Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Dolores Umbridge
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| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Character | |
| Dolores Jane Umbridge | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Hair color | Iron colored curls |
| Eye color | Unknown |
| Related Family | Unknown |
| Loyalty | The Ministry of Magic and later Voldemort |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Dolores Jane Umbridge debuted as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor in the series' fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She is the Special Assistant to the Minister of Magic and, later, the self-proclaimed Hogwarts High Inquisitor.
She is described as looking like a large, pale toad, rather squat, and having a broad, flabby face, a little neck, and a wide, slack mouth. Her eyes are large, round, and slightly bulging.
[edit] Role in the Books
[edit] Order of the Phoenix
Dolores Umbridge is first seen when Harry is called before the Wizengamot to answer charges of performing underage magic. Sitting on Cornelius Fudge's right-hand side, she makes a few comments that are intended to fluster Harry.
Umbridge is then appointed by the Ministry of Magic as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher (and Ministry spy) at Hogwarts. She unexpectedly gives a long, boring speech at the Welcoming Feast in which she says she believes the school's teaching methods need to be examined and perhaps revised. In her classes, she teaches exclusively from a singularly useless book: Defensive Magical Theory, by Wilbert Slinkhard, which seems, based on the chapter headings, to concern itself with negotiation and appeasement of, rather than with defence against, the Dark Arts. She steadfastly hews to the Ministry party line that Lord Voldemort has not returned and that Harry Potter's claims are only to garner attention for himself. When Harry dares to dispute the Ministry's stance, she gives him detention, making him write lines with a magic quill that painfully etches the script into his hand.
Professor Umbridge appoints herself Hogwarts' High Inquisitor, a position from which she makes it her duty to examine all the teachers and their methods. She soon targets Professor Trelawney and Hagrid as incompetent and sacks both.
After Albus Dumbledore is accused of plotting against the Ministry and disappears following an arrest attempt, Umbridge proclaims herself Headmistress. Although she carries the title, her authority is generally ignored; she is unable access Dumbledore's sealed office, and the staff barely acknowledge her. When Peeves engages in harassing her, his actions are apparently supported by the teachers. It is Fred and George Weasley, however, who lead an outright revolt, creating havoc throughout the school, before jumping on their brooms and leaving Hogwarts for good.
Although she works for the Ministry of Magic, Umbridge engages in illegal activities such as casting Unforgivable Curses on Harry. When Hermione tricks her into going into the Forbidden Forest to search for a non-existent weapon, Umbridge foolishly insults the Centaurs, who become enraged and carry her off screaming. When Dumbledore is reinstated as Headmaster, he personally goes into the Forest to rescue her, although she is so psychologically traumatized that she has to be hospitalized.
[edit] Half-Blood Prince
While visiting the Weasley's at Christmas, Rufus Scrimgeour mentions that Dolores Umbridge had told him that Harry was interested in becoming an Auror. Harry is angered that Umbridge is still working for the Ministry.
Umbridge was seen towards the end while attending Albus Dumbledore's funeral along with the other Ministry of Magic staff.
[edit] Deathly Hallows
We discover that the real locket of Salazar Slytherin, replaced by the one found at the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was kept by Kreacher (the Black Family House-Elf) instead of being discarded. Mundungus Fletcher had stolen it, and was trying to hawk it and other valuables from the house, when Umbridge stopped him. Umbridge, abusing her power in the Ministry, had demanded the locket as a bribe, in exchange for not jailing Mundungus for selling artifacts without a license.
In order to regain the locket, Harry, Ron and Hermione break into the Ministry of Magic, disguised with Polyjuice Potion. Ron is immediately detailed by Yaxley to handle a problem with rainfall in his office. Harry and Hermione meet Umbridge on the top floor; Hermione is taken to the courtrooms to record proceedings of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. When Harry's search of Umbridge's office proves fruitless, he hides under the Invisibility Cloak, and makes his way into the courtroom where Umbridge is enjoying sending Muggle-born wizards and witches to Azkaban for "stealing wands from blood wizards". Umbridge, leaning forward, reveals that she is wearing the locket. Harry, disgusted by Umbridge's using the locket to claim more Blood descent than she is entitled to, Stuns her, and then Yaxley, which gives Hermione time to retrieve the locket. Harry and Hermione then free the remaining Muggle-borns, escorting them to the Atrium and allowing them to leave the Ministry.
