"The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore": Our Hero Becomes Human

            It is easy to forget that our heroes, our role models, or our guardians are only human, just like us. I found this realization particularly difficult in terms of Albus Dumbldore. For the majority of the series, we are led to believe that Dumbledore is a flawless idol for Harry and the rest of the Wizarding World. Any good wizard looks up to him while any dark wizard fears him. He has been offered the position of Minister of Magic, and although he has declined every time, he still received frequent requests for advice from the Minister himself. To top it all off, he is a humble man who has a unique, quirky sense of humor, making him all the more lovable.

            But this ideal image of Dumbledore becomes tainted throughout the seventh book. It begins, perhaps, before the book even starts while Harry sits bitterly in the Durlsey’s, realizing the task that Dumbledore has assigned to him has rendered near impossible due to the lack of information. Dumbledore tells Harry that it is his job to destroy Horcruxes, yet never tells him exactly how to do so. This causes Harry to feel guilty that he never asked Dumbledore for more information, but not only about Horcruxes, but about his personal life as well.

            Rita Skeeter publishes “The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore,” which sparks a fire of doubt to run through Harry’s mind. What if he really didn’t know Dumbledore at all? Why did Dumbledore never share information about his personal life with Harry? We learn later in the book that Dumbledore was at one-point friends with Grindewald, a famous Dark Wizard that Dumbledore later dueled and defeated. Also, Dumbledore witnessed his sister’s death, and was still unsure of who had killed her at the end of his life.

            But perhaps the most frustrating thing about Dumbledore is that he essentially used people’s emotional investments for the betterment of his greater plan. He knew that Snape’s guilt and love of Lily Potter would motivate him to be sure that her death was not in vain, therefore he asked him to watch over Harry and essentially protect him from the Dark Lord. Dumbledore also used Harry’s strong will to fight the Dark Arts to set him on the mission of defeating Horcruxes, but neglected to tell Harry that he himself was a Horcrux and would have to die in order for Voldemort to be defeated. Although Dumbledore feels guilty for these things, he still did not make the his decisions with the emotions of others truly considered.

            Don’t get me wrong, Dumbledore is one of my favorite characters from the series. Not only for his words of wisdom, approachable personality, and silly sense of humor, but for the complexity that he brings with the closing of the last book. He is a great example of how dynamic JK Rowling makes her characters, and a reminder that heroes are people too, no matter how indestructible they appear.