ByFurious
The third Beedle the Bard tale, The Warlock’s Hairy Heart, about a Warlock who locks his heart away so he can’t be hurt by love, deals with the important lessons of the dangers and unintended consequences of using magic to change yourself or other people, and the tragedy that can happen when magic is taken too far.
| Category | Information |
|---|---|
| Author | J.K. Rowling |
| Title | The Warlock’s Hairy Heart |
| Part of Collection | The Tales of Beedle the Bard |
| Published Date | December 2008 |
| Referenced in Books | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows |
| Referenced in Movies | Not directly mentioned |
The Warlock’s Hairy Heart stands as one of the darker tales within The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of wizarding fairy tales penned by J.K. Rowling. This compelling anthology was revealed to the public in December 2008, enriching the lore of the wizarding world. Within the Harry Potter series, “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart” finds its mention in the last book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” illustrating the tales’ integral role in wizarding culture and education. However, it’s essential to clarify that this particular tale was not adapted or explicitly featured in the movie versions of the Harry Potter series.
The story revolves around a skilled and handsome warlock who is exceptionally talented in the magical arts. Despite his many attributes, he is disdainful of love, viewing it as a weakness that hinders one’s magical prowess and abilities. To avoid falling prey to love’s follies, the warlock employs dark arts to magically remove his own heart from his body, locking it away in a hidden, enchanted casket. His heart remains locked away, and as a result, he becomes cold, emotionless, and immune to love or any form of affection.
As time passes, the warlock gains admiration and respect for his power and invulnerability, but he also becomes isolated and lonely. One day, during a feast, a beautiful and charming witch captivates his attention. Witnessing the affection and admiration she receives, the warlock decides he wants to marry her to gain similar admiration and respect.
Intrigued but cautious, the witch accepts his proposal, asking to see his heart first, as rumors about his emotionless existence had circulated. The warlock takes her to the casket where his hairy, withered heart is kept. Wanting to satisfy the witch’s request, he places the heart back into his chest.
However, the heart has become hardened and cruel over the years. Now, back in his body, it overwhelms him with ferocious and wild emotions. Consumed by jealousy and irrational rage, he accuses the witch of making him weak and vulnerable, which leads to a violent and tragic ending.
“The Warlock’s Hairy Heart” serves as a cautionary tale, warning against the suppression of natural human emotions and the dangers of meddling with one’s own heart using dark arts. The story illustrates the catastrophic consequences of trying to manipulate and remove essential aspects of the human experience, such as love and compassion.
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i think this is really good and intresting.
i have only watched the movies of harry potter but im sure the books are more intresting.
Voldemort didn’t know what he was dealing with when he heard the first part of the prophecy. He only tried to prevent it from coming true. Also in the case of this story it only tries to say that magic can only take you so far before terrible things can happen. Magic cannot solve everyones problems, no matter how much anyone wants it to.
I agree, this tale is a warning not to use magic while aiming to alter one’s nature. The Warlock wanted to be protected from love and locked his heart away but in doing so he became a beast,and so he had the heart of a beast. As Dubledore says in Order of the Phoenix, being a Human being is being able to feel pain, and pleasure alike it is a part of what we are. That tale also confirm that “it is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” The Warlock was powerful, talented, filthy rich, handsome, etc…
But he made the wrong choice.
Young Tom Riddle never read The tales of Beedle the Bard and even if he did or heard of them it would only be the “pureblood version.” The tale of the 3 brothers however we are sure he never heard of, beside the fact there was a Wand rumored to be the most powerful ever created. he wouldn’t have made the link.
Then again if he had read the sories and understood them he might’ve not become Lord Voldemort.
Actually, didn’t dumbledore say that the Warlock’s Heart was pretty much the only tale which was the same as the original version through generations?
Tom Riddle never read the stories as he only knew about wand not other deathly hallows, isnt it?
Lord Voldemort was only ignorant enough to believe that magic could beat anything without trouble. The tales of beedle the bard is Voldemort’s missing link in life and without it, he has not been able to see what other terrible things outstrip magic by miles.
Wiser people such as Dumbledore have looked beyond magic to see other things that are more important and much worse than magic and therefore, he has not been seduced by the dark arts like Voldemort has. The Warlock is a good resemblance to Voldemort in the sense that he tries to make himself different and unique. He also feels that love is an unneccessary obstacle that can be avoided by using magic. I agree that had Voldemort read this particular story, he may have been forced to change his ways and he may never have become Voldemort at all.
I dont think Voldemort would have changed even if he HAD read the stories…he was downright EVIL!
Apoorva,
it still comes down to the fact that Voldemort didn’t read these stories and this one in particular, and without this knowledge, he has become the villian we all know in the Harry Potter series.
Each of these stories teaches valuable lessons as to what can happen when magic is taken too far and what happens when you try to avoid death. Each of these stories is a contributing factor to Voldemort’s downfall.