[edit] Strengths
It is difficult for us to judge the quality of her magic, as we see very little of it; one gathers that she is powerful, but perhaps not as skilled as Professor McGonagall or Professor Flitwick, as, for instance, Flitwick is able to remove the Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes Instant Swamp quite quickly, while Umbridge is unsuccessful after apparently a full day. She does seem to have a very powerful personality, however, as she is a senior assistant to at least two Ministers (Cornelius Fudge and Pius Thicknesse), and is respected within the Ministry. She manages to get herself into a position of significant authority under Thicknesse, despite not being a Death Eater.
[edit] Weaknesses
Umbridge has a weak self-image, which she props up with pomposity, officious behavior, and dependence on external props, such as the brooch she extorts from Mundungus Fletcher and later claims is an heirloom that proves her descent from an old Wizarding family. This is compounded by her racism, which seems to be largely based on a fear of beings outside her understanding or control.
[edit] Relationships with Other Characters
Umbridge dislikes (more like loathes) Harry Potter. Throughout Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, her bias against Harry in particular, and Gryffindor House in general, is evident. Using her newly acquired power under the Educational Decrees from the Ministry, she bans all extra-curricular activities and gatherings until they are approved by the High Inquisitor (herself); this meant that the House Quidditch teams were disbanded. Slytherin's team was immediately reinstated while Gryffindor was delayed from reforming for nearly a month when then-captain Angelina Johnson put in the request.
Most Hogwarts teachers despise her, especially those in the Order of the Phoenix. Argus Filch likes her, however, and he becomes excited when she reinstates corporal punishment for students.
Umbridge claims relationship to the Selwyn family. This relationship is never proven, and she uses the locket of Slytherin (via its apparent antiquity and the S sigil on it), despite being totally unaware of its provenance or history, to bolster this otherwise unsupported claim.
[edit] Analysis
Throughout Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Umbridge attracted much contempt for her uptight policies, strict educational decrees and her basic power hunger. Despite this, she has the full support of Fudge and the Ministry. This puts emphasis on the corruption/foolishness in Government (this is also present in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, through Rufus Scrimgeour). It also raises a theme of power/misuse of power. Umbridge's fate in the end sends the author's message that the Government should not abuse their power.
[edit] Questions
- How might Dolores Umbridge feel when the staff members at Hogwarts treat her badly (particularly at the beginning of the year)?
- Why is Umbridge kept as a Ministry of Magic employee?
- Why is Umbridge afraid of "half-breeds" – centaurs, giants, etc.?
- Why did Umbridge send Dementors after Harry?
[edit] Greater Picture
Dolores Umbridge characterizes the worst aspects of political power. She is ruthless, cruel, corrupt and devoid of a moral or ethical center. She is depicted using any means to maintain her personal power and the political power of her bosses. She commits attempted murder (via the Dementor attack on Harry), solicits bribes and tortures children to achieve her goals. Umbridge cannot tolerate anyone who disagrees with her views or the lies her Minister is spreading. She must exercise complete control over everyone and everything around her. From her perspective, free speech, dissent, diversity and multiple points of view cannot be tolerated. Therefore Umbridge represents the qualities of a totalitarian government. She leads not by consensus and respect but rather by fear and intimidation. Indeed, while she is taking over Hogwarts, the Ministry as a whole is controlling the press and information to spin events in their favor. The power granted Umbridge by Fudge to consolidate his political strength and quash his perceived enemies is already familiar to us. It is not unlike the abuse members of the Nixon administration committed during the Watergate Era. Her final crimes are the "ethnic cleansing" of Muggle born wizards, analogous to the Nazi persecutions leading to the Holocaust. The author reminds us how easy it is for a person like Umbridge to thrive when a government loses its accountability.
