The Mirror of Erised

“This mirror gives us neither knowledge, nor truth. Men have wasted away in front of it. Even gone mad.” We look at mirrors looking for both, and fearing both. Harry was set in front of the Mirror of Erised in The Philosopher’s Stone, when Dumbledore walked in. He was a wise men, saying just the right thing at the right time. We look at ourselves too, sometimes without a mirror. Sometimes we look at ideas, to look at others and to look at ourselves. Harry sees his parents in that mirror. ‘Erised’ is not a word in the dictionary. Phonetically it reminds us of ‘erased’, like a memory which is there but not immediately present. Seeing the inside of the mind so clearly, as an image, would be a mixed blessing. The joys, sorrows and the wishes would be all jumbled up into one place. It is up to Harry to distinguish which is witch*. 

In this scene, Dumbledore looks like the good guy while he gives Harry advice about life. By the end of the Deathly Hallows, another aspect of his personality emerges through Harry’s encounter with Dumbledore’s brother. Still, it is worth saying ‘Help will always be given at Hogwarts who deserve it’. I ❤️ J.K. Rowling.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck4Bk6SKO7o

*mischief