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Musings #9: Half-Blood Prince Cover Analysis
by Matthew Vines
March 25, 2005
My first thought upon seeing the American cover for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was that Albus Dumbledore may be the Half-Blood Prince. Books three and five, the only others so far that feature a character or group of characters in the title, also include that character somewhere on the cover art. Sirius’s silhouette is clearly visible on the front Prisoner of Azkaban cover, and four members of the Order of the Phoenix grace the back cover of the fifth book. We can presume from the literal English translations of numerous foreign translations of the book title that the prince is a half-blood, not a prince of half-bloods. We know nothing of Dumbledore’s ancestors, rendering it entirely possible for him to be half-blooded. I’d never really warmed to the “Dumbledore is the HBP” theory, but it now is much more solidly supported and a definite possibility.
If Dumbledore is indeed the Half-Blood Prince, we’re probably in for an epic good versus evil battle. The war actually began in Order of the Phoenix, but at that point comprised solely of clandestine operations carried out by two groups that convened in secret. Now that the general wizarding public has finally been alerted to the return of Voldemort and his followers, they will put little effort into concealment, opening the door to a war that even involves muggles.
Whether or not Dumbledore is the Half-Blood Prince, the fact that he is featured prominently on both the US and UK covers tells us that he will likely act as Harry’s mentor throughout the book. This comes as a relief to the multitude of Harry Potter fans (myself included) that were more than slightly chafed by him distancing himself from Harry for all but the very end of Order of the Phoenix.
The next few questions hit simultaneously: what are they looking into, whose is it, why are they looking into it, and where are they?
What are they looking into?
The theory that holds the most water at this point is that Dumbledore and Harry are gazing into a pensieve. When we are first introduced to Dumbledore’s pensieve in Goblet of Fire, Rowling describes it as such: “A shallow stone basin lay there, with odd carvings around the edge: runes and symbols that Harry did not recognize. The silvery light was coming from the basin's contents, which were like nothing Harry had ever seen before. He could not tell whether the substance was liquid or gas. It was a bright, whitish silver, and it was moving ceaselessly; the surface of it became ruffled like water beneath wind, and then, like clouds, separated and swirled smoothly. It looked like light made liquid - or like wind made solid - Harry couldn't make up his mind.”
Mary GrandPre’s illustration on the HBP cover fits that description perfectly. The only discrepancy that’s caused a stir is that while Dumbledore’s pensieve is just a shallow stone basin, the pensieve on the book cover is attached to an Ionic column (distinguishable by its capital). This leads to the next question:
Whose is it?
The only character who we know owns a pensieve at this point is Albus Dumbledore (Snape borrowed his in Order of the Phoenix). There’s a good chance that the pensieve on the cover of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince belongs to Dumbledore for two chief reasons: 1) Dumbledore is present, and 2) the description, as stated above, matches up perfectly. It’s likely that Dumbledore’s pensieve was transported to another location, perhaps because Hogwarts has been infiltrated or is no longer safe.
Then again, simply because Dumbledore is the only character we know of who possesses a pensieve doesn’t cancel out anyone else from having one. There’s also a chance that they are looking into the Half-Blood Prince’s pensieve – that is, if the HBP is someone other than Dumbledore.
If it’s not Dumbledore’s, the possibilities are as endless as Umbridge’s Educational Decrees, and at this point, very little would be gained by listing off the two hundred-some characters in the series and examining why or why not the pensieve may belong to them.
Why are they looking into it?
Unlike the majority of Harry’s experiences with the pensieve, this one is obviously supervised. Dumbledore is perhaps the busiest wizard on the face of the planet, and he’s definitely not one to dilly-dally around during such a crucial period of time for the entire world. He has and has had an agenda for decades, his ultimate goal being to bring down Voldemort. He’s also explicitly stated that Harry is part of that agenda, and therefore Harry must gain a certain amount of knowledge about the past and present to assist him in effectively fighting the dark side. It seems as though Dumbledore is revealing something substantial to Harry - possibly the circumstances of Voldemort’s birth, which we know will be elaborated upon in this tome.
Where are they?
The final question – where Dumbledore and Harry are – is the most open-ended. One can safely assume that they are in a secure location, but anything more specific than that is difficult to know. The setting does not appear to be Dumbledore’s office, or anywhere in Hogwarts for that matter. The eerie green and white wisps in the background suggest that they are either outdoors or in another room in the Department of Mysteries.
Wherever they may be, the next question along those lines is whether or not they are standing on the ground. Ionic columns are considerably longer than the part shown on the cover, confusing the viewer. Harry and Dumbledore’s stances imply that they are standing on solid ground, but Ionic columns simply don’t cut off a few feet down from the capital. This opens the door to the pensieve being in an area of ruins, but in that case one must ponder how a column fell most of the way to the ground without an alteration in its angle.
Theorizing aside, the artwork is stunning. I wholeheartedly agree with Scholastic Vice President Arthur Levine in his statement that the cover conveys both the intensity and heart that (he says) are present in the book. Harry is aging splendidly, though his scar seems to have shifted slightly downwards. The fact that his wand is raised hints at some insecurity in his surroundings. Dumbledore looks more powerful than ever in this depiction, enhanced by the commanding fashion in which his left hand is positioned. Also, the ghostly aura of their surrounding environment is a magnificent touch.
Moving on to the cover of the UK children’s edition, drawn by Jason Cockcroft: I’ve never been all that fond of the UK children’s edition covers, and, to say the least, this cover didn’t change my opinion. Harry is nicely drawn, but his wand (now held in his right hand) looks more like a gnarled tree branch than a potent and sleek weapon. Strangely illustrated, Dumbledore’s deranged countenance and wild hair give the impression that he is a psychopath rather than an effective and powerful leader. The fire that surrounds them clearly exemplifies intensity, but lacks the heart that is so beautifully present in Mary GrandPre’s illustration.
The cover of the UK adult edition is the dullest of the three, but also the most straightforward in terms of the plot. The textbook that appears on the cover, titled “Advanced Potion-Making,” practically gives away that Harry did well enough on his Potions O.W.L. to continue on to Advanced Potion-Making. This, of course, means that he still has a shot at becoming an Auror, the only likely career path for him. The most interesting aspect of the UK adult edition cover is the author’s name, Libatius Borage.
The modern English word “libation” (which derives from the Latin “libatius”) means “the pouring of a liquid offering as a religious ritual,” “the act of drinking an intoxicating beverage,” “a serving (of wine) poured out in honor of a deity” (Dictionary.com). Borage, the author’s surname, today means “an annual, bristly European herb having blue or purplish star-shaped flowers” (Answers.com). Although the names of textbook authors have never carried notable significance, this marks the first time in HP history that a textbook author’s name has appeared on a book cover. As that book is the only object on the UK adult edition cover, we can assume that either the class itself, the author of the textbook, or both play a sizable role in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
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