Sociopathic Sirius? (and Paranoid Snape?)

[Penny Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 47076

Hi all --

Audra helpfully listed out the common symptoms of a socio-path, and Marina happily pointed out that Sirius would not qualify as a socio-path under that definition (a point I was about to gleefully make myself before she beat me to the punch). 

Then, Judy noted that Sirius is charming and lacking in introspection, 2 other indicators of possible sociopathy.

Aside from agreeing with Marina's point that these factors would seem to not be terribly indicative of sociopathy since they can apply to such a large range of people, I'd also point out that we have absolutely zero proof that any of the characters are or are not introspective.  The books are written from Harry's POV, and while I think I would say that Harry is a very introspective person, I find it hard to make that argument about any of the other characters given the POV issues.  

Judy Serenity originally wrote:
<< Snape lacks the qualities of a sociopath -- an ability to charm 
others, a lack of introspection, a desire for action, a lack of 
remorse for hurting others, poor impulse control, an inability to 
learn from one's mistakes. Now, Sirius on the other hand...." >>

I would argue that Snape actually very definitely lacks remorse for hurting others -- or at least he certainly doesn't allow any remorse he might be feeling to stop him from abusing his position of power and knowingly hurting quite a number of the students under his purported tutelage.  Yeah, I have some strong feelings about Snape's use of his teacher role, Snape-fans.  :--)  


Judy again:

<<<<I've previously argued that Sirius' fatherly concern for Harry in GoF
is simply inconsistent with his impulsive and violent behavior in PoA.>>>>

Again, I agree completely with Marina's arguments -- I've never seen his behavior as inconsistent.  For one thing, it's obvious to me in reading the Shrieking Shack scene and the post-Lupin-changeover bits as crystal clear that Sirius cares quite deeply about Harry as a person.  He's observed him every chance he could grab, and IMO, he's come to love and care about Harry as a person, not just the boy who happens to be his best friend's son.  

One of my (many!) favorite lines in the entire series is:

"You are truly your father's son, Harry."

I can explain his PoA behavior quite clearly with the PTSD argument, but I know you don't buy that, Judy, so I won't bother with the details.  <g>  

Snape & Paranoia:

<<<<This brings up another point that I wanted to make. Eileen said that
Snape isn't paranoid enough to think that Dumbledore wanted him dead.
I don't think this belief would require paranoia. The Prank occured
during Voldewar I, a war that was largely between Slytherin House and
Gryffindor House.>>>>>>>

Curious: where do you get the perception that Voldemort I was confined to Hogwarts and to a Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry in particular?  My perception has always been that Voldy I was a terrible time for the entire wizarding world, and included many muggle murders as well.  

<<<<<<<So, I don't think Snape was (or is) paranoid.>>>>>

He sure looks paranoid from where I'm sitting.  Then again, I don't *like* Snape.  I find him fascinating, I'm anxious to hear his back-story, I'm sure he'll die a heroic death and probably many of us will care about him at some point.... yada, yada, yada.  He does absolutely nothing for me at the moment though.  

Penny

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