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This should be good. ;) First a bit of canon . . . US Ed. p.740-1
"Snape's Patronus was a doe," said Harry, "the same as my mother's, because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realized," he said as he saw Voldemort's nostrils flare, "he asked you to spare her life, didn't he?"
"He desired her, that was all," sneered Voldemort, "but when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him-"
"Of course, he told you that," said Harry, "but he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, . . . "
I do think Voldemort has it wrong-even if Snape loved Lily obsessively, I believe he loved her as best as he was able. But Harry may have over simplified things and probably the truth lies between.
So who were these other women? Girlfriends? One night stands? Did they even exist? I just noticed for the first time that Voldemort said "he agreed that there were other women." That leaves quite a bit of wiggle room.
I would ask that we stick to canon-yes, yes, we all know he was shagging Lupin or waiting for Hermione to come of age :P but for the purposes of this discussion, please leave your favorite ship at the door.
"Snape's Patronus was a doe," said Harry, "the same as my mother's, because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realized," he said as he saw Voldemort's nostrils flare, "he asked you to spare her life, didn't he?"
"He desired her, that was all," sneered Voldemort, "but when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him-"
"Of course, he told you that," said Harry, "but he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, . . . "
I do think Voldemort has it wrong-even if Snape loved Lily obsessively, I believe he loved her as best as he was able. But Harry may have over simplified things and probably the truth lies between.
So who were these other women? Girlfriends? One night stands? Did they even exist? I just noticed for the first time that Voldemort said "he agreed that there were other women." That leaves quite a bit of wiggle room.
I would ask that we stick to canon-yes, yes, we all know he was shagging Lupin or waiting for Hermione to come of age :P but for the purposes of this discussion, please leave your favorite ship at the door.
As far as canon, through Harry's point-of-view we're lead to believe that none of the teachers at Hogwarts had personal lives at all. None of them are mentioned as having ever been married, let alone ever leaving the castle, so it's hard to say. More realistically, I'm sure the teachers went out to bars, got sloshed, had one night stands, had long term relationships, and everything else that real people do.
Again, canon would suggest that Snape had an undying love for Lily to an obsessive amount and that there was never anyone else for him. While I do believe he loved her, I think she was more of an ideal for him and an icon of his mistakes and what he had to atone for. The memory of her is painful because it's a reminder of his fall into the bad guys, and arguably some of the very worst days of his life.
So my personal opinion is that, yes, there were probably other women. I also agree that they were probably fairly shallow relationships or one night stands. However, I don't think it's far-fetched that he could have died a virgin either -- I've known plenty of people (male and female) that are virgins well into their 30s, and they're friendly, attractive and well-adjusted people. Canon implies that Snape is none of these.
Of course, given that the books are entirely from Harry's point of view, we may be mislead there as well. Sometimes I wonder how ugly Snape really was/is being as we only have his description from Harry. Okay now I'm just rambling :)
"The Harry filter" is a well-worn topic of discussion in Snape fandom. ;) We do have a few glimpses that are more neutral, such as in "Spinner's End", which is not through anyone's eyes in particular (perhaps Bellatrix or Narcissa's, but it seems more omniscient to me; maybe even Snape's own?). I don't have the book in front of me but, for example, I think it's the only time the adjective "greasy" is left off his hair, and it's described simply as "black curtains".
I do get the impression he is a plain man (certainly not "handsome" like Sirius), but to Harry he becomes uglier because Harry hates him (for most of the books). It's the opposite phenomenon to how someone becomes more attractive, or at least you kind of stop seeing their physical flaws, if you like them.