Re: Harry and Severus, part I
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I do agree with you, as you know, but I have, I'm afraid, another essay in me concerning Severus Snape. It will focus on the Beatitudes. You see, everyone has defined the conflict in the books as that between love and death. or love and power. I think the true conflict is between love and the fear of death - and whose love is actually victorious here? If you really think about it, Severus, and only Severus, is the victor.
That is actually what Rowling wrote. Lily's love for Harry was (I insist) no more special than ALice Longbottom's for Neville, or that German mother's for her children. What mattered was that she actually had a choice as to whether she lived or died. Only Snape's love for her gave her that choice.
So, Rowling may have intended Severus as a minor character, simply a catalyst for the action, but that is actually not what she wrote.
Good essay, Geri! I do think the lack of resolution between these two characters, and the lack of any real growth in Harry, is by far the most frustrating thing in these very frustrating books.
That is actually what Rowling wrote. Lily's love for Harry was (I insist) no more special than ALice Longbottom's for Neville, or that German mother's for her children. What mattered was that she actually had a choice as to whether she lived or died. Only Snape's love for her gave her that choice.
So, Rowling may have intended Severus as a minor character, simply a catalyst for the action, but that is actually not what she wrote.
Good essay, Geri! I do think the lack of resolution between these two characters, and the lack of any real growth in Harry, is by far the most frustrating thing in these very frustrating books.