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We all remember the great Snape debates before DH came out. About where his loyalties were as of the end of HBP, when they changed if ever, how many times they changed. I think we agree that DH settled this question (even if we don't know the exact time-point we know which events triggered the turning points in his path). Another question was how far he went as Death Eater. After DH the consensus in this forum seems to be that canon suggests either at that he did not go as far as killing, or that if he did he fully repented for such killings and healed his soul to the extent that is possible. It is clear from canon that whatever he was as a Death Eater, the man we see during Harry's Hogwarts years is a man with a strong conscience, with a clear view of right and wrong (despite having to act on the edge due to his role as a spy), who does not make light of having to commit harmful acts for a long-term beneficial goal.
But even without ever killing anyone directly, with his own hand/wand, there is much he could have done. The most obvious is the brewing of poisons and other harmful potions that were then administered to innocent victims by others. Then there is the invention of new harmful, potentially lethal spells, and teaching such spells to other DEs, thus resulting in injuries and deaths among their victims. I think the worst I have seen in fanfics is Mengele!Snape - Snape in his DE days using captives (mostly Muggles) to test properties of newly invented potions. Some scenarios get extremely gruesome, with a team of DEs at Snape's command cutting through a still living victim so that Snape could observe damage to internal organs as it took place.
So my question is, would knowing something like that change anything in your attitude to Severus Snape? Is his complete repentance enough for you as a reader to disregard anything, however cruel, he may have done in his dark period, or would the thought that this was a man who may have been capable of such horrors disturb you enough to feel you cannot forgive him completely? Do you think a man who had commited such actions is capable of abandoning them for good or would he always be at risk of backsliding?
But even without ever killing anyone directly, with his own hand/wand, there is much he could have done. The most obvious is the brewing of poisons and other harmful potions that were then administered to innocent victims by others. Then there is the invention of new harmful, potentially lethal spells, and teaching such spells to other DEs, thus resulting in injuries and deaths among their victims. I think the worst I have seen in fanfics is Mengele!Snape - Snape in his DE days using captives (mostly Muggles) to test properties of newly invented potions. Some scenarios get extremely gruesome, with a team of DEs at Snape's command cutting through a still living victim so that Snape could observe damage to internal organs as it took place.
So my question is, would knowing something like that change anything in your attitude to Severus Snape? Is his complete repentance enough for you as a reader to disregard anything, however cruel, he may have done in his dark period, or would the thought that this was a man who may have been capable of such horrors disturb you enough to feel you cannot forgive him completely? Do you think a man who had commited such actions is capable of abandoning them for good or would he always be at risk of backsliding?
But what if...? I wrote a story where Snape had done more evil as a Death Eater than I really thought he did, brewing a destructive potion and testing them with the same detachment our scientists use to test chemicals on animals. I quit a job because of the callous attitude towards life on the part of scientists I was working with... and, of course, their work was all in the name of saving lives. Yet, I don't hate any of those scientists. I don't admire or support them, but that is something else. I wrote Snape as the creator of a biochemical warfare-type potion partially to explore whether he could create something like that and be forgiven. In my story, he mouthed Manhattan Project-type justifications that would make his actions acceptable in war (this will serve the greater good in the long run, I'm not the one unleashing it on human populations) and in many scientific communities (I'm merely testing interesting concepts and expanding our knowledge), but my Snape never forgave himself, was never less than honest about his past, and always tried to mitigate the harm he might cause. He wasn't necessarily graceful to others in his actions, not forgiving of others' weaknesses, but I love the character with his flaws as well as his strengths.
I guess the larger meta question is, can one forgive a torturer? What of the soldiers at Guantanamo depriving prisoners of sleep, quiet, and warmth, playing mind games like Russian Roulette, beating and perhaps even water-boarding detainees? An individual asked to inflict these abuses may have the option to leave, although I know not at what cost. But if soldiers do not leave, should we not forgive them? This is a tremendously difficult question to answer, especially when soldiers do many horrendous things these days and are told it is part of their missions, or serves to make the world safer, or is just part of their job. I could give you my personal thinking on this subject, but it's quite complicated and here might not be the place.
In the end, Severus was trying to do what he felt was right, but he was a follower of men who routinely lied and abused others. Further, he accepted that he couldn't save everyone. (The only reason Harry saved everyone was because Rowling said he could, based on the lie Voldemort told.) Should Harry have taken himself out of the action and ultimately given up his life while others suffered? Should Severus have sat there and let Voldemort kill Charity Burbage? What would you have done?
I felt so bad for Snape in that scene. The requirement to follow Dumbledore's plan overrode all other considerations. Both Harry and Severus were following orders to the extreme, in Snape's case, possibly against his conscience (in terms of killing Dumbledore or watching others die). I think Harry's forgiveness of Snape partially grew out of their shared "following orders" situation. Of course, those orders were Dumbledore's. Did Harry forgive Draco for following Voldemort's orders?
In my story, he mouthed Manhattan Project-type justifications that would make his actions acceptable in war (this will serve the greater good in the long run, I'm not the one unleashing it on human populations) and in many scientific communities (I'm merely testing interesting concepts and expanding our knowledge), but my Snape never forgave himself, was never less than honest about his past, and always tried to mitigate the harm he might cause. He wasn't necessarily graceful to others in his actions, not forgiving of others' weaknesses, but I love the character with his flaws as well as his strengths.
I agree that one thing that makes Severus an interesting character is that he does not forgive himself easily, does not make up excuses or find the easy way out - and he holds others up to the same standard.
I felt so bad for Snape in that scene. The requirement to follow Dumbledore's plan overrode all other considerations. Both Harry and Severus were following orders to the extreme, in Snape's case, possibly against his conscience (in terms of killing Dumbledore or watching others die). I think Harry's forgiveness of Snape partially grew out of their shared "following orders" situation. Of course, those orders were Dumbledore's. Did Harry forgive Draco for following Voldemort's orders?
Harry and Severus were unique tools in Dumbleodre's arsenal. Because of Harry's fate as Voldemort's Horcrux and because of Severus' place as the only undercover agent in Voldemort's organisation and as the only surviving person who knew about Harry's being a Horcrux they were irreplaceable. This means that neither of them could be judged by what some other order member would have done in their place, for neither of them could have been in their place. While someone like Arthur or McGonagall may have jumped in a vain attempt to help Charity Burbage, neither of them was burdened with the knowledge of what their death may mean to the overall plan beyond the loss of yet another person to their side.