In praise of Snape

[bob.mornington at wanadoo.fr]

No: HPFGUIDX 11346

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., bob.mornington at w... wrote:
> Well, just to throw the cat amongst the pigeons, I should like to 
> propose the following :
> All the characters in HP are mono-dimensional cardboard cut outs 
with 
> one notable exception, Snape, who is the only multi-facetted 
> character amid all the HP personna.

Sorry to reply to my own posting, but of course, that should have 
read "personae", but then I didn't have the advantage of having 
someone like Snape as a teacher to encourage me to be more demanding 
on myself and less careless in my use of the English language.

> Is he good? Is he bad? Is he nice (though strict) or is he nasty? 
> Does he ultimately work for Harry's good, or for his downfall? 
Isn't 
> Harry's ultimate quest to measure up to Snape's uncompromising 
moral 
> standards and (pedantic) exactitude?
> At the end of the day, either you land up sloppy or you become 
Snape-
> like. It's matter of choice.
> I'm looking forward to future HP books where the Snape – Harry 
> reconciliation will occur. 
> "I know I've been tough on you kid, but you've proved yourself, and 
> now I can reveal to you some truths that I now know you're strong 
> enough and man enough to deal with 
."