![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
This month's topic really was made for you. ;-) Good job, Geri, and some interesting thoughts on a subject that isn't one I usually give a lot of thought to.
And the picture painted of the young Snape in "The Prince's Tale" in DH doesn't really strike me as that of a young man fascinated by the Dark Arts. ... the impression I got was that of someone who began learning curses not so much out of a personal obsession, but in order to fit in with his Housemates and to defend himself from and/or get revenge on the Marauders. So that does put a bit of a damper on my theory about Snape relating to Lupin as a Dark creature.
That's exactly the impression I came away with, as well. Or as I said a long time ago, Severus is "more snark than dark." He's a sarcastic, defensive young man using a hard shell to protect his considerable sense of vulnerability, not someone with a truly "dark" orientation. As you said, his interest in the Dark Arts is as a tool to be understood, used, and/or defended against. I personally think it stems from his sense of vulnerability: as a child from the wrong side of the tracks in an unstable home; as the ongoing target of two of the most popular students in the school; and as a poor half-blood of no important lineage living in pureblood-obsessed Slytherin.
I also think that people that scoff at so-called "woobie Snape" tend to be long-time fans who harbored either a Personal Snape who was Really Dark or a Personal Snape who was Secretly Suave, and who were disappointed to find out that the real Severus was just a human being with a good heart and a defensive, unpleasant outer shell. And then they turn around and say, "Oh, Snape is complex"--even as they over look the complexity of being a good person who got lured into some really bad circles for a while!
Finally, I think you make a really good observation about how Severus inventing the Wolfsbane Potion would make perfect sense in light of his self-protecting nature and motivation for his magical interests. I think it was just a case of Rowling not being "into" Severus enough to think of fleshing out his character in this way.
And the picture painted of the young Snape in "The Prince's Tale" in DH doesn't really strike me as that of a young man fascinated by the Dark Arts. ... the impression I got was that of someone who began learning curses not so much out of a personal obsession, but in order to fit in with his Housemates and to defend himself from and/or get revenge on the Marauders. So that does put a bit of a damper on my theory about Snape relating to Lupin as a Dark creature.
That's exactly the impression I came away with, as well. Or as I said a long time ago, Severus is "more snark than dark." He's a sarcastic, defensive young man using a hard shell to protect his considerable sense of vulnerability, not someone with a truly "dark" orientation. As you said, his interest in the Dark Arts is as a tool to be understood, used, and/or defended against. I personally think it stems from his sense of vulnerability: as a child from the wrong side of the tracks in an unstable home; as the ongoing target of two of the most popular students in the school; and as a poor half-blood of no important lineage living in pureblood-obsessed Slytherin.
I also think that people that scoff at so-called "woobie Snape" tend to be long-time fans who harbored either a Personal Snape who was Really Dark or a Personal Snape who was Secretly Suave, and who were disappointed to find out that the real Severus was just a human being with a good heart and a defensive, unpleasant outer shell. And then they turn around and say, "Oh, Snape is complex"--even as they over look the complexity of being a good person who got lured into some really bad circles for a while!
Finally, I think you make a really good observation about how Severus inventing the Wolfsbane Potion would make perfect sense in light of his self-protecting nature and motivation for his magical interests. I think it was just a case of Rowling not being "into" Severus enough to think of fleshing out his character in this way.