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Original poster: hope_24
Post DH Snape.
Responding to the October challenge with some of my thoughts, as I'm too undisciplined to write a coherent essay.
One of the most frequent thoughts, and my own too, on post-DH Snape has been disappointment at the 'diminishment' of Snape's character. Snape, who had previously been regarded as complex and mysterious had suddenly been reduced to a man whose every motivation was explained by a long-standing infatuation with a woman. The character who was capable of both extreme selflessness and petty childishness, reduced, in one fell swoop, to a man seemingly stuck in adolescence. The ignominy of it all.
However, despite this, I've read several post-DH analyses (on this comm and others) discussing the psychological complexity of Snape. These often examine the unhealthiness of Snape's 'crush, his emotional neediness, the repercussions of his childhood, his ambiguous relationship with Dumbledore etc etc. These analyses would argue that instead of reducing Snape to a one note character, DH gave him yet more complexity (screwed up complexity, but complexity nonetheless;) This made me wonder, was DH really as dminishing to Snape as it appeared at first?
After all, it sort of confirmed a lot of fanon Snape conventions. Canon now gives us a Snape who can be sarcastic, misanthropic, bitter, angry - but who is also capable of affection, is deeply loyal, is emotionally needy, idealistic.......in short, a layered, complex, believable human being. A lot of fanon hypotheses were actually affirmed, more than anything.
This left me wondering though, why was I still infuriated by what DH had done to Snape?
First up, the queasy morality of DH, and how it related to Snape in particular. I'm not going to go into this in depth, as it's been done much better elsewhere (in mary_j_59's recent essay, Jenny Sawyer's review, The_Bitter_Word's review, Sigune's review, subtle_science's review and several of Sylvanawood's posts on dh_oh_shit) Suffice to say, the blatant double standards applied throughout turn my stomach. Condemning the character of an eleven year old boy who has suffered a neglectful (and at worse, abusive) childhood is wrong.
Secondly, when I considered the idea of an outwardly bitter and sarcastic man who inwardly still pined over the loss of childhood friendship and unrequited affection I found I could deal with it. The idea of him devoting his life to atoning for past sins? Well, I think it was messed up - for all sorts of reasons: Dumbledore's manipulations, Snape's emotional problems - but again (thanks to the various analyses I had read) I caould understand how it might happen. I could also read into the text and wonder about Snape's political beliefs. I like fanfic and reader-response theory, this didn't bother me too much.
What did bother me, phenomenally, was the idol to whom Snape had pinned all his hopes: Lily. I can understand Snape being psychologically screwed up. What I couldn't bear was the idea of him pining over, and devoting his life to such a fundamentally underwhelming creature. She just seems so shallow and sanctimonious. She laughs at his public humiliation. She takes up with the group who had bullied him continuously throughout his school career. Lastly, knowing that he has been largely neglected at home and ostracised at school, she abandons him to friends whom she herself knew were a terrible influence. This, this is the great love to whom Snape is willing to sacrifice his life?
Worse yet, whereas elsewhere it might have been possible to enetertain genuine authorial ambiguity and read into the text for added complexity, canon seems genuinely insistent that Lily was a fabulous, flawless woman without parallel. This is where the nasty morality comes into play again. It's OK to turn your back on your friends? Be unforgiving? Find bullying funny? Have double-standards?
So, overall, it wasn't the diminishing of Snape that bothered me (because I don't think he was) - but the diminishing of Lily. Given that the author does not seem to see Lily as diminished or flawed in any way - it was the skewed and worrying morality to be found in DH that bothered me.
Although I originally felt that Snape's character had been sorely diminished by DH - he actually shines through as the undimmed bright point in an otherwise morally murky tale.
I'd love to hear other thoughts on this. :)
thoughtful
Lily's disloyalty
It begins with Severus asking "...thought we were supposed to be friends? best friends?" So Lily has said or done something (undefined) to make him doubt her friendship. As the conversation continues we discover that:
1) Severus has told Lily previously of his suspicion that Lupin is a werewolf. (I could understand her not realising, but I can't understand how she could ignore the truth, once it had been brought to her attention. What does that say about her trust/respect for Severus?)
2) The incident happened a few days ago, but they haven't previously discussed it (ie she didn't rush to his side to see how he was after a life-threatening fright).
3) Her information on what happened clearly came from the Marauders, not her supposed best friend.
4) She refused to let him tell her his side of things, even after it had come up in conversation.
All this while still calling herself his best friend. That's friendship? She heard that he almost died, but she wasn't interested enough to inquire, comfort or sympathise? She took the side of the bullies who routinely harassed him? His near-death experience wasn't even important enough for her to ask him how he fared; the subject had to come up as a by-the-way?
(Incidentally, I now believe Severus was right about James being in on the pre-planning. Dumbledore's comments are irrelevant, as they were clearly both ignorant and suggestio falsi and Lupin says nothing that actually contradicts it. [If you think about it, "...your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape..." is quite vague about James's degree of foreknowledge.] So it's a question of character and believability.
What pushes it over to Snape's view for me is the apparent lack of dissension between the Marauders after the prank - both immediately and years later. Wouldn't Lily have noticed if James and Remus were angry with Sirius, coincident with her supposed best friend coming to grief spying on them? And why does Lupin in PoA call the memory of something which could have killed both himself and Snape "a schoolboy grudge"? That always seemed strange to me as Lupin is not a forgiving person; he was planning to kill wormtail in cold blood in front of children. Why weren't they angry at Sirius's betrayal? Unless it wasn't a betrayal at all...
And I can't help asking why she never reconsidered her opinions upon finding out that Snape had been right all along about Lupin being a werewolf. Could it be that she actually *did* know during that conversation, but wanted the secret kept for Lupin's sake? That's what I suspect.)
duj
Re: Lily's disloyalty
Re: Lily's disloyalty
Massive apologies for not responding to your post at the time it was made. I stayed on LJ when Snapedom moved to IJ, then didn't check my inbox properly, hence not responding. I hope you didn't think me too horribly rude.
I hadn't picked up on the points you make at the beginning of your post, which are all spot on and make Lily seem even worse. I sometimes wonder whether JKR is purposely trying to make Lily seem bad at this point, or whether she truly finds her blameless. The idea that Snape didn't even receive a visit from his so-called best friend in the infirmary actually makes my heart hurt a little. She has, so plainly, abandoned him - even before the 'unforgiveable' insult.
Your idea of James being in on the pre-planning is disturbing, but persuasive. Aside from the evidence you mention, Sirius seems to be too impulsive to have come up with anything which required so much forethought.
As regards Lily's knowledge and complicity in the general cover-up, again, I agree with the points you make. I find it plausible that James - keen to secure her - would have told her the truth to make her feel part of the group. I also find it plausible that Lily, oh so keen to climb the social ladder, would have been ingratiated by the confidence.
I found Lupin a very debatable character, even moreso given that everyone seems to see him as so mild-mannered and amiable. He is an apologist and a coward. Not to mention some genuine nastiness in his character. Referring to the child Snape as a 'little oddball' when he was fully cognisant of the daily bullying Snape endured, and was himself working as a teacher (a teacher!) is chilling to me. So little compassion from someone in loco parentis is truly alarming.
I really enjoyed your post, and your points were thorough and precise. Again, I apologise for not responding at the time.
Hope_24