The Ethics of Mentorship in The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter
First, I’m excited to announce that I literally just finished my first semester back in school in almost 10 years, and my first IN PERSON class since high school! WAAAAAAHOOOOO! Wow. That was a hard semester, but so amazing. Especially my Philosophy 2050 (Ethics and Values) class, which I 1 million percent did NOT expect. I’m so happy they made this a required course at UVU. It was lifechanging! We learned more about viewing issues from multiple perspectives, what shapes our own morals and ethical values, about different religions and cultures, and so much more.
For our final, we were assigned to write a paper on any topic we wanted, as long as we approached one ethical issue from two different viewpoints and incorporated things we learned in class. Unfortunately, because of life, I ended up with only a single day to write this. So, please don’t judge it too harshly. It’s mostly for fun. I hope you enjoy it.
Also, special shout out to all of my friends and followers for the suggestions and help with choosing a topic—especially my exceptionally nerdy brother-in-law, who shared his own opinion, which ended up shaping a good part of this paper!
The Ethics of Mentorship in The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter
The mentor trains unlikely hero trope has been especially popular in speculative fiction: An older, seemingly wise mentor plucks a young person from obscurity and puts them in harm’s way. Exactly how ethical can this possibly be?
Two of the best-known fantasy series (in both book and film) give us prime examples of this: The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Both are similar in many ways. So similar in fact, that the television show Studio C produced a skit all about it.
Gandalf: I’m looking for a very short person who lives with his uncle and carries a great burden.
Harry: Is this great burden the result of a dark lord?
Gandalf: A dark lord who once had great power but lost it all?
Harry: And currently resides in spirit form until he can be brought back?
Both gasp: It’s you!
Both Gandalf and Dumbledore disrupt the lives of innocent young ones and force them into dangerous situations that cause great suffering. (Gandalf, however, is a twofer, having snagged two main protagonists, Bilbo and Frodo, for his cause.) These mentors took choices away from someone for whom they were supposed to care. If Frodo had known he would lose so much and never be the same, would he have chosen to leave the Shire? If Dumbledore had been upfront from the beginning and told Harry that the only way to defeat Voldemort would be his own death, would Harry have chosen to die? Each of these protagonists were groomed from a young age like lambs for the slaughter.
How would we react to something like this today? The mentors’ behavior is completely manipulative and, especially in Harry’s case, abusive. Dumbledore sent Harry to live with family that continually abused and neglected him. This living situation may have somewhat protected Harry physically from Voldemort, but what did that do emotionally to the kid? Dumbledore also singled Harry out for special attention at times, promising to be a special support and mentor to him, but usually ignored him. This sort of unstable behavior from almost the only father-figure Harry had, would cause attention seeking and acting out behavior in any child. But that’s merely a physical manifestation—the real damage is internal.
No matter the outcome, the duty of any parental figure is to protect and nurture their charge. Dumbledore fails at this completely. One might say that Gandalf could be less responsible for Frodo and Bilbo because of their ages, but the level of trust they placed in him is very similar to that of a child-parent relationship. They were older but extremely isolated and naïve about the world outside the Shire. Perhaps if they’d chosen to strike out on their own, it would be different, but the fact is that Gandalf manipulated each one into joining his quests. The parent-child relationship is a sacred trust. Does serving the greater good warrant that sacrifice? If any of us today heard a news story where a foster parent or god-parent talked a young adult into a situation that saved lives at the expense of their own, we would be horrified. And they’d probably be incarcerated.
However, fiction gives us a little bit of moral wiggle room. Sure, there may not be any real-life situation where any of that may be morally acceptable, but there’s not a magical dark lord out there ending the world either. We need to assume that if the setting changes, the ethical environment changes as well. The stakes are higher, the danger greater, and the options are more limited.
From the prophecy, Dumbledore was able to determine that it was Harry who would have “the power to vanquish the Dark Lord”. The world needed to be saved and no one else could do it. What else was he supposed to do? If he hadn’t guided and helped Harry to defeat Voldemort, it could be argued that Harry probably would have died anyway. And if he didn’t, what sort of a world would he have to live in? Would he be safe then? Would the terrors he would surely face the rest of his (possibly very short) life be any less horrific than what Dumbledore helped him face? Gandalf surely came to the same realization.
Both mentors knew the price would be high, so they did their best to help the heroes survive it. Yes, Dumbledore ignored and neglected Harry, but in doing so, he allowed Harry to shape his own destiny. He let him choose as much of his own way as possible and merely stepped in when he had to. Dumbledore kept secrets from Harry so he wouldn’t place such a heavy burden on a child for as long as possible. He didn’t tell Harry that he was a horcrux or that he alone could defeat Voldemort. Instead, he taught him that he had a responsibility to use his power for good, allowed him to have age appropriate, normal (for their world) experiences, and to form friendships that would strengthen him and help him triumph.
Gandalf similarly, kept information from Frodo to allow him to make his own choices. At the Council of Elrond, Gandalf didn’t tell Frodo that he had to be the one to take the One Ring to Mordor. He let the others squabble and fight over the issue until Frodo made his own decision. Elrond expressed this sentiment in the book:
But it is a heavy burden. So heavy that none could lay it on another. I do not lay it on you. But if you take it freely, I will say that your choice is right.
That freedom of choice makes all the difference. The heroes weren’t used a means to an end because they chose their own path. They may not have had all the information, but how often do we in our own lives? Each hero ultimately chose to sacrifice and fight and thought the price well worth it.
