Pippin:
But you were saying Dumbledore came across as self-serving and
manipulative, right?

 *Harry*  doesn't leave feeling that he's been used or that Dumbledore 
doesn't care about him. It's Dumbledore's public, his unseen and 
unknown body of readers, (some of them)  who aren't satisfied with his 
behavior in the scene.

 Dumbledore is giving Harry what he thinks Harry needs, formed by
his culture and understanding of Harry, not  by ours.

> Magpie:
> The danger's still there right now so he has to remind Harry that 
he wasn't  a pampered Prince when he got to Hogwarts? So what I'm 
getting here is that  Dumbledore really has issues with kids being 
pampered--so much so that he does see that as a plus with the 
Dursleys that he's pleased about.

Pippin:
I agree with you about the issue. But it's a relevant issue, because
the responsibility for seeing that Harry doesn't receive the pampered 
prince treatment is now no longer  in Dumbledore's hands. Now
that Harry knows he's the Chosen One, he could demand to be
treated as such. Heck, he could threaten the Dursleys into it.
And it still wouldn't be good for him.

Pippin