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So is Professor Snape sexy? I suppose it depends on whom you ask. (Canon) Harry would say no, as would the Marauders, but judging by the amount of Snape fanfic out there pairing him up with various canon characters and OCs of both genders, a lot of readers would reply with a resounding "yes!"
I don't think that Snape is actively trying to attract a mate or potential romantic partner; he has far too much on his plate, playing his role of double spy, and in any case, still seems too wrapped up in his guilt over Lily's death to be able to seek out a relationship. However, that doesn't mean that other people don't find him attractive.
Of course, the canon description of him having greasy hair, sallow skin, and a big nose doesn't automatically paint an attractive picture in one's mind, but as we discussed in the various entries for the January challenge on Severus' hair, including my own "Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder," those attributes don't automatically mean that he is unattractive, either. After all, a hawklike nose can be a striking and distinguished feature. And plenty of people in real life have naturally oily hair or sallow skin, but that doesn't mean that they're all ugly. I personally see his looks as more striking and compelling, rather than being prettily handsome in a Lockhart sort of way, but I think what matters more than one's physical features is the way one carries oneself. Someone who is confident and charismatic can be very attractive even if physically, they might be only average in looks.
From Harry's POV in the books, Snape projects a very unattractive personality, though: angry, sarcastic, bitter, and petty. But that isn't the way that Snape acts with everyone. He shows in the "Spinner's End" chapter in HBP that he can behave in a smooth and charming manner when he wants to. He obviously isn't trying to seduce either of the women, but he treats Narcissa with an almost courtly manner; I'm sure that he could be quite charming with someone that he was actually interested in. And, as others in this community have pointed out previously, this is one of the few chapters not seen through Harry's POV, and Snape is never described as greasy or unattractive.
And some people might actually enjoy Snape's caustic wit--probably not the students who are the victims of it, and who can't talk back to a teacher without being punished--but an adult (maybe a fellow teacher or Order member), someone who is Snape's equal and who can give as well as they get, might enjoy matching wits with our snarky Potions Master. After all, how many romance movies and novels have sexual tension sparking through the hero and heroine's frequent arguments? That is the old cliche, isn't it--"I hate you, therefore I must be attracted to you"? Doesn't that contribute to the chemistry some people see between adversaries, like Snape and Harry, or Harry and Draco? So snark and sarcasm can be sexy, to the right person.
There's also Snape's voice, which is frequently described as "silky". Imagine him using that voice in bed with a lover, and wow, that seems pretty sexy to me! I think he's also sometimes described as using "sweeping" movements, with his robes billowing around him, which might seem sexy to some, although perhaps overly dramatic to others. Me, I love it!
However sexy he might be, Snape doesn't seem interested in a relationship, since he's still torn up with guilt over having inadvertently contributed to the death of his first love, Lily. But that too, can be sexy in a way, I suppose--to have Snape find a new love in fanfic, and get over his guilt, and find some healing and happiness for himself. Hurt/comfort is big sub-genre of fanfic, so maybe the fact that Snape is so emotionally messed up is sexy, in an odd sort of way, although that makes it sound shallow and trivial. So maybe "sexy" isn't exactly the right word, but there's something about his unhappiness that strikes a chord in fans. I know that for me, I feel badly for Snape that he had such a miserable life, and though he made a lot of mistakes, he was doing his best to make up for them, so in fanfic, I want to get him to a place where he can begin to heal.
Of course, the canon description of him having greasy hair, sallow skin, and a big nose doesn't automatically paint an attractive picture in one's mind, but as we discussed in the various entries for the January challenge on Severus' hair, including my own "Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder," those attributes don't automatically mean that he is unattractive, either. After all, a hawklike nose can be a striking and distinguished feature. And plenty of people in real life have naturally oily hair or sallow skin, but that doesn't mean that they're all ugly. I personally see his looks as more striking and compelling, rather than being prettily handsome in a Lockhart sort of way, but I think what matters more than one's physical features is the way one carries oneself. Someone who is confident and charismatic can be very attractive even if physically, they might be only average in looks.
