Dudley Dursley may be the “finest boy alive” in the eyes of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, but to the rest of us, he is a little brat. Unfortunately, “Duddykins” is led to believe that he is the best kid to ever exist because this is what his parents teach him. When a kid is spoiled this much by his parents it’s hard to believe the child will turn out to be a saint, yet if we look close enough, we can find a few redeeming qualities about Dudley. JK Rowling has even revealed that Harry Potter and Dudley Dursley are on ‘Christmas Card Terms’ as adults.
What are some of the reasons why Harry should forgive Dudley? Why should he drop his cousin and never speak to him again? Read on to find out!
DUDLEY WAS RAISED BY TERRIBLE PEOPLE - SHOULD FORGIVE HIM
It’s important to keep in mind that Dudley was just a young boy when he had been informed by his parents not to sympathize with Harry Potter. As kids, we often go with our parents’ beliefs because these values are all we know. It takes time to develop and to have the ability to form your own opinion on certain matters, so it seems as though his hatred for HP had been engrained into his mind at a young age and it took him many years to grow out of that thought process.
It’s safe to say that Dudley was immature and sometimes downright mean when it came to his treatment of Harry, but unfortunately for Dudley, he was raised in an environment where this malicious behavior towards his cousin was praised.
DUDLEY NEVER TOOK HARRY’S SIDE - SHOULD NEVER SPEAK TO HIM AGAIN
Usually, siblings (or cousins) tend to take each other’s sides when it comes to rebelling against their parents. Unfortunately for Harry, Dudley was a bit of a mama’s boy so he always sided with his parents instead of the kid who was actually his age. This is heartbreaking to witness throughout the movies/books as Harry is all alone and isolated in the Dursley house when all he wants is to feel loved. Poor Harry! It seems hard to forgive Dudley’s behavior when you think about how lonely the boy who lived must’ve felt.
DUDLEY WAS JUST A KID - SHOULD FORGIVE HIM
When we are kids, our brains aren’t fully developed, and sometimes we will do things or say things that we would never even think to repeat as an adult. It’s important to remember that Dudley was just a child when he put Harry through all of that suffering and even though his behavior was unacceptable, at least he managed to grow out of that bullying phase as we can see in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. If our characters were to be solely judged based on how we acted as children, this would probably be an unfair form of judgment. Therefore, Harry should consider forgiving his cousin.
DUDLEY BULLIED HARRY ENDLESSLY - SHOULD NEVER SPEAK TO HIM AGAIN
It would be one thing if Dudley harrassed Harry once or twice throughout the series. After all, what siblings have a perfect track record when it comes to their behavior towards one another? The answer is probably none because it’s natural for siblings/cousins to fight. But it is important to acknowledge the fact that Dudley didn’t bully Harry every once in a while.
He bullied Harry all the time. Dudley never had any desire to give Harry a break and he was constantly taunting the poor kid who was already suffering enough as it was. Whether he was physically bullying him or mentally bullying his cousin, the point is, there was too much of it going on for Harry to ever forgive him.
DUDLEY AND HARRY MADE AMENDS - SHOULD FORGIVE HIM
One of the most beautiful moments in the entire Potter series came from when Dudley and Harry were able to make amends. This occurred in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when Dudley told Harry that he didn’t think he was a waste of space. They even shook hands! While this might not seem like that big of a deal, it really is if you think about it.
It breaks the unfortunate divide between wizards and muggles and makes them out to be civil. Sadly enough, Aunt Petunia and Lily Potter never got to have that final moment of forgiveness and this seems to haunt Aunt Petunia. This is evident in a deleted scene from Deathly Hallows when Aunt Petunia admits to her sorrow for her sister’s demise.
DUDLEY WAS SELFISH AND INCONSIDERATE - SHOULD NEVER SPEAK TO HIM AGAIN
When we think of a classic Dudley move, we think of when he got upset over the fact that he got 36 presents for his birthday when last year he got 37. Come on, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon… 36 presents? What were you thinking? Dudley came out to be a spoiled brat and he has no consideration whatsoever for how Harry must feel. When Dudley gets all these awesome gifts, Harry gets a pair of used socks. Does Dudley feel bad at all for the Potter kid? Not one bit. It seems difficult to believe that someone who is that selfish could ever grow out of that obnoxious behavior.
DUDLEY WAS DEALING WITH HIS OWN INSECURITIES - SHOULD FORGIVE HIM
Although we can’t be certain of this, there is a good chance that Dudley Dursley was dealing with his own insecurities while growing up in the Dursley household. We are led to believe that there is only one miserable kid on Number 4 Privet Drive, but we are almost certain that Dudley has struggled in his own way. Perhaps Dudley felt insecure over the fact that he was living with a wizard while he was just a normal, overweight kid. Although there is no proof as to whether or not Dudley felt this way, the chances are pretty high considering most teenagers tend to feel insecure with themselves.
DUDLEY COULDN’T FORM HIS OWN OPINION - SHOULD NEVER SPEAK TO HIM AGAIN
As we stated earlier, Dudley was influenced by his parents’ beliefs that Harry Potter was inferior to their perfect little family. Although it’s more acceptable when Dudley simply clings to Mr. and Mrs. Dursley’s beliefs about Harry at the age of eleven, it’s a whole lot less acceptable when he gets older. At the age of sixteen, Dudley still doesn’t seem to know how to make up his own mind about his cousin and he cowardly hides behind the values brought on by his parents regardless of how skewed they are.
HARRY WAS NO ANGEL TO DUDLEY - SHOULD FORGIVE HIM
Harry is painted as a victim when it comes to his relationship with Dudley, and in a lot of ways, he really is a victim in this situation. But one could argue that Harry was no angel to Dudley either considering he always regarded his cousin as a lazy, overweight dummy. Harry definitely felt superior to his cousin and he never sat down with Dudley to try and talk out their issues. In a lot of ways, we can understand why Harry kept his distance from the kid but at the same time maybe things would be different if they actually sat down and engaged in a dialogue about their feelings.
THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS TOXIC - SHOULD NEVER SPEAK TO HIM AGAIN
The Dursley’s represented a period in Harry Potter’s life when he was isolated and abused without mercy. Although there are some moderately redeeming traits when it comes to The Dursleys, (with the exception of Vernon who Rowling seems to hate more than Voldemort), at the end of the day, they tormented a perfectly innocent kid. There really is no excuse for this sinister behavior and Harry doesn’t owe Dudley any of his time. Ultimately, it’s Harry’s choice as to whether or not he wants to stay in touch with “Big D” and we are sure he’ll make the right decision that best suits his needs.
