Snape & DADA: Hearsay?

[Hillman, Lee]

No: HPFGUIDX 32082

Hi, folks.

It's Gwen being in bad form again: posting stuff just before going offline
for the hol's. But, oh well.

Mahoney wanted to know whether there's any empiric evidence of Snape really
wanting the DADA job, as well as any evidence of behaviour that suggests
he's been slighted.

There's nothing at all concrete in the books. However, if the list will not
hit me with rocks for commenting on something in the background of the
movie, Alan Rickman met with JKR so she could disclose some things about
Snape for his character development in the movie. (And wouldn't we all have
loved to have been flies on that wall?) He stated in a subsequent interview
that Snape does harbour a secret desire to be the DADA teacher. Truth? Well,
maybe.

It's not clear in the interview whether this comes directly from JKR. It
could simply be something he read in the script and decided to play, not
bothering to confirm it with her. OR, it could be something she disclosed
thus:

"Well, there's a rumour that he wants the DADA job. It's not true, but for
the purposes of misdirection, I'd appreciate it if you'd let that one stand
for now." In other words, she may have enlisted his aid because she needs
the rumour perpetuated for a while longer. It's not impossible.

However, if it IS true, and from JKR, and thus can be applied to the books,
I believe it might be because Snape is just
arrogant/naive/passive-aggressive enough to think that, at least after
Quirrell goes, he's up for the job. Hagrid says no one but Lockhart applied
between PS and CoS; it's possible that Snape *assumed* his desires were
known to Dumbledore and was waiting to be offered the post.

Now, that's a pretty immature way to go, though something I'd venture to
guess Snape is capable of doing. It would be consistent with his assumptions
that he'd think it natural for D to offer him the job. That is, he's looking
for the approval and reinforcement of trust from Dumbledore that would be
implicit if Dumbledore asked him. Alternatively, it's consistent with his
insecurity to not want to step forward and wait to see what happens, again,
wishing to be recognized, but unwilling to come right out and demand it for
fear of rejection. But that only holds true for CoS. (It's not applicable to
PS, since Quirrell evidently taught DADA at least two years previously. It
may have been a pattern that started when Quirrell signed on, but we don't
know enough about the years between Voldemort's fall and Harry's arrival at
Hogwarts to say with any certainty when or how either of them were hired.)

After he sees that Dumbledore didn't offer him the job, and relied on
applications for CoS, why doesn't Snape say something between the end of CoS
and PoA? Again, it falls to insecurity. He may well think that if Dumbledore
didn't think of him for the job immediately, perhaps he's not worthy of
consideration. Given his high level of respect for D, it's possible that
he'd second-guess his own motivations and/or abilities if he perceived that
D doesn't trust him enough to offer it. It also makes sense given his
character that he would never go to Dumbledore and just ask: "Why not me?"
That's not how Snape operates. It's too straightforward and potentially puts
too much on the line. He doesn't want to hear that he's no good; he just
feels he has to try harder and *prove* that he can do it. 

But then Dumbledore not only ignores him again, he goes and hires an old
rival. Well, jeez. I mean, Snape's gotta be wondering at this point what he
did to deserve all this. So it also makes sense that he might redouble his
efforts and, barring proving that he's a better teacher, seek to discredit
Lupin. Also, there's the (perceived) threat to the students and Harry in
particular because of the Sirius Black connection. So I can make a case that
he's once more indirectly trying to make a point to Dumbledore. Though we do
see that he's a bit more forceful about it this time around--not that it
gets him anywhere. Again, it's nonverbal miscommunication: he's saying "You
have to listen to me," and what he's hearing back from D is, "I'm listening,
Severus, I just don't care what you have to say."

So what about GoF? Well, he's tried and failed to get D's trust and
attention all this time--and Dumbledore continually ignores him. Yet he
assured Snape that he is in full control and knows exactly what he's doing,
so what does that say? Obviously (to Snape), Dumbledore's opinion of Snape
is not what Snape thought it was. Again, it would be consistent with a
personality like Snape's to almost give up, to wonder what next and subsume
his own inclination, accept that the old man has his reasons, and resign
himself to putting up with it. All the while, it reinforces his own doubts
about himself, which just makes him that much nastier, of course. :^) And
furthermore, it helps explain why he's so opposed to letting Dumbledore know
what's going on (in PoA, as well). For example, he can't even protect the
stores in his own office--what does that imply about him? How does that
reflect on his ability to handle an even more responsible position in
Dumbledore's eyes? Notwithstanding his position as Head of House, it casts
further aspersions on his trustworthiness and competence in the face of
adversity. It creates a strong motivation to take care of everything
himself.

There's no denying that DADA is flashier, and more impressive, than Potions.
And I agree that Snape doesn't necessarily care what people think, but yet
he clearly *does* care what Dumbledore thinks, and I think he really wants
to distinguish himself as well, as much for his own self-esteem as for the
relative "success" such an achievement would imply. There's one thing
Rickman got spot on in his comments about Snape: Snape is at heart an
insecure person of low self-esteem. He's not self-deprecating, that is, he
believes in his abilities, but not so securely that a few people can't shake
his confidence. When that confidence is threatened, he becomes belligerent
and lashes out, all the while taking that doubt inside himself and locking
it away, compounding his problems rather than examining them. It's a
cumulative effect, and one I believe that began very early in his life. I
also think it's been made worse by his involvement with the DE's and
possible feelings that he can't ever atone for his actions as part of that
group. He's seeking external approval (primarily from Dumbledore) and some
way to say, "See? I've arrived. I'm completely reformed. All better." That's
his catch-22: he can't accept himself until others look up to him, but he'll
never be respected until he learns to like himself.

On the other hand, I also truly believe that he loves Potions and takes a
great deal of pride in his excellent skills. It's possible that he actually
encourages the rumour for some reason not yet clear to us. It's also
possible that he's not even aware such a rumour exists and would find it
laughable. Numerous people have listed his other legitimate reasons to be
upset with or disapprove of D's choices for DADA over the last few years, so
I won't list them here again. In every case, Snape's mistrust of them has at
least partially proved to be an accurate judge of their characters.

So to get back to the question and away from general character analysis, I
can see it either way. I'd like it to be a rumour, but it's possible that
his poor communication skills have stood in the way all this time. Or, as
other listies have pointed out in past discussions on this topic, it's
possible that Dumbledore simply needs Snape where he is, doing what he does
best. Perhaps there are even fewer qualified potions teachers out there than
DADA teachers.

Gwen (who just can't resist talking about Snape)

P.S. OOC means "Out Of Character"--and not in a convincing way.