From Harry's POV in the books, Snape projects a very unattractive personality, though: angry, sarcastic, bitter, and petty. But that isn't the way that Snape acts with everyone. He shows in the "Spinner's End" chapter in HBP that he can behave in a smooth and charming manner when he wants to. He obviously isn't trying to seduce either of the women, but he treats Narcissa with an almost courtly manner; I'm sure that he could be quite charming with someone that he was actually interested in. And, as others in this community have pointed out previously, this is one of the few chapters not seen through Harry's POV, and Snape is never described as greasy or unattractive.
And some people might actually enjoy Snape's caustic wit--probably not the students who are the victims of it, and who can't talk back to a teacher without being punished--but an adult (maybe a fellow teacher or Order member), someone who is Snape's equal and who can give as well as they get, might enjoy matching wits with our snarky Potions Master. After all, how many romance movies and novels have sexual tension sparking through the hero and heroine's frequent arguments? That is the old cliche, isn't it--"I hate you, therefore I must be attracted to you"? Doesn't that contribute to the chemistry some people see between adversaries, like Snape and Harry, or Harry and Draco? So snark and sarcasm can be sexy, to the right person.
There's also Snape's voice, which is frequently described as "silky". Imagine him using that voice in bed with a lover, and wow, that seems pretty sexy to me! I think he's also sometimes described as using "sweeping" movements, with his robes billowing around him, which might seem sexy to some, although perhaps overly dramatic to others. Me, I love it!
However sexy he might be, Snape doesn't seem interested in a relationship, since he's still torn up with guilt over having inadvertently contributed to the death of his first love, Lily. But that too, can be sexy in a way, I suppose--to have Snape find a new love in fanfic, and get over his guilt, and find some healing and happiness for himself. Hurt/comfort is big sub-genre of fanfic, so maybe the fact that Snape is so emotionally messed up is sexy, in an odd sort of way, although that makes it sound shallow and trivial. So maybe "sexy" isn't exactly the right word, but there's something about his unhappiness that strikes a chord in fans. I know that for me, I feel badly for Snape that he had such a miserable life, and though he made a lot of mistakes, he was doing his best to make up for them, so in fanfic, I want to get him to a place where he can begin to heal.
*coughcough*James and Lily*cough*
PurpleFluffyCat x
It doesn’t even paint any ugly person for me either. I guess I grew up with many people who fit this description.
--probably not the students who are the victims of it, and who can't talk back to a teacher without being punished--
True, but I also don’t think that he is hated by all the students either.
”I hate you, therefore I must be attracted to you"?
I can see this in some cases, but not all. I know JKR loves this for James and Lily, but the problem I have here is that James is using physical force on her best friend. What gets me the most in this scene is that Snape is being picked on, and not that he said mudblood. I’m not so shocked by words, unless it is by people who claim they don’t uses certain word and then they turn around and say something that is just as offensive. I guess what I’m trying to say here is that I personally don’t like SWM as James declaration of love for Lily.
Snape doesn't seem interested in a relationship, since he's still torn up with guilt over having inadvertently contributed to the death of his first love, Lily.
I think that his is overwork and has Dumbledore constantly reminding him. I do think if these two factors were taken away he would have been able to work things out a lot earlier.
…and though he made a lot of mistakes,/i>
What are the mistakes you are talking about? The biggest one is that he joined the DE, but I still don’t think canon has given us a reason why he did. I also don’t think canon gave us how active they were when Snape joined as terri testing essay explains.
http://terri-testing.livejournal.com/10
I’ve read many fan fics where his reasons for joining are not for evil reasons. Canon also gave reasons why others had to join. So I think canon gives a lot of room for interpretation here.
And as for other characters making mistakes, one of the biggest ones I see was that Harry almost killed Draco. Okay, Harry’s intent wasn’t to do it, but he didn’t seem to feel any remorse for what he had done.
