Snape the Brave

[Rowena Grunnion-Ffitch]

No: HPFGUIDX 27558

--- vheggie at yahoo.com wrote:

> In defence of Snape:
> I'll lay my cards on the table; I was a big, big
Snape fan before
> I discovered that the delectable Mr Rickman was to
play himnow 
> hairwashing in the Prefects' Bathroom is a recurring
theme in many of my daydreams

   Like I said before, does Mr. Rickman have the
*faintest* idea of what he's letting himself in for?
Does he even know there are adult female Potter Fans
who fantasize about Snape? :)

> Having said that  I think Snape is a classic
> example of the truism 
> that "Not all good people must be Nice people".

   From the very first book I've suspected that this
was exactly the point JKR was trying to make with the
character of Snape. Even nasty and mean people may
align themselves on the side of light when forced to
choose

> He appears to treat everyone equally badly, with the
possible
> exception of the 
> Slytherins, although, of course, we don't see how he
acts with
> them alone, only through Harry's POV, and of course,
Harry is biased.

   It has also been suggested that his very obvious
favoritism towards Malfoy is a matter of policy,
staying in good with his former DE colleagues, rather
than a matter of personal liking. However I do think
he is biased towards Slytherins in a large part
because he sees the rest of the school as being
against them, (and is not entirely wrong in this
perception). 
 
> He has an unpopular teaching style, but it certainly
seems to work

    So did Professor Kingsfield on the 'Paperchase',
(old US TV show about law students). I bet Snape's
pupils really know their potions by the time he's
through with them - even if they also hate his guts. 
 
> none of the trio fail potions, and Hermione, at
> least, is capable of 
> making very advanced brews (e.g. Polyjuice Potion).

    Harry believes only Dumbledore's intervention kept
Snape from failing him but I think he's wrong. Severus
has his own kind of integrity. Just as he would never
physically harm a student I don't believe he would
fail one who'd earned a pass - even if he did give
them the lowest grade he could manage.

> Most importantly, Snape can clearly
> admit to being 
> wrong, at least about the `big things'  he defected
from Voldemort, 
> at the risk of his own life, when he realised that
this was not the 
> way he wanted to see things done.
 
   This is a very big thing. He not only admitted he
had been wrong but set out to repair the damage done
no matter what the personal cost - that streak of
integrity again.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals.
http://personals.yahoo.com