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This is a piece posted recently on Fanfiction.net by Jiang Qing. The original is here. I asked her (I assume it's a a her?) permission to repost it here because I thought it was interesting food for thought, and it's easier to quote for discussion if the content is right here in the comm post. Please note that I do not necessarily agree with everything said here, I just thought it would be interesting. I'll post my own review/comment in a comment on this post.
Severus: A Secret Sex Icon?
or
Why We All Pity the Fool, Lily Potter.
[snipped author's note about why it's posted on FFN]
After that extensive authors note, it's time to get down to business. By business, I naturally am referring to the essay's title, the complicated character of Severus Snape. It's time to get down to Severus Snape. For the sake of being disgusting, let's imagine getting down on Severus Snape. Or rather, let's not. The question is, why is Severus Snape so damn alluring? J.K Rowling quoted in one of her interviews (I'm paraphrasing here, c'mon this isn't a real essay) that she intended Severus to be a vile character; a bully, bleak-hearted, inclined to favouritism, unable to conjure any sympathy from the audience (at least, until the end). This is all true. Yet, and this is a big yet, there's something about the man that makes you want to jump him.
Let us start with the aesthetics, for it is a shallow world we live in, and I make no exception. In the books, Severus is described as 'like an over-grown bat' with 'long, greasy black hair', 'a hooked nose', 'sallow skin' and 'piercing black eyes that held no warmth at all'. Now, this is just the description from the books. Doesn't that already push some buttons? Pale skin, black hair, black eyes… I like. I like a lot. He has charisma. It is already apparent that Severus is not just another blonde surfer, grabbing his board and heading to the black-lake. Why do his eyes hold no warmth at all? J.K obviously wants us to jump to the conclusion that Severus is a HORRIBLE MAN. She goes as far to convince us that he is a HORRIBLE MAN with the way he treats Hero-Harry. However, too many of us are too intelligent to concede that Severus is so two-dimensional. Severus, with his black eyes and his sneer obviously has a PAST. And what do us women love? A PAST. We want to make him forget his PAST so his FUTURE is wonderful. We want to make it all better. We believe in ourselves that we can change this man, that we can change any man. So, Severus has become a project. Unfortunately, being fictional, he is an unrealistic project. However, let us fantasize.
I'll now be bringing this down a notch. The film-verse of Severus Snape is undoubtedly some sort of unsung sex-god. I mean… Alan Rickman. ALAN RICKMAN. I like Alan Rickman, I've always liked Alan Rickman. As an actor, I think he's PDG (that's Pretty Damn Good to all those out there who don't know). In any other film, apart from the Potters, I would rate his attractiveness at about an eight, which for me is very high. Watching HP, my love goes off the scale. Rickman's gorgeousness as Severus is one interesting little cocktail. I'll start at the most obvious: The voice. His voice is like treacle being poured over your head. You can bask in that voice. The voice alone is enough to make any woman cross their legs, hum a calming tune and hope for the best. I won't lie to you, I sat in the cinema during 'The Deathly Hallows Part 2' and sighed with dizzying pleasure every time Rickman uttered so much as one of those stretched syllables. So slow, so deep, so spellbinding… (no pun intended). The voice has the ability to create love of the unpurest sort. Then of course, the way he looks. Pale and interesting is so much more fascinating than brown and packaged. The lines on Rickman's face, although they are signs of ageing, also remind us of his TROUBLED PAST. Rickman has the 'classical' good looks; the ones that perhaps went 'out of fashion' a couple of decades ago. Whatever, I've never been a fashion junkie. This, I realise, is going on for far too long. I'll hurry it up. Rickman has Snape down to a T. The way he glides, the way he looks, his bitterness, his anger, his intelligence, his facial expressions… his mercy. If I were Severus, I would hate Harry. It's human nature. But no, he is clearly intended to be the bad guy. Right, moving along; his costume- those tight black robes complete with billowing cloak. They leave a lot to the imagination, and trust me, I'm not lacking in that. Give me a well-clad Severus any day, rather than the shirt-ripping, Twilight poser, Jacob Black.
