Snape the Misanthrope

[Hillman, Lee]

No: HPFGUIDX 28878

Howdy to your eyeballs! (That's an Ozark email greetin for y'all)

Tabouli wrote:
> 
> Ah yes, one more thing I forgot to put into my biography.  
> Have you noticed how contemptuous and vicious Snape is 
> towards anything linked to Love and even Liking?  The man is 
> allergic to relationships!
> 

And then proceeded to cite several excellent examples.

I wholeheartedly agree with you, Tabouli, that Snape seems to absolutely
loathe anything approaching a relationship. It's for that reason that I see
no possibilities of 'ships' involving Snape, no matter who the other person
is, even including an unrequited longing for Lily.

Rather, I ascribe Snape's seemingly somewhat deliberate attempt at
asexuality to offer us clues that he was in some way deeply hurt or abused
during his development. 

I know, I know. When I first arrived at HP4GU I thought anyone who suggested
that Draco or Snape or Hagrid or Ron or Neville or really anyone in the
books (other than Harry, for whom there's proof) came from an abusive home
was simply perpetuating a stereotype that frankly was a copout.

But the more I began to look into Snape's character, the more I got into his
psyche and his head, the more I came to believe that he was deeply scarred
and turned off even the idea of attraction to anyone. 

I believe a history of abuse, whether physical, emotional, psychological,
sexual, or any combination thereof, would just as easily explain his
motivations and character as a lost love. Certainly it provides as good a
justification for his anger at the world, his irrational behaviour at times,
his tendency not to listen to sense, his hatred at a group who seemed to
have everything easy, his need for Dumbledore's trust, and his own inability
to trust, not to mention the characteristic JKR herself uses to describe
him: tough. Furthermore, it doesn't leave a gap in understanding between his
treatment of Harry and his treatment of Neville.

And while in some ways it would be just as much of a soap opera (ooh, poor
little Snapey was abused, boo-hoo, we must sympathise), in others it's less
pat than any kind of triangle. It also sets up more interesting situations
for Snape as Harry's foil--their reactions to their abusive upbringings are
categorically different. 

>
> P.S. What *do* people think Snape does for Christmas?

Well, we don't know where he is in the first two books, but he's there in
PoA. Remember that cracker Dumbledore has him help open? Neville's Gran's
hat. And we know what he's doing at the Yule Ball--blasting apart those rose
bushes.

I think he stays at Hogwarts, but is the proverbial Scrooge and only
ventures out at mealtimes. Heck, maybe he even takes most meals in his
quarters.

Gwen