Me as well. The only part of this that bothers me is the greasy hair, but considering his profession and where he lives I'm not surprised. Dungeons + Potions can't possibly be good for a person's hair, and honestly, I see him more as the guy who thinks rubbing some bar soap through his hair is going to do the job and then not understanding why his hair always looks so oily. But I never pictured him as innately ugly, but I've always had odd taste in men anyway, so I can understand that he's not meant to be appealing to the wider audience. (We have Sirius for that -- Harry just can't say enough about how handsome he is. :P)
Also, agreeing with your comment on whether students like him, the Slytherins clearly do like him, and it is canon that he punished them to some extent (Crabbe and Goyle seem to have detentions with him on a regular basis), so while he favoured them he also must have had some kind of discipline in place as well, though it probably happened when Harry wasn't looking (or else Harry just ignored it -- everyone is prone to dismissing things that don't support our existing notions, political, personal, whatever). And while he favors them over Gryffindors (which is obvious), we really don't see how he interacts with the other houses. I have the feeling his bias wouldn't be as strong against Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff because he has no personal aversion to them the way he does with Gryffindor. Additionally, all personal dislike aside, his students have remarkably high marks according to Umbridge, so I'm sure that the sort of students who would identify his teaching style as effective might like him more than the ones who believe he just hates everyone and wants to make the miserable. Not that this would be particularly common (I remember hating teachers like him when I was a student) but I do think people like Percy Weasley and even Hermione showed that they respected him for his teaching methods even though they disapproved of them when things became very personal. But the only character we see him taking personal issues in hand with is Harry -- even with Neville, he never brought up Neville's parents or family or anything of that nature, so I'm inclined to believe that Harry is (as always) a special case.
As for mistakes -- come on. I mean, I understand that he has reasons for the things he does, but so does everyone else on the planet. Every Death Eater had reasons to join, just like every hate group member in the real world. I don't think reasoning alone changes how guilty they are. It was a mistake for Severus because he wasn't sold on the blood issue, I think he was just incredibly attracted to the Dark Magic aspect, and it came back badly in a way that he felt he had to defect. Yes, he had complicated personal reasons for doing what he did, but that doesn't change the fact that he did them. It's luck that he didn't seem to do many crimes that were terribly vicious, not choice. Although I don't see him as actually enjoying the suffering of other people, he would have known upon joining the DE that it was a lifetime commitment, and whether or not he wanted to torture or kill people, if that was his order he would have had to do it. Unless he joined TO spy (which canon says no to), then joining was definitely a mistake he made. The point of his backstory is to help us understand him, not to clear him of any responsibility.
Because no one does things for 'evil reasons'. People don't deliberately do things that they believe are wrong. But that doesn't mean those things aren't wrong in our eyes, or in the view of the other members of the wizarding world.
And I do think that Harry showed remorse over hurting Draco. It wasn't his intent and he was shocked by it, but I think his fear of what Snape would do if he knew about the book overshadowed the regret he had for hurting Draco so badly. There are times that Harry doesn't show remorse for what he does to Draco (when he and the twins beat Draco up after the Quidditch game, for example), but I don't think this was one of them.
I think here is we differ. I don’t compare the Harry Potter world to the real world.
Every Death Eater had reasons to join, just like every hate group member in the real world. I don't think reasoning alone changes how guilty they are.
You compare DE to hate groups in the real world. I don’t. If I use a world to compare them to it would probably be another fictional world like the X-men.
It was a mistake for Severus because he wasn't sold on the blood issue, I think he was just incredibly attracted to the Dark Magic aspect, and it came back badly in a way that he felt he had to defect.
The thing is that we are not shown what drew him in. It could have been because of the blood issue, even Dark Magic, or many other reasons that people have come up with. When I read fan fiction I want to be shown what evil he has done. I don’t want the writer to assume that I interpret text the same way as they do.
I personally can’t compare the Harry Potter to the real world, and I don’t think of it as some great teaching tool.
We aren't shown what drew him in, no, but considering that other characters (including Sirius & Remus) talk to his relationship with the DE as related to his interest in Dark Magic, and considering he was a half-blood and his bff was a muggleborn, I doubt the blood was a real issue for him. People that hated him didn't associate him as being interested in the blood aspect, which is much easier to judge a person over than just an interest in a branch of magic that is very loosely defined in the books. If it had applied, I think Sirius would have used it. I'm sure Snape was ashamed of his heritage because of the fact that the people around him would have looked down on him for it, but I don't think he truly believed he or Lily were inferior to any of them.
I don't think he is personally 100% responsible for what happened to Lily, but I do think that he did make a mistake in that event. I think his involvement in that particular situation is really minor and almost completely accidental, compared to the other characters involved in the Potters' deaths. Even if he hadn't delivered the prophecy, it would still have shown up in the Ministry and with how many people Vold had working there, they could have taken it to him (even though they couldn't hear it themselves), and eventually it would have come back to him. But the fact that Severus delivered the prophecy to him meant it happened more quickly and actions were taken as a result, things that Severus didn't anticipate happening and deeply regretted, which makes it a mistake in his eyes and in the eyes of the reader.