Another main reason why Severus is quite so alluring is because he's UNTOUCHABLE. He (sadly) is still so in love with the deceased Lily Potter that he would never, ever be properly romantically involved with anyone else. He's constructed an invisible barrier around himself, and his aptitude for occlumency makes him damn difficult to read at all. The natural reaction of not being able to read someone is usually fear. Yes, if Severus was a real man, I would be terrified. So many twists, turns and hidden corners- all blocked from view, but crying out to be explored. As a character, Severus is so complex that it would probably takes years to completely work him out. Are we so infatuated that would be willing to spend years with Severus, opening up all the dark coverts of his past? Perhaps. Or is it the secrets that make us yearn for him? I have a feeling that J.K only revealed the tip of the iceberg, which is sad 'cos he died. Anyway, back to the point: Severus is in love with Lily Potter. He can't have Lily Potter, which against all odds, almost certainly made Severus hanker after her all the more. We can never have Severus Snape. And so one of the great philosophies of life raises its ugly head: We always want what we can't have. Feel free to shed those tears, go ahead and gnash those teeth. However, if you are inclined to think dirty (you can judge for yourself if I am) you can always go down the path of thinking that Severus must have been so distraught he would have had plenty of casual, angry sex. If he were an actual existent man, that is. I'm saying nothing.
Severus and his sex appeal is also applicable to the matter of his genius. Lupin referred to him as 'intelligent and cunning'. Who doesn't like a clever man? The only thing that may be appealing about a man with sawdust for brains (look and niceties aside) is to see how far you can confuse him, and in the shortest time. Harsh? Definitely. Truthful? I think so. A dim bloke, or indeed bint, will be taken advantage of in some way or another. Just check out all those Death Eaters that were used as Voldemort's human shield. It's a question of power, and anybody would like to know that they have the upper hand, even if they don't want to admit it. With Snape, he unquestionably would have the upper hand. It would be he taking the advantage. And my God, let Severus take advantage of us. Genius isn't geeky, it's something to have a downright passion for.
I'm now going to start winding down. Not because I haven't got a lot more to say, but because I'm terrified of boring you all to death. Snape is neither a good or evil person. I can't say that after I read 'The Deathly Hallows' I fell down the path of 'OMG SNAPE LOVED LILY, HE'S SO MISUNDERSTOOD AND HE'S SUCH A GOOD MAN'. Mostly because, I admit, I worked out that he was in love with Lily anyway (so what?) and also because I honestly don't believe that a 'Mary Sue' can be a sane or realistic choice to have a fixation on (YEAH Edward Cullen fans). It is common knowledge to all those who read the books that Severus dabbled strongly in the Dark Arts. Is that a terrible thing? Of course it is, and yes he should be blamed. He killed, tortured and more, devoted to it all too much to give it up for Lily until faced with her death. Lily didn't like it and neither did James, but hey ho they had been spoilt and adored all their lives. Snape went through (probable) hell through his childhood, and was bullied at Hogwarts by the erm, 'good guy'. It can be argued that Harry didn't turn to the dark side, and he had a terrible life. Well, I think it's partly to do with coping mechanisms- Severus partly felt he needed the Dark Arts, as well as getting vicious pleasure in them. Harry, a completely different person, felt that he didn't. Perhaps he was stronger than Snape, perhaps he was just plain two-dimensional and the simplest way for J.K to make her point. Whatever. Severus needing the Dark Arts makes him vulnerable in my book, and vulnerable deserves a cuddle. (Note: Harry was also adored. Not at the Dursley's maybe, but in the Wizarding world he was spoilt and worshipped by many. Plus everyone EXPECTED him to be against Volds. Just a thought). I also feel that Snape was pushed into the Dark Arts, just like Draco. He was made to feel worthless, and hey! In the Dark Arts he suddenly had worth. I'm not condoning him, just giving a differing opinion. His natural aura made his magic look dark, while James' natural presence made his magic look like 'a bit of fun'. Snape knew what he was doing. I'm not suggesting that SERIAL KILLERS ARE SEXY, just that I think he deserves about a tonne more respect than Potter Senior. With a realisation of his love, what he had done, and a massive guilt trip from Dumbledore, Severus stopped being a 'Death Eater looking for revenge' and actually became more redeemable. This was HIS choice. Both Volds AND Dumbledore let him down (DD didn't save Lily) yet he still stuck with the Headmaster. Hmm. I admire him for that. However, spying for Voldemort, he still allowed the Muggle Studies teacher to be killed, amongst other things. 'No one's that good an actor'- he wasn't good, he wasn't bad- he still admired the Dark Arts for their power, even knowing that they were wrong. He stood alone, like he did for most of his life. Not everyone can be a Gary-Stu-Harry. Besides, in 'The Half Blood Prince', Harry said in terms of the Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher 'I'm holding out for another death'. Snape saved Harry (secretly) practically every fucking year. This is getting complicated. I ADMIRE THE MAN. I don't personally think he ever 'loved' or admired Voldemort, like say Bellatrix Lestrange, but I genuinely think he respected Dumbledore. He wasn't perfect, basically. Christ, I have no idea what point I'm trying to make. Just trust me on this; it's trying to be a valid one.
