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EspañolDOLORES UMBRIDGE
'Dolores Jane Umbridge' is a fictional character from the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. She works for the Ministry of Magic and she is portrayed by British actress Imelda Staunton in the 2007 film ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix''.
Appearance
Umbridge is a short, squat woman described in the book as resembling a large pale toad. She has a broad, flabby face, little neck, and a wide, slack mouth. Her eyes are big, round, and slightly bulging whilst she is said to have a large chest in Deathly Hallows. In ''Order of the Phoenix'' she has "short, curly, mouse-brown hair" and often wears a black velvet bow (or pink Alice band) in her hair that reminds Harry of a fly about to be caught. In ''Half-Blood Prince'', her hair had turned "iron-coloured". Her voice is high, fluttery, and girlish and Harry describes it as sounding like poisoned honey. When she wants to get someone's attention she emits a small "''hem, hem''" noise from her throat. She is always seen wearing at least one pink garment or accessory.
Background and role in the novels
Umbridge first appears in ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'', as Senior Undersecretary to the then-Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge.
''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix''
As a senior undersecretary, she is one of Harry Potter's interrogators in Courtroom Ten as part of the Wizengamot, the wizarding judicial committee, when he is tried on charges of breaking the ban on underage sorcery. It is later revealed that Umbridge herself had ordered Dementors to attack Harry in an attempt to silence or frame him. He repelled them using the Patronus Charm and was thus entrapped into using magic for self-defence, which would have worked to Umbridge's advantage had it not been for Arabella Figg's testimony, Albus Dumbledore's defence, and Amelia Bones' fairness.
Umbridge is subsequently installed at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor by order of The Ministry of Magic in Educational Decree Number Twenty-two. The Ministry of Magic is trying to interfere at Hogwarts and has stationed Umbridge to provide on the ground feedback and address what the Ministry believes are falling standards. Her teaching consists only of defensive magical theory, due to Fudge's paranoid fear that Dumbledore intends to use his students as an army to bring down the Ministry. She is soon appointed the first (and only) "Hogwarts High Inquisitor", by Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, in which position she is given extraordinary powers over the students, teachers, and curriculum. She decorates her office with pink furniture and pictures of cats on plates hung up on the walls.
Umbridge creates the Inquisitorial Squad, which is comprised entirely of Slytherins. It rewards some students for reporting on others and sanctions them to act as enforcers of Umbridge's rules. By attempting to defame Harry Potter and censor word of Lord Voldemort's return, Umbridge and Fudge frequently unintentionally help Voldemort and his followers.
Umbridge's time at Hogwarts is characterised by cruelty and abusive punishments against students; she stands out especially for forcing Harry and Lee Jordan (and, it is assumed, other students who get detention from her) to write lines using a quill that magically causes the words to be cut into the skin on the back of the writer's hand and uses their blood as ink. In Harry's case, the lines are "''I must not tell lies''". She also grants caretaker Argus Filch his longtime dream: the permission to use corporal punishment on students, ordering him (though the opportunity never presents itself) to whip Fred and George Weasley. Umbridge even states her intention of using the illegal potion, Veritaserum, and Cruciatus Curse in order to extract information from Harry.
After Dumbledore leaves Hogwarts, Umbridge is installed as Headmistress. However, the Headmaster's office refuses to open for her, and her tenure as Headmistress is marked by rebellion on the part of most of the student body and faculty.
Umbridge shows prejudice against non-humans and part-humans (or, as she calls them, "half-breeds") and has drafted anti-werewolf legislation making it very difficult for individuals such as Remus Lupin to hold jobs in the wizarding world. Her prejudice proves to be her undoing when Hermione Granger tricks her into entering the Forbidden Forest and crossing paths with the herd of centaurs that reside there. When Umbridge insults their race, (calling them "filthy half-breeds"), the centaurs (notoriously proud and angry creatures) react violently and drag her off. Exactly what the centaurs do to Umbridge is unknown, but the following morning she is rescued, apparently uninjured but severely traumatised, thanks to the return and goodwill of Professor Dumbledore.
Ultimately, Dumbledore is reinstated as Hogwarts Headmaster and Umbridge is removed. After her recovery in the hospital wing, she attempts to sneak out of Hogwarts but is met by Peeves, who chases her away from the castle grounds with a walking stick borrowed from Professor McGonagall and a sock full of chalk, while the staff and students look on, cheering.
''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince''
In ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', Umbridge returns to work at the Ministry under the new Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, but the nature of her position is not revealed. She also tells Scrimgeour that Harry wants to become an Auror. Due to her ordeal in the forest, Umbridge has developed a phobia of centaurs. Umbridge's only appearance in the sixth book is at Dumbledore's funeral where Harry is disgusted to see her.
''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows''
Umbridge plays a larger role in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' as the head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission, and appears to have written a leaflet called "''Mudbloods and the dangers they pose to a peaceful pure-blood society''". She is 'behind all the way' all of the anti-Muggle-born issues. Her new position composed of interrogating and terrorising Muggle-born witches and wizards, styling herself as superior over them, claiming that they must have 'stolen' their wands from 'real' wizards and witches ("''Wands only choose witches and wizards''"), and threatening that she would give them over to nearby Dementors if they did not divulge the name of the witches and wizards that they 'stole' their wands from. She also seems eager to want to have her hand in Harry Potter's trial and punishment--in her office she has a poster of him with the words "''Undesirable No. 1''" on her wall with a note on it with "''To be punished''" written in her handwritting. She also has a copy of Rita Skeeter's "''The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore''" in her office.
She had somehow obtained Mad-Eye Moody's magical eye after his death, and used it to spy on the other Ministry workers from her office. She had taken Slytherin's locket as a bribe from Mundungus Fletcher after he stole it from 12 Grimmauld Place because he had no license to be hawking magical items so and it had taken her fancy. She would lie when asked about it that it was an old family heirloom of hers, and that the "''S''" stood for "''Selwyn''", another pureblood family that she says that she is also descended from to "''bolster her own pure-blood credentials''". She not only claims to be related to numerous pure-blood families, but that there are now few pure-blood families to whom she is not related.
Despite Harry Potter being unable to conjure a Patronus while wearing the locket, Umbridge manages to do so. Rowling explains this by Dolores being a "''very piece of work''" and having an for the locket, the object aiding her instead of hindering her.[1] It is never revealed in the book whether Umbridge knew that Voldemort had taken control of the Ministry.
The last time Umbridge is seen, Harry Stuns her and retrieves the locket and Hermione leaves her with a duplicate locket so that the real one itself will not be missed by Umbridge.
Following Voldemort's demise and the de-corruption of the Ministry, Umbridge is arrested, interrogated, put on trial, and imprisoned for her crimes against Muggle-borns.[1]
Critical response
Novelist Stephen King, writing as a book reviewer for the July 11, 2003 ''Entertainment Weekly,'' noted the success of any novel is due to a great villain, with Umbridge as the "greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter...".[3] The ''Daily Mail'' described Staunton's portrayal of Umbridge in the 2007 movie as a "refreshing addition", with the character herself described as "a cross between Margaret Thatcher and Hyacinth Bucket".[4]
References
1. Online Chat Transcript Melissa Anelli
2. Online Chat Transcript Melissa Anelli
3. Potter Gold (2003) Entertainment Weekly
4. Harry Potter's growing pains stretch the magic in Order Of The Phoenix Tom Cox
External links
★ Dolores Umbridge at Harry Potter Lexicon
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