As far as comparing the DE to real-world hate groups, that is the clear parallel, I don't know how else a person could define the Death Eaters other than as a hate group, and since JKR wrote them intentionally to be a hate group, that's how I read them. Although I don't take the same things from her writing as she thinks I should (which is a big mistake on the part of any author, I think, because you can't control how your readers interpret things and you shouldn't judge them for getting something from it other than your approved and intended message), I won't be the person who completely throws away the author's intention just because of that. She meant them to be a racist organization like the KKK or the Nazis, and since she is writing from her real world perspective on such groups, they obviously can be compared and I'm not sure why anyone would argue otherwise.
She meant them to be a racist organization like the KKK or the Nazis, and since she is writing from her real world perspective on such groups, they obviously can be compared and I'm not sure why anyone would argue otherwise.
Oh I can think of many reasons.
I’m through here. You don’t seem to want to discuses but “educate” here.
*facepalm* I meant to include something about the Slytherins in the essay, and completely forgot! I was rushing a bit to get the it done by the end of February. Anyway, I do think the Slytherins like, or at least respect him. Clearly Draco likes and admires him, until he believes that Snape is usurping his father's position, and in general, they probably appreciate that he favors them over the other Houses.
Good point about Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, too. I see them as being too smart and sensible to provoke him as the Gryffindors do, and as long as they follow instructions and work hard, Snape has no reason to punish them, although he probably doesn't hand out much praise, either. But I bet that the Ravenclaws especially can appreciate the value of what he's teaching them, even if they don't necessarily like him. So there may be some respect, even admiration there. Someone mentioned above that intelligence can be a sexy trait, and Ravenclaws are supposed to value intelligence above all, so maybe there are a few Ravenclaws (and Slytherins) who have secret crushes on Professor Snape! ^_^
Yes, good point! I think someone else pointed out down below that the Slytherins regard him much differently than the Gryffindors, and it's possible that even the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws don't hate him, since his harsh treatment might be reserved mainly for the Gryffs, though we don't know for sure. Hmm, it may even be that a few young Slytherins have crushes on their Head of House? ;-)
What are the mistakes you are talking about? The biggest one is that he joined the DE, but I still don’t think canon has given us a reason why he did.
Mainly joining the DEs and giving Voldemort the prophecy, and also taking out his resentment of James on Harry. Not that Harry doesn't deserve to be reprimanded at times, but Snape doesn't seem to able to separate Harry from his father. (For what it's worth, my initial feeling pre-DH was that he had joined up with the budding DEs like Lucius in order to gain protection from people like the Marauders.)
To be honest, I mainly threw that point in there because I get tired of hearing people say, "Oh, you Snape fans always whitewash Snape and overlook all the bad things he did." So I just wanted to make the point that yes, I know he has flaws and isn't perfect, but I still find him appealing, anyway. I didn't really mean to start off a debate about the morality of Snape's choices. I guess it shows what a complex character he is, that these issues can come up even in an essay about his sexiness! And his complexity is one of the things that makes him compelling to me.
I didn’t either. But I wanted to know what bad things you were talking about. Maybe you saw him as someone who killed and torched while he was DE, or something else. I guess I see it in so many fan fic where the author doesn’t cover what they believe what Snape did as a DE, and assume that we all have the same interpretation. I think that since JKR did more telling than showing that what bad things he did can be taken in so many directions, and I think each interpretation is valid. So thanks for the clarification.
(For what it's worth, my initial feeling pre-DH was that he had joined up with the budding DEs like Lucius in order to gain protection from people like the Marauders.)
That sounds good. I’m always changing my mind why he did. I wrote a little drabble of my newest reason.
http://vern.insanejournal.com/1875.h
Well, isn't his physical description and body language shallow and trivial, too? lol I would argue that sympathy for his angst is a valid reason to be attracted to the character.
