Why Snape appeals (mainly) to women

[melclaros <melclaros@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 47959

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Porphyria <porphyria at m...> 
wrote:

snipping/pasting here
> 
> 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.*


Heathcliff is a profoundly annoying character who I've always 
despised. The reason for that is because he started out "that way" 
and never changed. Snape, on the other hand has developed layer upon 
layer of interesting characteristics, traits and histories to pick 
away at. No, not all of them are very nice. In fact most of them are 
pretty awful. But that only adds to the interest. Now, to be fair, he 
has had 4 books so far in which to develop whereas Heathcliff had 
only the one--but I wouldn't have read Heathcliff's continuing 
adventures anyway so...
> 
>  > 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.


Book one. Absolutely. Seduced by the Potions Speech (you know those 
scenes in the Indiana Jones movies where all the girls in his 
archeology classes...never mind) and cemented by the LOGIC test at 
the end. The sheer brilliance of his mind stood out there, so much so 
that JKR felt it necessary to point out that most wizards would never 
be able to get past that test. There is nothing sexier than a 
brilliant mind. Add the silky, dark chocolate voice and sweeping 
black robes as icing on the cake and 'Whoops, there goes Mel!'
Watching the character develop and, even in some aspects 'devolve' 
over the course of the next books is what keeps the attraction fresh. 
I've said before and I'll say again that to my reading Severus Snape 
is the single most thought out, complex and detailed character in the 
entire HP series. JK's poured out a lot of time and energy into this 
character, there has to be something more behind it than a big mean 
old grouch.

I have to agree also with the ability to really identify and 
appreciate with Snape coming with age and experience, I am "of an 
age" with the character (oh go look it up yourself!). I know what's 
going on in the head of a person at that point in his/her life. It's 
generally a time of rethinking one's life choices and making 
important decisions on what course one plans to take to make up for 
them. I know one thing for sure, what ever he does, it's going to 
take everyone by surprise.

Melpomene