With the death of Alan Rickman (the actor who played Snape, the good guy who everyone believed to be bad in the Harry Potter movies), the idea of heroes and villains comes to mind. While Lord Voldemort was supposed to be the main antagonist in the Harry Potter series, Dolores Jane Umbridge represented a villain that most of us had come across in our personal lives. The books talked about Tom Riddle/Voldemort's childhood and so it is easier to understand why he was who he was. Umbridge, however, was the epitome of pure evil and a fictional representation of some of the most terrible people in the real world.
1. She was our childhood bully.
She felt pleasure seeing you in pain and found joy in making your life harder than it already was. She was sadistic, rude and abusive. She was racist, treating Muggle-borns and Fireze (the centaur) poorly, and firing Hagrid who was half giant.
2. She was our corrupt government official.
Because of her, Hogwarts had a political agenda in the fifth book. She set the dementors on Dudley and Harry, due to which Harry had to use the Patronus charm outside of Hogwarts. Since this was illegal, he then had to have a hearing at the Ministry of Magic to fight against his expulsion, and Umbridge, who was present at the hearing, made it a lot harder for him. She did not teach Defense Against the Dark Arts in a practical and hands-on manner to reduce the ability of the students to create an uprising against the ministry.
3. She was our unreasonable teacher.
She created an academic environment that was not conducive to challenging and questioning, basically limiting freedom of speech. She punished Harry with a blood quill, which engraved "I must not tell lies" into the back of his hand because she said he was lying about the return of Voldemort.
4. She was our two-faced "friend."
She acted cute and friendly with all her pink attire, sweet smelling perfume and tea and biscuits, but deep down she was vile and dangerous. She brought an uncomfortable and unsafe aura with her, wherever she went.
5. She was our gossipy co-worker.
She was that colleague who created politics in the workplace. Turning people against one another, she had her minions (Mr Filch) to do her dirty work and her enemies (Professor McGonagall) who would not kneel to her command.
6. She was our horrible boss.
The iconic scene when she tried to banish Professor Trelawney from Hogwarts has left a scar in the memory of all Harry Potter fans. Umbridge was overconfident and condescending, patronizing anyone who did not worship her. She demanded respect but did not return it and would get the Ministry to make rules according to her wishes, even if they were non-sensical.
All in all, Umbridge embodied all our real life villains. She hit too close to home, making her more hated than the Dark Lord himself.
