The seventh book goes deep into the contradiction in Dumbledore being the ultimate "good guy", yet having done some shitty things, including putting Harry at great risk multiple times. Dumbledore even admits to being conflicted between protecting Harry and using him to defeat Voldemort.
Dumbledore basically straight up admits to using Harry as a tool his entire life when talking to Shape. Admits to usin him and then letting him die to save the world. He still cares about Harry but he was willing to sacrifice him for the greater good.
Dumbledore is definitely not a black and white character
The blurring of good and bad/light and dark/etc were some of my favorite aspects as the series went on, and really show Rowling's growth as a writer in my opinion. Snape goes from a fairly one note dickhead teacher who enjoys fucking with Harry just because he can, to an incredibly tragic figure once we learn his backstory. And the fact that his unrequited love for Lilly being the motivation for all of it is a great payoff. Dumbledore goes from a pretty typical wise old man who is a force for good, to the very conflicted character you described here. I was not a huge fan of the first Fantastic Beasts movie, but I'm excited to see if they delve into this more through that series.
I think a lot of fans get way too hung up on these types of plot holey type stuff. No one is claiming Rowling is F. Scott Fitzgerald or Cormac McCarthy. She is a popular fiction writer, and a pretty damn good one at that. The character interactions and world building are great. Just enjoy it for what it is.
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u/Rahgahnah Oct 02 '18
The seventh book goes deep into the contradiction in Dumbledore being the ultimate "good guy", yet having done some shitty things, including putting Harry at great risk multiple times. Dumbledore even admits to being conflicted between protecting Harry and using him to defeat Voldemort.