Current mood:

contemplative

Ron is not Dumbledore
Theory/Observation: Ron is not Dumbledore
Character(s) and/or artifact (s): Ron, Dumbledore (minorly Harry, Hermione, Sirius, Peter)
Abstract/summary: Others have postulated that Ron and Dumbledore are, in fact, one and the same. I disagree. Here's why.
Supporting evidence:


I respect those who formulated the Ron = Dumbledore hypothesis. They did their research and presented their case well. That said, here's my initial counterpoint. I disagree, and believe that Ron and Dumbledore are separate characters, both of whom will play an important role in the war's endgame. As this is my first written draft, future additions and much tweaking may occur. However...

I think my reasons are thus:

How can they both exist in the same time/space for *so* many years without negative consequences? Even Harry isn't that strong to *not* try and interfere with destiny (despite Hermione's warnings), so my lovable, yet impulsive Ron certainly wouldn't refrain from trying to influence his "younger" self. And...if Dumbledore was Ron, and in fact knew how this all exactly turns out, I think he'd have learned from his mistakes (such as assigning Snape to work on occlumency with Harry...and all that followed to lead to Sirius's death).

Mostly, my point comes down to:

I don't want Ron to be Dumbledore. I like them as separate characters (and I think it'd cheapen everything for JKR to take that route). I think Dumbledore *should* be able to make mistakes (like I believe he did in OotP) without it turning out to be Ron re-living and (not) revising an already determined future.

The way I see it, Ron's personality is *nothing* like Dumbledore's (not on the big issues, anyway). I'd hate for Ron to lose any of his characteristic passion or hotheadedness to become the level-headed, sage, forward-thinking Dumbledore. The idea that Ron and Dumbledore are one and the same, though intriguing, actually diminishes both characters. I believe Ron to be brave and loyal and strong and vital to the success of Harry and the war *in his own right*. So for Ron to help save the world as *Dumbledore* cheapens his youthful contribution. I don't want to see Ron's role and significance lessened or divided by the (also invaluable) part Dumbledore plays. They should each have a pivotal role in the outcome of this war, but they should have differing purposes. They should not be so intertwined as to be the same character. Not the least of my reasons against this hypothesis is the fact that, for Ron to go back in time to live out his life as Dumbledore, Ron would (at some point in the books) have to appear to die. Otherwise, the dual identity wouldn't work. And I refuse to believe that Ron will die. He absolutely won't. In addition, Dumbledore would have to live to explain it (since the books are told from Harry's POV). And I honestly don't expect Dumbledore to survive the series.

If Dumbledore (as a time-traveling Ron) knew everything....why wouldn't he have done more to prevent the early injustices to Sirius? At the least, he could've alerted someone to the fact that Peter was alive (or alerted his younger self that Scabbers wasn't to be trusted). It seems illogical, to me, that Rumbledore (or Dumbleron;) would allow Voldemort to *almost* return in each of the books, just to offer Harry, et al, the opportunity and challenge of preventing it. Even knowing the supposed "outcome", would Rumbledore still put Ginny at such risk in CoS? The Ron I believe him to be, wouldn't. While I would expect Ron to mature and change with age, I hope he'd never lose his ability to be almost unthinkingly forthright. We all know that Dumbledore *isn't*. He's kept many a secret, and I don't think they've all been for completely honest or altruistic reasons.

At length, I love Ron and I love Dumbledore, but I'll be disappointed if JKR tries to merge them into one all-knowing character. That'd be a cop-out.

Anyone have something to add?

The original theory that my thoughts are refuting can be found here: Ron is Dumbledore Theory. I need to give all props to those who came up with it, as they really offer a thorough, thought-provoking case. I just don't quite buy into their conclusions.

x-posted to my LJ.