Authority and rule-breaking or Why does Snape hate Harry?

[Haggridd]

No: HPFGUIDX 16037

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., lea.macleod at g... wrote:
> I´ve just gone through the February Snape character thread, and it´s 
> awfully good. 
> 
> But the question WHY Snape hates Harry so much (or, possibly, hated 
> him so much until the end of GoF) has not really been sufficiently 
> answered, I think.
> 
> The answer, obviously, seems to be: Snape hated James so he hates 
> James´ son, too. But shouldn´t Snape, of all people, know that 
people 
> deserve second chances, all the more if the fault was not theirs, 
but 
> their fathers´?
> 
> Even if we accept that Snape is unable do make a difference between 
> Potter senior and Potter junior, it all goes back to the question 
why 
> Snape hated James and what is therefore hateable in Harry, too.
> 
> I DO support the Snape-loved-Lily-theory, and being faced day by day 
> with the son you might have had if your rival hadn´t won the contest 
> should be enough to drive any man mad.
> 
> But I´d like to point out another aspect in the 
> Snape-James-relationship that will make sense even without Lily. 
It´s 
> about authority and rule-breaking.
> 
> I missed that aspect in the character sketch.
> 
> Snape is a man who is obsessed with authority. 
> It´s what keeps him sane and what keeps him going. It´s where he 
gets 
> his self-esteem from. It´s what provides him his place in the world. 
> 
> I also think that was what impressed him about Voldemort and what 
made 
> him join the DE. Their inner organisation is based on hierarchy, on 
> orders and obedience, and for someone looking for respect and 
> recognition at all costs, that sort of system is very inviting (just 
a 
> side thought - that´s exactly why I think Percy Weasley will go over 
> to the dark side, too).
> 
> I think it is a very important part of his character that he needs 
> this set of well-defined rules to keep him going. He´s a typical 
> example of a person who will always carry things to extremes, be it 
> the good cause or the evil cause, because only extreme convictions 
and 
> extreme actions will comply with the principles they have set for 
> themselves.
> 
> You can still see it with Snape as a teacher. He keeps his classes 
> under control by order and obedience, too, and the worst thing that 
> could happen to him is students undermining his authority. Think of 
> his reaction in and after the Shrieking Shack scene in PoA. What a 
> humiliation that must have been.
> 
> Snape wants his students to accept his authority over them as much 
as 
> he is ready to accept that of his superiors over him. Right, he does 
> criticise Dumbledore if he thinks he is too lenient, but always in 
> quite a polite way. He insists on adressing him very formally at all 
> times, never speaks ill of Dumbledore behind his back, and always 
> accepts his decisions in the end. 
> 
> 
> James, on the other hand, got all the respect and recognition he 
could 
> ask for, from his fellow students as well as his teachers, but he 
was 
> a rule-breaker and trouble-maker all the same. He just always got 
away 
> with it. I think that put Snape´s sense of justice to a hard test. 
It 
> just didn´t fit with his view of the world that you could break 
every 
> rule within your reach to pieces and still become a celebrated Head 
> boy and Quidditch hero and get the most attractive girl in the year. 
> He wasn´t only evious or jealous of James. James, with his actions 
> and his successes, upset Snape´s whole world.
> 
> And Harry does just the same.


I find this explanation more compelling than any putative unrequited 
love of Lily Evans by Snape-- although the authors of myriad fanfics 
may feel differently. Paranthetically, I agree that Percy will, at 
least temporarily, work for the dark side, if only as a dupe.

Haggridd