LASTLY (I promise) I have a T-Shirt saying 'I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good WITH SEVERUS SNAPE', and I wore it to the cinema, and I'm wearing it now 3. Please feel free to give more opinions on why you love/hate/like Severus. I'll always be interested.
So. Severus: Secret Sex Icon?
or
Why We All Pity the Fool, Lily Potter.
[snipped author's note about why it's posted on FFN]
After that extensive authors note, it's time to get down to business. By business, I naturally am referring to the essay's title, the complicated character of Severus Snape. It's time to get down to Severus Snape. For the sake of being disgusting, let's imagine getting down on Severus Snape. Or rather, let's not. The question is, why is Severus Snape so damn alluring? J.K Rowling quoted in one of her interviews (I'm paraphrasing here, c'mon this isn't a real essay) that she intended Severus to be a vile character; a bully, bleak-hearted, inclined to favouritism, unable to conjure any sympathy from the audience (at least, until the end). This is all true. Yet, and this is a big yet, there's something about the man that makes you want to jump him.
Let us start with the aesthetics, for it is a shallow world we live in, and I make no exception. In the books, Severus is described as 'like an over-grown bat' with 'long, greasy black hair', 'a hooked nose', 'sallow skin' and 'piercing black eyes that held no warmth at all'. Now, this is just the description from the books. Doesn't that already push some buttons? Pale skin, black hair, black eyes… I like. I like a lot. He has charisma. It is already apparent that Severus is not just another blonde surfer, grabbing his board and heading to the black-lake. Why do his eyes hold no warmth at all? J.K obviously wants us to jump to the conclusion that Severus is a HORRIBLE MAN. She goes as far to convince us that he is a HORRIBLE MAN with the way he treats Hero-Harry. However, too many of us are too intelligent to concede that Severus is so two-dimensional. Severus, with his black eyes and his sneer obviously has a PAST. And what do us women love? A PAST. We want to make him forget his PAST so his FUTURE is wonderful. We want to make it all better. We believe in ourselves that we can change this man, that we can change any man. So, Severus has become a project. Unfortunately, being fictional, he is an unrealistic project. However, let us fantasize.
I'll now be bringing this down a notch. The film-verse of Severus Snape is undoubtedly some sort of unsung sex-god. I mean… Alan Rickman. ALAN RICKMAN. I like Alan Rickman, I've always liked Alan Rickman. As an actor, I think he's PDG (that's Pretty Damn Good to all those out there who don't know). In any other film, apart from the Potters, I would rate his attractiveness at about an eight, which for me is very high. Watching HP, my love goes off the scale. Rickman's gorgeousness as Severus is one interesting little cocktail. I'll start at the most obvious: The voice. His voice is like treacle being poured over your head. You can bask in that voice. The voice alone is enough to make any woman cross their legs, hum a calming tune and hope for the best. I won't lie to you, I sat in the cinema during 'The Deathly Hallows Part 2' and sighed with dizzying pleasure every time Rickman uttered so much as one of those stretched syllables. So slow, so deep, so spellbinding… (no pun intended). The voice has the ability to create love of the unpurest sort. Then of course, the way he looks. Pale and interesting is so much more fascinating than brown and packaged. The lines on Rickman's face, although they are signs of ageing, also remind us of his TROUBLED PAST. Rickman has the 'classical' good looks; the ones that perhaps went 'out of fashion' a couple of decades ago. Whatever, I've never been a fashion junkie. This, I realise, is going on for far too long. I'll hurry it up. Rickman has Snape down to a T. The way he glides, the way he looks, his bitterness, his anger, his intelligence, his facial expressions… his mercy. If I were Severus, I would hate Harry. It's human nature. But no, he is clearly intended to be the bad guy. Right, moving along; his costume- those tight black robes complete with billowing cloak. They leave a lot to the imagination, and trust me, I'm not lacking in that. Give me a well-clad Severus any day, rather than the shirt-ripping, Twilight poser, Jacob Black.
