Hermione as mirror of Snape

[porphyria_ash]

No: HPFGUIDX 38844

Fleur has written:

<<
I read the post about Neville as a mirror of Harry and found it 
really intresting and started to think of other characters in the 
book and their mirrors. I started thinking about Hermione as a mirror 
of Snape.
>>

This really intrigues me because I do agree that they have several 
specific things in common (intelligence, talent, a propensity to take 
academics seriously) and corresponding contrasts as well. 

To add another point to support your argument, I would say that each 
character is preoccupied with following rules and encouraging others 
to do so, however they do it in opposing ways. Hermione can 
occasionally feel OK about breaking rules if it's for the greater 
good; for instance she masterminds the whole Polyjuice plot in CoS 
because they are trying to solve the mystery plaguing the school. So 
she can ignore rules *when it makes sense to do so given the bigger 
picture.* Snape, on the other hand, takes sadistic pleasure in 
enforcing the rules even when they don't make any sense given the 
bigger picture. Hence he penalizes Hermione in PoA for helping 
Neville with his potion while he penalizes Harry in PS/SS for *not* 
doing this. So he takes the letter of the law to its illogical 
conclusion while Hermione adheres to the spirit of the law and 
abandons it when it does become, to her, illogical. [OTOH Snape does 
also try to enforce rules that do make sense, but he seems to be 
operating in a different mode when he does it for a good reason than 
when he does it just for spite.]

However I have some quibbles with certain points of your argument, so 
for the sake of completeness I'll take them up.

<<
What got me started on this was reading Snape's introductory speach 
in PS/SS. I had read it loads of times but never really analysed it. 
When I got to 'even stopper death' I realised the speach could be 
read as a kind of Voldemorts wish list! 
>>

It is true that his list is of sweepingly power-hungry and self-
serving uses for potions, but having taught school myself, I'd really 
like to add that you shouldn't judge someone entirely based on the 
spiel they give on the first day of class. :-) Snape is being 
dramatic here, he's trying to engage the class's interest; it's not 
clear that this is exactly what he wants out of life now. Well, maybe 
the fame and glory part, but I'm not sure about the stoppering death 
part. 

<<
The crucial point for both of them is when their lives where 
endangered and then saved, Snape by the Marauders and Hermione by Ron 
and Harry. Snape chose to think of what could have been, that he 
could have died and direct all of his hatred and biterness upon the 
marauders, Hermione was greatfull she thought of her lucky escape, 
she used the experience to bond with Harry and Ron and become friends 
with them. 
>>

I like your overall point here that in one case having your life 
saved leads to an improvement in friendship while in the other case 
it leads to a worsening of it. Still there are important differences 
in each case that make this a bit of an apples and oranges 
comparison. 

I was always under the impression that Hermione wanted to be friends 
with Ron and Harry early in PS/SS and her bossiness and poking into 
their business demonstrated this. She cries when she finds out they 
don't like her. She lies in order to deflect McGonagall's wrath upon 
herself. I don't think her lying here or their subsequent friendship 
was based solely on her gratefulness; I think they fascinated her and 
the emotional impact of the troll encounter served to facilitate a 
set of friendships based on complementariness and mutual respect.

Plus, when you start school at 11 you probably haven't formed lasting 
friendships yet after two months, so it's not incredible that Harry 
and Ron should have taken her in at that point.

In any case, Snape already hated James long before the prank; they 
were 16 at the time and had five years to form an animosity. Snape 
didn't hate James because James saved him; he hated the experience 
because it put him in debt of someone he already hated, and this was 
humiliating. 

<<
If Snape had became friends with James after he saved him, he would 
be a very different character! 
>>

People just aren't as pliant at 16 as they are at 11. He and James 
were already too different long before then.

<<
Snape is judgemental and Cliquey <...> Hermione is Tollerent and 
enclusive...
>>

This is very true; you have some good points here. I would add that I 
imagine that Snape might have gotten over some of his intolerance 
from his DE days (directed against Muggle-borns, for example), but 
that's not entirely clear yet and your examples are sound.

<<
Hermione shares her knowledge with others <...> Snape is guarded and 
selective with his knowledge <...> Hermione uses her knowledge to 
help, Snape to ridducle and harm.

Hermione creates unity <...> Snape creates seperateness
>>

Also very good points.

<<
Hermione rises above her more unfortunate physical <...> Snapes 
greasy hair yellow teeth become the sum of him. His unpleasantness 
inside are manifested in his looks.
>>

Here I'm not entirely sure what you mean. Do you think his unpleasant 
looks motivate his unpleasant actions? Upon what evidence? Or do you 
just mean thematically: Hermione is plain on the outside but pretty 
on the inside, while Snape is highly problematic inside and out? I do 
sort of see what you mean by this, but I think that Snape is also an 
example of 'looks can be deceiving,' seeing how he's often perceived 
as the villain when really he's working for good. So it's a little of 
each. 

<<
Hermione is fiercely loyal and would do anything for her friends. 
Snape is a turncoat and a spy. 
>>

This is true regarding his old Slyth friends, but:

<<
he hasn't even loyalty to Dumbledore, we see this when Draco asks him 
if he will go for the position of headmaster in COS when Dumbledore 
is removed. He smirks and looks very pleased at this and takes no 
oppirtunity to defend Dumbledore, can you imagine what loyal Hermione 
would do in this position?
>>

Here I don't see where you're getting this. I always interpreted this 
scene as an indication of how loyal Snape really is to Dumbledore. 
His answer to Draco is at worst cagey, but smirking aside, what he 
actually says is "Now, now, Malfoy...Professor Dumbledore has only 
been suspended by the governors. I daresay he'll be back with us soon 
enough." How on earth is that disloyal? That's pretty supportive. 

Granted Hermione (not to mention Hagrid) would have been much more 
unambiguous about defending him, but Snape seems to feel a need to 
keep Draco in the dark about that. I think the events of GoF rule out 
any question of whether Snape is truly loyal to Dumbledore, unless 
you make a case that Snape is really evil after all (as some people 
do ;-)). 

<<
Snape and Hermione both came to the school prepared with magical 
Knowledge for their first year, but whereas Hermione had researched 
Hogwarts and some usefull spells Snape had turned his energy to 
knowing more curses than most 6th years according to Sirrius.
>>

True enough, and here we could add another parallel that they are 
both very eager to prove themselves and show off their talent, but 
she does it in productive or benign ways and he, no doubt, wanted to 
creep people out in the process. 

<<
Hermione could easily be Snapes best student, she is
top of practically every other class she is in, but
instead he hates her from first meeting, branding her
a know it all, and why does he hate her? because she
is everything he will never be. 
>>

Do you really think this is why he hates her? I've made long 
arguments in the past as to exactly how and why I think she annoys 
him, but I just don't see that he envies her a whole lot. He *is* a 
very different person from her, and I'm not sure he feels regretful 
about his nastiness at all (apart from when someone is throwing his 
DE past in his face). I don't think he wishes he were just like her.

Also it's important to keep in mind that Snape represents a character 
that has gone through some sort of dramatic transformation, whereas 
there is no reason Hermione will ever do this. She has loosened up a 
little since her first yeah, but she hasn't gone through a dramatic 
change. So that's one way they aren't parallel.

Still, thanks for bringing up this topic, Fleur! You raise lots of 
cool points.

~~Porphyria