Snape's Job

[Margaret Dean]

No: HPFGUIDX 14049

Catlady wrote:

> Margaret Dean  wrote of Snape possibly dying to save Harry and defeat
> Voldemort:
> > The more so because Snape would thus be canceling out his own
> > burdensome (as he sees it) debt to Harry's father . . . and he's also
> > a character who wouldn't necessarily =mind= the fact that he was
> > laying a certain, similar amount of guilt on Harry.
>
> I think, unless Snape had a LOT of time to think about what he was
> doing, he would not be thinking of that silly debt to Harry's father,
> but rather of his duty to serve the Light, fight the Dark, and make
> Dumbledore proud of him, and he would not be thinking of making Harry
> feel guilty, but rather that death would release him from his own burden
> of guilt. And horrible memories. And hated job.

On consideration I agree with most of this, but I don't
necessarily agree that Snape hates his job.  Sure, everybody
keeps saying that Snape wants the Defense Against the Dark Arts
professorship, but I have yet to see Snape himself saying
anything of the kind.

On the contrary, I see Snape having quite a lot of perfectly
justifiable pride in his Potions work.  He's one of the few
wizards who can make a successful Wolfsbane Potion, for instance,
and he'll do it for Remus Lupin even though he can't stand him. 
(Yes, I'm sure it's also partly because Dumbledore asked him to,
but you won't convince me that professional pride and
professional ethics aren't involved as well.)

He may not be as fond of the teaching aspect, of course, though
there again, he's certainly a =competent= teacher in many ways
(e.g. being able to hold a class silent without effort).  His
main fault here is rampant favoritism.  I suspect he's also
frustrated by the fact that so few of his students share his
enthusiasm for potion-making.  He likes the work itself, but he
don't get no respect.  :)

What Snape really needs is a nice research position in a
top-secret lab someplace . . .


--Margaret Dean
  <margdean at erols.com>