And, really, I think this is a huge draw in HP characters in general. While there's a lot of Marauder fans out there, there've always seemed (to me, anyway) to be a lot more Sirius fans than James fans. Because Sirius is troubled and reckless in a way James (supposedly) isn't, Sirius has a painful home situation, ran away from home, etc. James is the well-adjusted one by comparison! And this, of course, is one of the reasons I actually end up disliking James more than Sirius. Because I feel like that level of bullying is almost always indicative of some kind of larger, deeper emotional problem. With Sirius, we know what the problem is. With James? He's just spoiled, maybe? The rich, popular jocks in my high school (and in general, I think) don't go to that extent just to keep top-dog status, and so I don't understand WHY he would indulge in such violent bullying, where we can come up with emotional reasons for Sirius' behavior.
And tell me how many Remus fans would be out there if he was just the Marauder "doormat", and didn't have the angst of his werewolf transformations? That's a huge draw, it explains his behavior to a big degree, and people are attracted to characters that have those kind of problems.
The same is true of Draco, too, though I feel JKR could have done more with him and Harry isn't in a position to see his turmoil as much as the Gryffindor characters. Although I think she wanted us to think that Draco was like James (through the memories -- his line is almost exactly the same as James' first line), his "bullying" is very meek in comparison, and he doesn't have the wider school's support in it. The Weasley Twins are a better parallel to James & Sirius, but they also don't seem to have any level of emotional troubling. But they, at least, have the "come from a huge family being overshadowed and constantly criticized by the Queen Bee" aspect to show that they might be acting out for attention in a family that doesn't have an abundance of time for each individual child. James doesn't have that, which makes him more puzzling to me. A person doesn't just "grow up" and out of that kind of bullying, because that's not a natural amount of antagonism to inflict on other people. Knock his books out of his hands, okay, start rumors, whatever, but public stripping and force-feeding soap, this kind of stuff is way more than the norm. This is the grubby little bastard bullying that happens in kids who are more criminals than knights, and JKR clearly wants us to think that James grew into shining armor. Well it doesn't mesh for me.
And Severus' behavior, I'm sure, would never have been acceptable to the fandom if we didn't always suspect there was more going on with him than just being a bastard. Even before we had canon proof, it was widely assumed that there was something unpleasant in his childhood to make him the way he is. So it's kind of hand-in-hand with his "sexiness", or general appeal. To like him you have to accept that the bad things he does stem from something deeper that we have sympathy for, otherwise he becomes an unforgivable character who bullies children for no reason and singles out Harry because he was jealous of his father as a boy. I don't think anyone here believes that, and that's because we all share the idea that he has emotional problems.
Yes, you're absolutely right! It's just that when I was writing it down, it seemed like it was coming out as "Snape's suffering turns me on," which sounds a bit...off. ^_^
But yes, it definitely makes him more appealing, and you also make good points about Sirius and Lupin. Sirius maybe has some excuse for his behavior, although I still want to smack him upside the head at times, but James seems to be someone who's had every advantage and still turned out as a bully, so I'm much tougher on him, as a fan and a fanfic writer. Of course, we don't really know much about his home life, but there don't seem to be any indications that his parents were abusive or neglectful. I suspect it might be the other way around, and he was rather spoiled, which contributed to his sense of self-importance.
otherwise he becomes an unforgivable character who bullies children for no reason and singles out Harry because he was jealous of his father as a boy
Oh yes! I started to find Snape interesting at the end of Book 1, when Dumbledore revealed that he had been protecting Harry, but I really didn't start liking him until Book 3, when the whole back story about the prank and the Marauders was revealed. So yes, maybe his vulnerability is the most "sexy" trait he has.
Nevertheless, as you say, balanced against that is a wicked sense of humour, obvious intelligence, and that silky voice. And while I agree with some other posters that canon Snape would not be an experienced lover, I do think he is enough of a perfectionist that he would learn quickly with some . . . encouragement.
But the thing that I find sexy is what you hint at with the robes, etc. He's got this intensity that is almost overwhelming. He doesn't do things half-way, whether for good or ill. And the thought of all that single-minded focus and intensity, together with the voice (which as you note is described as silky in canon---well before Rickman made his appearance), all focused on mutual pleasure . . . how could anyone not find that alluring?
I also agree that he would learn quickly and become very skilled at whatever he set his mind to! ^_^
single-minded focus and intensity
Re: single-minded focus and intensity