Session Information
HPEF - Prophecy 2007 Conference
Click here to go to the previous page
Woolen Socks: Dumbledore as Mentor in the Harry Potter Series
Track : August 4, 2007
Program Code: 620
Date: Saturday, August 4, 2007
Time: 3:00 PM to 3:20 PM  EST
Location: Second Floor Civic Ballroom
SPEAKER :   Click the plus sign to see more detailed information about each speaker.
Description
When Dumbledore answers Harry Potter during the Mirror of Erised incident, the wizard replies that his one's heart's desire is simply "woolen socks" (SS 214). However, this image is not a bad metaphor for the role that Dumbledore will play in the quest-romance of the Harry Potter Series. Dumbledore's roles as mentor include those of a substitute father, a teacher-philosopher, and as a supernatural guide who provides charms, secret agents, and gifts, both tangible and not. However, if the mentor's job is to guide and to facilitate the hero's self-knowledge, the mentor's physical presence is necessarily temporary. Just as Harry's knowledge and powers ascend, Dumbledore's health declines, and when Dumbledore dies, his sacrifice becomes necessary for Harry to achieve his own destiny. Like Dumbledore before him, Harry begins to suffer self-sacrifice in The Half-Blood Prince, in giving up his beloved girlfriend and school. He must leave the microcosm of Hogwarts without a physical mentor to re-establish goodness in the macrocosm, but during Harry's long and arduous path to save the world; his steps will be comforted, guided, and protected by Dumbledore's legacy. Using classic and post-Jungian theory and cultural theory, this presentation will use film clips from the series to connect Dumbledore to the mentor who must withdraw to facilitate Harry's growth.