Another main reason why Severus is quite so alluring is because he's UNTOUCHABLE. He (sadly) is still so in love with the deceased Lily Potter that he would never, ever be properly romantically involved with anyone else. He's constructed an invisible barrier around himself, and his aptitude for occlumency makes him damn difficult to read at all. The natural reaction of not being able to read someone is usually fear. Yes, if Severus was a real man, I would be terrified. So many twists, turns and hidden corners- all blocked from view, but crying out to be explored. As a character, Severus is so complex that it would probably takes years to completely work him out. Are we so infatuated that would be willing to spend years with Severus, opening up all the dark coverts of his past? Perhaps. Or is it the secrets that make us yearn for him? I have a feeling that J.K only revealed the tip of the iceberg, which is sad 'cos he died. Anyway, back to the point: Severus is in love with Lily Potter. He can't have Lily Potter, which against all odds, almost certainly made Severus hanker after her all the more. We can never have Severus Snape. And so one of the great philosophies of life raises its ugly head: We always want what we can't have. Feel free to shed those tears, go ahead and gnash those teeth. However, if you are inclined to think dirty (you can judge for yourself if I am) you can always go down the path of thinking that Severus must have been so distraught he would have had plenty of casual, angry sex. If he were an actual existent man, that is. I'm saying nothing.
Severus and his sex appeal is also applicable to the matter of his genius. Lupin referred to him as 'intelligent and cunning'. Who doesn't like a clever man? The only thing that may be appealing about a man with sawdust for brains (look and niceties aside) is to see how far you can confuse him, and in the shortest time. Harsh? Definitely. Truthful? I think so. A dim bloke, or indeed bint, will be taken advantage of in some way or another. Just check out all those Death Eaters that were used as Voldemort's human shield. It's a question of power, and anybody would like to know that they have the upper hand, even if they don't want to admit it. With Snape, he unquestionably would have the upper hand. It would be he taking the advantage. And my God, let Severus take advantage of us. Genius isn't geeky, it's something to have a downright passion for.
I'm now going to start winding down. Not because I haven't got a lot more to say, but because I'm terrified of boring you all to death. Snape is neither a good or evil person. I can't say that after I read 'The Deathly Hallows' I fell down the path of 'OMG SNAPE LOVED LILY, HE'S SO MISUNDERSTOOD AND HE'S SUCH A GOOD MAN'. Mostly because, I admit, I worked out that he was in love with Lily anyway (so what?) and also because I honestly don't believe that a 'Mary Sue' can be a sane or realistic choice to have a fixation on (YEAH Edward Cullen fans). It is common knowledge to all those who read the books that Severus dabbled strongly in the Dark Arts. Is that a terrible thing? Of course it is, and yes he should be blamed. He killed, tortured and more, devoted to it all too much to give it up for Lily until faced with her death. Lily didn't like it and neither did James, but hey ho they had been spoilt and adored all their lives. Snape went through (probable) hell through his childhood, and was bullied at Hogwarts by the erm, 'good guy'. It can be argued that Harry didn't turn to the dark side, and he had a terrible life. Well, I think it's partly to do with coping mechanisms- Severus partly felt he needed the Dark Arts, as well as getting vicious pleasure in them. Harry, a completely different person, felt that he didn't. Perhaps he was stronger than Snape, perhaps he was just plain two-dimensional and the simplest way for J.K to make her point. Whatever. Severus needing the Dark Arts makes him vulnerable in my book, and vulnerable deserves a cuddle. (Note: Harry was also adored. Not at the Dursley's maybe, but in the Wizarding world he was spoilt and worshipped by many. Plus everyone EXPECTED him to be against Volds. Just a thought). I also feel that Snape was pushed into the Dark Arts, just like Draco. He was made to feel worthless, and hey! In the Dark Arts he suddenly had worth. I'm not condoning him, just giving a differing opinion. His natural aura made his magic look dark, while James' natural presence made his magic look like 'a bit of fun'. Snape knew what he was doing. I'm not suggesting that SERIAL KILLERS ARE SEXY, just that I think he deserves about a tonne more respect than Potter Senior. With a realisation of his love, what he had done, and a massive guilt trip from Dumbledore, Severus stopped being a 'Death Eater looking for revenge' and actually became more redeemable. This was HIS choice. Both Volds AND Dumbledore let him down (DD didn't save Lily) yet he still stuck with the Headmaster. Hmm. I admire him for that. However, spying for Voldemort, he still allowed the Muggle Studies teacher to be killed, amongst other things. 'No one's that good an actor'- he wasn't good, he wasn't bad- he still admired the Dark Arts for their power, even knowing that they were wrong. He stood alone, like he did for most of his life. Not everyone can be a Gary-Stu-Harry. Besides, in 'The Half Blood Prince', Harry said in terms of the Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher 'I'm holding out for another death'. Snape saved Harry (secretly) practically every fucking year. This is getting complicated. I ADMIRE THE MAN. I don't personally think he ever 'loved' or admired Voldemort, like say Bellatrix Lestrange, but I genuinely think he respected Dumbledore. He wasn't perfect, basically. Christ, I have no idea what point I'm trying to make. Just trust me on this; it's trying to be a valid one.
