Father figures or mentor or just plain teacher

[siriusgeologist]

No: HPFGUIDX 38043

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "catlady_de_los_angeles" <catlady at w...> 
wrote:
> 
> I don't share the faith, widelly expressed on this thread, that the 
> negative father always has good *intentions* toward the child, much 
> less that the child will always grow up to realise that the 
negative 
> father had good *results*. Fathers are human beings, and, as such, 
> they can be in a bad mood or even downright evil. Can physically or 
> verbally beat up the kid just because they lost their temper 
because 
> of having had a lousy day. Can be trying to defeat the child 
because 
> of viewing the child as a rival. Can torture the child for sadistic 
> pleasure. 
> 
> I don't think there's any canon evidence that Vernon has EVER done 
> ANYTHING which he INTENDED to be for Harry's good. He took Harry 
> along to the zoo because he thought leaving him at home would be 
more 
> dangerous for himself, and bought him a lemon ice to avoid looking 
> bad to the ice cream vendor. The mean things he says to Harry are 
> just cruel, not intended to help Harry turn out well.
> 
> Snape HAS done things for Harry's good (countercursing Quirrell's 
> effort to knock him off his broomstick for sure; beating him up for 
> being "our new celebrity" maybe) but I feel sure that Snape has 
done 
> things that were spiteful to Harry simply out of spite and NOT for 
> Harry's own good. I am not convinced that Snape intended to teach 
> Harry better judgment than to put himself at risk by sneaking out 
to 
> Hogsmeade; I think Snape was simply relieving his own annoyance at 
> Harry.

Thank you Rita for making these points.  I agree with you here and 
want to further ask, why do we need to squish Snape into a father 
figure role at all?  That is obviously not his intent and not 
anything Harry would welcome in the least.  I think this was my 
initial question.  Yes Snape may do Harry some good in his efforts to 
teach and train and make Harry cautious, etc.  But why oh why does 
this have to be translated into some sort of either benevolent or 
malevolent fatherly figure.

It's one thing to have a real father who is human and may have the 
stern disiplinarian tendancies that Snape has as well as the 
sometimes spiteful nature Snape seems to exhibit towards Harry, it's 
quite another to foist that on the child who has never known anything 
but abuse.  This is something I think both Snape and Harry would 
object to.  To curse someone who has never had any kind of father 
with Snape who by the Snapefans admission exemplifies more of the 
negative aspects of a father is just beyond me. Cast Snape as a 
guardian angel (as someone suggested) or a mentor, or simply as a 
crotchity, vindictive, yet highly skilled teacher (which he is), but 
father figure...no way.

Carole