1. The Warlock is an exact resemblance to Voldemort in what he wanted. he to, saw love as something to be avoided because they both considered it a feeble weakness. Voldemort seperates himself from the natural order when he creates horcruxes, the same as when the Warlock removed his heart. They both tried to become super-human but instead, ended up as wretched monsters who, eventually ended up dying.
2. The objects of death, each have a pull on people seeking immortality. In Voldemort’s case, he did not know about the Deathly Hallows and, in any case, he wanted to be the strongest wizard alive, so only the wand would have had a significance in his quest for immortality. The cloak and the resurrection stone combined with the wand were said to give the holder immortality but we know this not to be true.
Even if he knew about the deathly hallows, i seriously doubt that, if he read The Warlocks Hairy Heart, he would not have fallen prey to this theory of immortality in the first place and would have avoided doing what he did throughout the course of the Harry Potter books and he would have never ended up as Voldemort.
OK, are you seeing the pattern yet? The first story deals with Wizards helping Muggles. The second story deals with Wizards and Muggles helping each other and intermarrying. Both things the pure-bloods, the death-eaters, were against. Now we have a Warlock, which Dumbledore describes as a talented or powerful Wizard, locking his heart away. Sound like anybody we know?
Dumbledore himself acknowledges the similarity to what the Warlock does in this story and horcruxes, and even though the Warlock isn’t aiming to achieve immortality, it’s still as bad, separating something from yourself that shouldn’t be separated.
The Warlock discounted the importance to people of love, and didn’t Voldemort do that, too? He didn’t love anyone, and no one loved him (his death-eaters would say they did, but what they really did was fear him).
I wonder, what did young Tom Riddle think of this tale?
If every story has a moral, what is the moral of The Warlocks Hairy Heart? Hate Something, Learn to Love it, and then kill it, and yourself?
Although they’re very similar, I think this story has more of a lesson than a moral. It is a warning to Wizards, to think very carefully before they do magic, and consider the consequences. As Dumbledore quotes from Adalbert Waffling’s Fundamental Laws of Magic:
Tamper with the deepest mysteries —
the source of life, the essence of self —
only if prepared for the consequences of
the most extremre and dnagerous kind.
But, Nyx, the warlock didn’t learn to love. That’s the point. He faked it, and the maiden sensed that. He didn’t love her at all.
Dave, I wonder if Voldemort ever read Beedle? He was brought up in a Muggle orphanage. Who would have read him these stories? Hermione and Harry, both brought up with Muggles, got through six years at Hogwarts without hearing of Beedle. I can’t imagine Voldemort turning to children’s tales. He would have considered them beneath him. In fact, I’m pretty sure Dumbledore says as much in the Kings’ Cross chapter of DH.
He could have heard about them when he got to Hogwarts, but i think you’re right, Elizabeth, Tom Riddle ever read Beedle. Would he perhaps have turned out different if he had?
I think it might be the chicken and the egg, Dave. As Dumbledore said, if Voldemort had been able to understand the power of what Lily did, then he wouldn’t have BEEN Voldemort. Might be like that with Beedle – if he’d been the sort of child who could enjoy those tales and keep them with him the way we remember the fairy tales our parents told us, then he might never have become Voldemort. I’m sure he was told the usual Muggle fairy tales and he probably despised those too, so even if he heard of Beedle at Hogwarts he would have dismissed them. Perhaps later on he might have known their contents, but it would have jarred so badly with his beliefs by then that he still would have dismissed them as weak and despicable.
Reminds me alot of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, the way Davy Jones locks his heart away in a chest to stop the pain…
But of course there is a possibility that Voldemort did read Beedle the Bard, we know that when he’d found out he was a wizard and came to hogwarts was a very “happy” period in his life. So I can also imagine that he wanted to know what he had missed al those years he didn’t knew.
But I guess we’ll never know.
Voldy probably never read the tales. and even if he did, it wasn’t the original as we already know that Dumbledore was the only one with the orignal and the others where rewritten and changed. all that voldy ever heard of was the elder wand…probably from some dark wizard somewhere.
It gave me nightmares. I just don’t thing it is a children’s tale. A heart without an warm body or a body without a warm heart, both become cold and monsters.
“A heart without an warm body or a body without a warm heart, both become cold and monsters.”
I think that was the whole point of the story, Pamela Sue. It’s meant to be a warning about not messing with this sort of thing. Warnings aren’t usually meant to be pretty.
“Tamper with the deepest mysteries —
the source of life, the essence of self —
only if prepared for the consequences of
the most extremre and dnagerous kind.”
Do you think that’s part of the reason Dumbledore didn’t tell Harry what was going on? He didn’t want to try and manipulate at this level, so he just made sure the means and tools were there when Harry needed and understood them? I mean, look what happened when Voldemort tried to mess with the outcome of the prophecy. Dumbledore on the other hand, had the courage and wisdom to let things play out and trust in Harry’s courage and integrity.