LASTLY (I promise) I have a T-Shirt saying 'I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good WITH SEVERUS SNAPE', and I wore it to the cinema, and I'm wearing it now 3. Please feel free to give more opinions on why you love/hate/like Severus. I'll always be interested.
So. Severus: Secret Sex Icon?
It is already apparent that Severus is not just another blonde surfer, grabbing his board and heading to the black-lake.
Although surfing Snape as a general image is hi-LARious. (My own personal favorite totally silly Muggle thing to cast him in, especially as a young man, is either torn Sex Pistols shirt and spikes kind of punk, or something more modern in the darkwave/goth/emo spectrum - with that long black hair hanging down over his face as he plays the electric bass. RAWR.)
I'll mostly skip the gushing over Alan Rickman because while I agree he's a good actor and I like his delivery speaking as Severus, he kind of lost it for me visually past the first couple of films (which were borderline to begin with). I don't find him very personally attractive out of the Snape getup, although he was definitely handsome in his youth (e.g. Barchester Chronicles) - it's just that I tend to go for "pretty" rather than "handsome".
It is common knowledge to all those who read the books that Severus dabbled strongly in the Dark Arts. Is that a terrible thing? Of course it is, and yes he should be blamed.
Well now, it depends on your definition of "Dark Arts", and even within the books it's not consistent! But I do think he probably did some rather distasteful, even nasty things. But then there is a kind of "good dark", in the real world anyway - a darkness which is perhaps frightening, definitely mysterious, and possible to let out of control, but which is not inherently degrading, destructive, malicious... Again, think goth, or other macabre things. Death is death; it's not evil in itself. etc.
He killed, tortured and more
We don't know this. That Severus seems rather struck by Dumbledore's accusation even about how many people he has watched die suggests that that is primarily what he did - not murdered them himself. The Death Eaters amount basically to a terrorist organization and it's definitely possible he did awful things - I doubt if he was squeamish when he joined up and hoped to do a desk job and keep his hands clean! But we can't assume that he necessarily committed this or that atrocity that people's brains seem to attach to all the Death Eaters. (My jury is out on whether he viewed such things as necessary evils or otherwise rationalized them, or whether he was bitter and angry enough by the point of ca. 18-19 years old that his streak for needling people and petty vengeance might have deepened to taking some true joy in the opportunity to cause real harm to those he despises - but I imagine in either case he would have convinced himself that what he was doing was just, rather than having a penchant for random cruelty like Bellatrix.)
Snape went through (probable) hell through his childhood, and was bullied at Hogwarts by the erm, 'good guy'. It can be argued that Harry didn't turn to the dark side, and he had a terrible life.
And Voldemort had a similar bad childhood and came out an evil psychopath. There's a lot of narrative links between Tom Riddle, Severus Snape, and Harry Potter, which sometimes comes out as a spectrum dark to light, and other times as a triangle. (You have probably seen the images making the rounds which map them to the Three Brothers?)
(continued in next comment)
Personally I think it could be argued either way, particularly prior to his going to Dumbledore, but if I recall correctly (my books are way far away in the other room), when Dumbledore asks him 'How many people have you watched die', Severus' response is essentially: 'Recently only those I could not save'. This suggests to me that outside of his love for Lily Potter and sworn protection for her son, that Severus holds a distaste for death.
Now, does he blink when Charity Burbage is killed? of course not! Certainly he has watched horrible things and has killed at least Dumbledore, and I think there could be the case argued that he may have been responsible for other deaths as well. But my reading is that, at least as of the second war, he did not enjoy that sort of role and sought to avoid it and sought to protect others from being the victims of that sort of violence whenever it was in his power to do so.