Is Dumbledore Death?

[sweettalkeress]

There's a video on YouTube that postulates that Dumbledore might actually be the personification of Death itself. Here it is:

Click to view

So what do you think? Does this theory make sense, or not? Anyone have anything to add that might help it make complete sense

Comments

[jana_ch]

It seems to me a rather superficial analysis, but literary analyses on video almost invariably are. You-Tube isn’t the place to discuss anything in depth. Critiquing an argument someone makes on a video is difficult as well, since one has to sit through the video over and over in order to check any points in detail

[hwyla]

The main sticking point (for me) is that Albus could supposedly see through Harry's Cloak in bk1 (Mirror of Erised scene), but the Peverelle brother was able to hide from Death under it for many long years

[hwyla]

---- continued from previous post

[sweettalkeress]

Interestingly, some of the responses to this particular video seemed to suggest that Dumbledore is not literally Death but has the same function as Death in the story of the Three Brothers. So one other way to look at might be, Dumbledore is trying to recreate the story of the Three Brothers, casting himself as Death and Voldemort, Snape, and Harry each as the Three Brothers. If you think about it, it's pretty well understood by now that Voldemort was likely at least partly trained into violence and an obsession with power (both flaws of the eldest of the Three Brothers) while being educated at Hogwarts, and that later Dumbledore used the memory of Lily to ensure Snape's cooperation in his plans, holding her death over his head, even if Snape himself never comes into direct possession of the Resurrection Stone. And of course he directly gives Harry the Invisibility Cloak

[oryx_leucoryx]

Going with this premise, I'd say Albus decided to cast himself as Death personified not before he realized James was in possession of the Hallowed Invisibility Cloak, and no later than when he chose to give the cloak to Harry. We know Albus thought rather highly of himself. We thought he was casting himself in the role of Merlin to Harry/Arthur when he chose to have Harry raised by the Dursleys, but Death might be one step higher yet.

IOW at some point Albus realized Tom and Severus were already in the roles of the first 2 brothers, all he needs is to turn Harry into the third one.

[sunnyskywalker]

I think if there's anything to it, it's more in the sense that Dumbledore fills a similar role as Death rather than literally being Death. Others have noted before how he also (very, very imperfectly) stands in for God so Jo can work through the grief and anger over wondering why God would let her (/Harry's) mom die. And who tells Harry to sacrifice himself so that wizarding Britain might live. He's kind of a mish-mash of a variety of deities and supernatural forces like Death and fate, very awkwardly melded with a human character.

I still think the simplest explanation for why Dumbledore (and only Dumbledore, no other unquestionably dead characters) greets Harry in the antechamber to the afterlife is that actually he's not quite dead yet... because of that Horcrux he made at some unspecified point. That ghostly phoenix Harry thought he saw rising from the tomb? *shivers*

[hwyla]

After more thought, I'm even less convinced that Albus IS Death and think it's more about his own connection to the Brothers. Casting Albus as Death somewhat implies he has 'made' the brother again in Tom, Sev and Harry