In a typical hero’s journey, there is often a mentor who guides the hero to their destiny. Commonly possessing powerful abilities and a mind full of wisdom, the mentor teaches the hero to become a better version of themselves. Rather than directly interfering at the most pivotal moments, the mentor prepares the hero for when he alone must overcome his obstacles. In Harry Potter, the headmaster at Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore takes on this role for Harry throughout his journey to fulfill his prophecy and defeat Voldemort.
Across the Harry Potter series, Dumbledore is known for his inspirational quotes full of wisdom and compassion. From preaching that choices, not abilities, define a person to asserting that what people grow to be is far more important than the purity of blood they are born with, Dumbledore is held by many as an icon of justice, power, knowledge, and all things good. However, it is crucial that people exercise caution when praising him as an ideal mentor. Taking into consideration how he withholds life changing information and manipulates people like his pawns, Dumbledore is clearly not the ideal mentor.
Although Dumbledore is perceived by Harry as a person he can reach out to for help and advice, Dumbledore reveals himself to be fairly manipulative as the series progresses. Although it might not have been J.K. Rowling’s intent to detract from an archetypal mentor, the older I get and the more I reread Harry Potter, the more manipulative Dumbledore appears. Rowling likely accentuates this characteristic of Dumbledore to shock her audience with the significance of Harry’s destiny in the later books, but in doing so, renders Dumbledore as rather selfish, or naive at the minimum.
That is not to say that Dumbledore acts without intent. His moves are calculated, as demonstrated by how he treats Harry. Dumbledore inwardly makes the excuse that Harry is far too young and inexperienced to handle the emotional burden of his prophecy, so Harry has to “prove” himself ready to bear the weight of the prophecy. Rather than telling Harry the truth, Dumbledore leaves Harry in the dark about his own destiny until the end of the Order of the Phoenix. Just a year before when he spoke in the Great Hall about Cedric Diggory’s death, Dumbledore proclaimed that the truth is generally preferable to lies,” yet he failed to hold himself accountable with those words.
Although Dumbledore recognizes that what he did was selfish and attempts to remove a layer of emotional damage from Harry when he places the fault for Sirius’s death on his shoulders, Dumbledore again manipulates Harry by not telling him that it was Snape that overheard the prophecy delivered by Trelawney and immediately warned Voldemort. Referring to Snape as simply “the eavesdropper” instead, Dumbledore withholds this information from Harry because he trusts Snape and revealing that information to Harry would only complicate his goal of helping Harry to defeat Voldemort.
Dumbledore understands that Harry is burdened with the responsibility of saving the Wizarding world because Harry alone has the power to defeat Voldemort, yet Dumbledore hides Harry’s destiny from him until he believes it is the supposed “right time.” To withhold Harry’s future, his destiny, his burden to shoulder from Harry is unethical of Dumbledore because it removes time and preparation for Harry to learn how to accept and face his fate. Harry is unaware for many years at Hogwarts of the person he must grow to be and the responsibility he bears until he braves death and escapes Voldemort for a fourth time at Hogwarts, upon which Dumbledore finally tells him his own prophecy.
Harry finally begins to grasp a better understanding of Dumbledore in his last few years. Upon being exposed to Dumbledore’s sickness and family trauma, Harry is able to humanize Dumbledore for the first time. Yet after the death of his mentor, Harry questions his relationship with Dumbledore constantly. He wonders why Dumbledore hid so much information from him, why he had to dig so deep to understand Dumbledore’s past, and why Dumbledore never told him that Voldemort himself must kill Harry in order to die.
Under this light, it is apparent that Dumbledore serves the “greater good.” As Snape remarks, Dumbledore raised Harry like “a pig for slaughter” by keeping him alive to die at the right time. To keep Harry alive for Voldemort’s most vulnerable state, Dumbledore manipulates Snape and his love for Lily. Dumbledore values loyalty, and Harry and Snape wholeheartedly give it to him under his manipulation.
Across his final years, Dumbledore uses people like Harry and Snape as tools to defeat Voldemort and save the Wizarding world. Although he teaches Harry to build and take advantage of his own strengths, Dumbledore largely compels Harry to rely on his loyalty to Dumbledore and the knowledge he sporadically shares. At face value, Dumbledore appears to be the standard mentor, but taking a closer look at his actions reveals that his idea of the “greater good” considerably impacts his role as a mentor. In the end, Dumbledore imparts a substantially beneficial influence on Harry’s journey to fulfill his destiny as the hero, but shapes that journey to achieve his idea of the greater good.