Rosebushes (was: Lots of Snape Stuff)

[Lyda Clunas]

No: HPFGUIDX 17593

>> Having stated before that I believe Snape to be an essentially 
*good* person, I never meant that he once was a particularly kind or 
friendly person. I think Sirius´ description in GoF of how Snape was 
at school (although coloured by personal dislike, of course) is 
probably quite correct. So I think the sarcasm, the cruelty, the 
unpleasantness is not simply an adopted attitude or a mask but it is 
what Snape has always been like. And I don´t think he will change in  
that respect. He won´t have to. I know quite a few people who simply 
*are* sour and unpleasant in the way they treat others, but deep down 
they know very well what is right and what is wrong, and they´re 
utterly reliable. They just don´t "waste their time", as they´d put 
it, on the emotional aspect of it.<<

Did I ever say that I thought Snape to be a happy, everyone-likes-him 
person? He was never, IMO; I agree with you that his demeanor of 
sarcasm and cruelty has probably always been a large factor of his 
personality. But, yes, he did (and does) have a high sense of right 
and wrong. But, at one point in his life, he *lost* that sense of 
morality, and I think it made him even *more* sour and unpleasant. I 
wonder if Severus deep down has a bit of untrust with himself. The 
thing I meant to imply (and perhaps did not convey clearly enough) is 
that his attitude was only *further* magnified by his past, and that 
while he might have had *some* happiness or moments of pleasantness 
before, he's now seemingly given in to his dour demeanor almost 
completely. It's not a "mask" (though I do think there may be some 
element of defense mechanisms in his mannerisms) but an amplification 
of his already rather sour nature. If that made any more sense. :)

>>Apart from that, I believe that the question of partnership and 
even of love in the sense of attraction between man and woman may 
lose its significance in unusual circumstances. And I believe Snape´s 
life has up to now been a row of unusual circumstances. I don´t think 
his main concern is that he can´t go down to Hogsmeade and have a 
drink at the pub and date a nice girl... Lyda, you´re doing injustice 
to men in general there (but maybe that was your intent - your luck 
that Snape threads tend to interest female fans only;-)).<< 

OK, first of all, I was half-joshing with my little comments: 

~~From my previous post: I also think that Severus is... er... rather 
*frustrated* in  some areas. ;) There are few (if any) teachers that 
are near his age at Hogwarts, and he doesn't venture into Hogmeade. 
Fourteen years of celibacy will get to a man, eventually, and seeing 
kids fooling around in rosebushes doesn't help much. :)~~

(See all the smiley, winky faces?) Although, I do admit, I wasn't 
*entirely* joking; I think there is a *bit* of truth to the idea, but 
it's not a main factor. However, I hardly intended to do injustice to 
men there. I certainly don't think that Severus's main concern is sex 
or finding someone to love him. I think mostly the rosebush business 
reminded him of someone he had lost. Does romantic love have no 
significance to him? Perhaps. But then, we don't ever have an 
opportunity to see him around women (not counting his colleagues, 
naturally) or in a postion to discuss that sort of thing, do we? I 
love speculation.  

>>Snape´s outward appearance may reveal something about it. I don´t 
think he´s actually ugly or unattractive, but he does neglect his 
looks. A person suffering from his lack of social contacts would 
certainly put some effort into his outward appearance, wouldn´t he? 
Snape doesn´t seem to care at all. For me it´s a sign that such 
things have lost their significance for him.<<

Good point. Who said he cared about social contacts? He's rather a 
loner, and I suspect he really always has been. Although, I must 
argue one point: people suffering from lack of social acceptance or 
popularity do not always put effort into their looks. Speaking from 
the personal viewpoint of a once-unpopular/unaccepted high school 
freshman. I had few friends, was very much a loner, and eventually, I 
just gave up on caring about how I looked to go to school. I never 
went out. I wasn't involved in after-school stuff. I didn't date. So 
I didn't care about how I looked, even though I really longed for 
social acceptance. I think different personality types react to this 
sort of thing differently though, so... 

Lyda