Why Snape appeals (mainly) to women

[Porphyria]

No: HPFGUIDX 47945

I wrote:

 > > Snape appeals to some women because he is exactly
 > > what a woman cannot be if she is to be recognized as
 > > "feminine" in our society.

Ezzie replied:

 > I'm not sure I can completely follow this theory.
 > There are other characters in the books that would
 > arguably have the same appeal: Arthur Weasley who is
 > loyal, noble, family oriented and in a powerful
 > position at the Ministry.  Albus Dumbledore who has
 > acheived significantly in several areas including
 > Potions, Alchemy, DADA, etc..  Whatever it is, it's
 > beyond his career acheivments or his position at
 > Hogwarts.

I'm afraid I don't feel that either Arthur or Dumbledore fit my theory at 
all. These are both nice guys, they are compassionate, caring, considerate,
  magnanimous, etc. I wasn't trying to say that Snape was appealing merely 
due to his professional success -- quite the opposite, more due to his 
professional frustration. I was talking more in terms of personality 
conflicts than professional success: Snape appeals to some women because 
he's *not suited for his job,* because it conflicts with his personality. 
Arthur and Dumbledore love their jobs, even if it's implied that they 
could both get more ambitious positions. And I certainly wasn't implying 
that women can't achieve professional success in the real world (I hope 
that was obvious); only that frustration with children might be a 
problematic point for some women.

 > I think the appeal to most women is Snape's unique
 > range of character (intelligent, dark, brooding,
 > ambitious, mysterious, tortured) that is appealing.

This also is true, I'm sure. I'm just asking why "intelligent, dark, 
brooding, ambitious, mysterious, tortured" would be appealing. There are 
some people who don't understand or agree, as oddly as that sounds to a 
Snape fan. :-)

 > If you're a Snape fan, ask yourself when the
 > inclinations (obsession?) began.

<snip examples>

For me the question is not when it began, but why it persists. There are a 
lot of dark, intelligent, brooding characters in literature. Not all 
appeal to me (I never liked Heathcliff, for instance). So I think that 
Snape appeals because he has this really wide variety of characteristics, 
not just because he's the mysterious bad boy, but also because he's got 
all these other (relatively) unique things. He's trapped in a day job he 
hates, for instance, apart from his ambivalent relationship with the Evil 
Dark Lord. I mean, that's almost *funny.*

 > I doubt few of us considered him much until Book 3 - I
 > know I didn't.  Before that he was simply an overgrown
 > grouchy adult.  After Book 4 I began to compile all
 > these things together, but his accomplishments meant
 > nothing without the struggle it obviously took for him
 > to get there.

See, I liked him in Book 2, and others, like Mel, liked him by Book 1. But 
I agree that by Book 4 it's the combination of qualities that clinches it.
  I also agree that:

 > But I would note that most
 > people who like Snape (that I've come across) are
 > older.  We younger Snape fans often have a darker side
 > to our personalities and perhaps there is a common
 > feeling of angst and torture there.

Yes, I certainly think you have to have a healthy sense of regret to 
really identify with Snape, and this usually comes with age and life 
experience.

 > A lot of Snape
 > fiction seems to focus in on this - if we can use
 > fanfiction as a means to judge the fandom's feelings
 > towards him. =)

Certainly, and I was basing my argument on fanfiction too as well as 
private conversations. But again, I was just offering one among many 
answers to the question. All are welcome.

~Porphyria


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