But I don ' t feel like that ' s in line with the character set forth by Elphias Doge in his eulogy . He became a teacher because he was passionate about teaching , guiding and engaging . Where it could be said that the death of his mother and then his sister might have changed that , I ' d say that was a big part of him and it doesn ' t entirely make sense to me for him to lose that even after such a great tragedy . Why else would he still pursue the career ? I can ' t accept that his apparent ? lack of engagement was due to anything except it being the best tactical decision or due to his lack of time . It kind of makes his final years slightly more sad , doesn ' t it ? Because , sure , he achieved a lot becoming the Headmaster and Chief Warlock . Though , he became unable to pursue his greatest passion of teaching . But then he did get to teach and guide Harry , so there ' s that , at least .