Why Snape appeals (mainly) to women

[ats_fhc3 <the.gremlin@verizon.net>]

No: HPFGUIDX 47980

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

My obsession (see? I'm admitting it!) began in book 3 and was 
cemented in Book 4. Book 3 was when we found out a little about his 
past. We knew he had hated James, but we didn't know why, nor did we 
know the circumstances of the life-debt. That and we finally get to 
see him in a different light than the sarcastic teacher who talks 
softly. We see him completely lose it, and while it's funny, I just 
can't help feeling sorry for him because he just lost everything. 

In book 4, we learn that he was once a DE, and then we start asking 
questions: why was he a DE? Why did he turn? What were his personal 
reasons? We go a little bit more into his background, just enough to 
keep us interested, but not enough to satisfy us. I really want to 
find out more about him.

Ezzie:
"I certainly can't dispute that some women might feel this way.  But 
we can't discount for the fact that a lot of women are attracted to 
him because he's obviously tortured and he is for all practical
purposes a 'bad boy'."

I have the image of a little black cat with a collar, and I'm 
scolding it...anyway, I have found that I tend to like the male 
characters who are...well, tortured. For a few examples, my favorite 
character in the anime 'Gundam Wing' is the 15 year old trained 
assasin, and I like him because he doesn't have any sense of 
humanity at all, he's like a robot, and thhroughout the series, he's 
slowly learning to become human. My favorite character in the 
fantasy series 'Wheel of Time' is Rand al' Thor, because he has to 
die to save the world, and everyone is either relying on him or 
trying to kill him, and he didn't ask for any of it, he was just 
born into it. So I definitely like Snape because a guy like that, 
with his history, probably has nightmares about it. He's tortured.

Ezzie again:
"We younger Snape fans often have a darker side to our personalities 
and perhaps there is a common feeling of angst and torture there."

I have never experienced feelings of angst or torture. However, 
maybe it's from the fact that I never had to experience those 
feeling, and here's someone who is. It kind of ties in with 
Porphyria's theory, that we like Snape because he represents 
something that's looked down on in women. In my case, he represents 
something I never experienced because my life has taken a different 
set of paths. Some people like that sort of thing, to pretend to be 
tortured and angsty, and they like Snape because it allows them to 
do so, without other people freaking out. So, it's like Porphyria's 
theory.

CK wrote:
"He's like the Daffy Duck of the wizarding world - he just CAN'T 
win. Poor Snape (heehee!)."

Okie, when I read this, I thought Donald even though I read 
Daffy...so if we were comparing him to Donald, it would kind of make 
sense because Donald can never be better than Mickey, and Snape 
could never be better than James, so Snape is like the one guy 
singing 'Donald Duck' during the Mickey Mouse song...okie, I'm going 
to discontinue that train of thought.

Porphyria Ashenden wrote:
"In fact, he disdains 'silly wand waving' (because of its overly 
phallic obviousness?), instead praising the 'subtle' art of potions 
with their more sneaky, devious ways (and feminine symbolism)."

I would just like to comment that I thought it incredibly funny that 
Lockhart's wand in TCTMNBN was so danged *long*. 

-Acire, who is finding it frustratingly difficult to type with and 
Ace bandage wrapped around her wrist...I strained it reading...it 
was a heavy book!!!