There is a new Harry Potter fan theory suggests something surprising, Dumbledore is Death in "The Tale of the Three Brothers". Was this analogy an intentional inclusion by J.K. Rowling?
For years, fans have speculated what role "The Tale of the Three Brothers" story told in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows had on the bigger picture of the film and books plot. "The Tale of the 3 Brothers" animation was an interesting addition to a film series that had yet to see anything like that before. It fueled theories and intrigued fans. The element of mystery is something that J.K. Rowling excelled at when writing this series. She crafted a tale that was hard to predict, and was loaded full of unique and interesting ideas. This is a big reason that the books and the film series were successful.
The tale can be found in the video below, taken from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1:
When you look at the comparisons, and what fans have come up with, there is an interesting parallel happening between this tale and the main plot arc of Harry Potter. The initial fan theory states that the first brother is Voldemort. He seeks power above all and often boasts of this power. Not only this, but in Harry Potter, Voldemort is in search of the most powerful wand in existence, The Elder Wand, which is owned by Albus Dumbledore.
The second brother is Severus Snape, who lost the love of his life, Lily Potter, and longs to have her back. Although this is where I cast a bit of doubt on this theory. Mainly because Severus Snape never gets possession of the Resurrection Stone. Other than that, Snape is the perfect candidate.
Harry Potter is the third brother, who longs to live a long and happy life without the fear of Death. Harry is referred to as "The Boy Who Lived," or rather, "The Boy Who Cheated Death." Do you see the parallel? The third brother in the tale is the one who receives Death's cloak, making him invisible to everyone, including Death himself. This is the cloak that Dumbledore gives to Harry, that came from his father.
An important thing to note is the Sorcerer's Stone is not the Resurrection Stone. The Stone from the first book/film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, not the Resurrection stone. The Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, according to the Harry Potter Wiki, was owned by Nicholas Flammel, whereas the Resurrection Stone was owned by Camdus Peverell. Upon the death of Peverell, the Resurrection Stone was placed into a ring that was passed down to the Gaunt family, until it was taken by Tom Riddle (Voldemort). This is the Horcrux that Dumbledore destroys with the help of the Sword of Gryffindor. Dumbledore then places the Stone into Harry's first snitch, that was passed down to Harry after Dumbledore's death.
If you consider this fan theory, then what role does Dumbledore play in this tale? An interesting new fan theory has popped up on Tumblr from harryjxmespotter. According to Slashfilm, the theory is that Dumbledore is Death. He has possession of all three of the Deathly Hallows, just as Death in the tale does. Does that mean that J.K. Rowling was using this as an allegory? In a quote taken from the Tale of the Three Brothers, "Death searched for the third brother for years, and was only able to find him after the brother gave his cloak of invisibility to his son. When Death shows up, the third brother greets him as an old friend and went off with him gladly, "departing this life, as equals." The theory says that this should be considered, because, "He [Dumbledore] greeted Harry at King's Cross and was the one behind Snape and Voldemort's death."
It sounds a lot like Dumbledore may be Death. It is just a fan theory, but it is really fun to entertain this idea.
