JKR's description of Snape

[melclaros]

No: HPFGUIDX 70196

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "adamjmarcantel" 
<adamjmarcantel at y...> wrote:
> Here is another direction to take the Snape discussion (oh yeah, 
> they will keep going if I have anything to do with it!): JKR 
> describes Snape as a "sadistic and cruel teacher who abuses his 
> power."  Putting aside your own personal feelings on Snape (love 
> him, hate him, indifferent), do you think JKR does a good job of 
> developing Snape as "sadistic and cruel?"  


Well, no.
But there's more to it than that. Being a die-hard Snape fan and 
really not minding if it turns out he is ESE as long as he stays 
Snape, MY big problem with JKR and her endless sniping at Snape and 
telling us how awful he is and how "deeply horrible" he is and asking 
the very odd question "Why would anyone *want Snape to be in love 
with them*? (HUH? Shouldn't that have been "why would anyone love 
him?") and calling a relationship with him a "horrible thought" is 
that despite all this nagging she has spent an incredible amount of 
time and care describing him in a manner that makes him completely 
fascinating and absolutely seductive. Love him or hate him you can't 
get him out of your head. Look at the conversations here.
IF I were writing a *stereotypical* "Deeply Horrible Sadistic Cruel 
Power Abusing Person" as she INSISTS Snape is, I might give him a 
silky voice, but I would not let him use a "soft" one. On the 
contrary--he'd sound more like Peter most of the time and likely have 
a cackling laugh to go with it. He would NOT have rippling robes and 
glide silently around--sorry, that's very seductive and mysterious 
JK, and YOU KNOW IT!
She's been criticized, maybe chided recently, for her overuse use of 
descriptors in dialog. Many--if not most of those it looks to me have 
been given to Snape. Practically every WORD he utters is described to 
us. The NYTimes review mentions that this "tendancy" of hers 
disappears for hundreds of pages at a time. Why? Because Snape does.
I just don't get it. For a character she insists she HATES she has 
spent an awful lot of time, effort and talent on him. He's one of--if 
not THE--the most fully drawn in the series and I'm including the 
kids in this. Especially now we've glimpsed a bit of his backstory. 
Which makes him even MORE alluring.

She's done a good job in showing us he can be exceptionally 
unpleasant. (Hears Darrin pulling his hair out-actually hears the 
ripping sound!) But how does he do it? Usually with a dry, caustic 
WIT. The man is FUNNY. (No the 'victim' isn't going to think it's 
funny.) And face it. We have yet to see him hurt a student. (See the 
great post earlier about good old fashioned British sarcasm.) All 
those whines about "HE ATTACKED HARRY!" Well...you know what? SIRIUS 
attacked Harry! With a WEAPON. 

Melpomeme, off the soapbox but still waiting for JKR to admit 
crushing on Severus