JKR's description of Snape

[frumenta]

No: HPFGUIDX 70215

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "evangelina839" 
<evangelina839 at y...> wrote:
> --- 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?"  The only reason I 
bring 
> > this up is because apparently everybody but me has read this 
> > interview (I only started reading the series a month and a half 
> > ago...I know, I'm fashionably late) and yet we all seem to have 
> > different takes on Snape's character.  I purposefully left out 
> > the "abuses his power" part because there really is little 
> > disagreement about that.  Ok, so -- Snape as sadistic and 
> > cruel: "well done JKR!", "E for Effort", or "I don't see it"  My 
> > vote: E for effort.  Now that I know she was going for sadistic 
and 
> > cruel, I can somewhat see it.  But I think there is way too much 
> > gray area and semi-justification for Snape's attitudes (not 
> > necessarily his actions) to say that she has done a good job to 
this 
> > point in making Snape sadistic and cruel.  She proves that she 
can 
> > make someone sadistic and cruel (Umbitch), so I don't see why 
she 
> > couldn't have done something similar with Snape.  Ok, now it is 
your 
> > turn.  I'm curious to see where this discussion (if anyone 
cares) 
> > will lead.
> > 
> > Adam, who hopes he is not going to be burned at the stake as a 
> > blasphemer for criticizing JKR
> 

I read the books without being aware of the interview concerning 
Snape. Did he come accross as sadistic and cruel? He loathed Harry 
and Harry being our protagonist that did sting a bit but at the same 
time there would be sudden glimpses into him that would change my 
perception of him during that first, innocent read of the books. I 
had him pegged for the villain in Philosopher's and there came 
Quirrelmort's description:

"Severus?" Quirrell laughed, and it wasn't his usual quivering 
treble,either, but cold and sharp. "Yes, Severus does seem the type, 
doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown 
bat."

And there you have it, right from the first book. Snape seems the 
type. But all that he did had been to try and save Harry even though 
he loathed him and that dichotomy made for an extremely interesting 
character. 

Does Snape enjoy causing pain? Not physical, he doesn't seem to want 
to apply corporeal punishment like Filch does (quite disturbingly) 
or Umbridge with her quill, but there is a sadistic pleasure out of 
say, having Neville gut toads for his detention, esp. considering 
the fact that the boy's pet is a toad. He appeared to enjoy reading 
Skeeter's article in class to make fun  of Harry, as well as that 
infamous "I see no difference" to Hermione.

Sadistic seems to apply, then. Perhaps also cruel. JKR has done a 
fairly good job in that. But to say that and nothing more about 
Snape would not be fair, esp. since Snape's status as a spy raises 
legitimate doubts as to whether it is all in large part an act. 
Occlumency seems a good example, in my eyes. Having seen in Harry's 
mind, Snape got his share of ammunition to torture Harry in private 
but used none of it. After Harry saw into his Pensieve he ignored 
Harry in class, as though taunting him had been a routine he 
couldn't manage to pull off and managed to resume only at the end of 
the book.


Yet as much as JKR may talk of disliking him, rather than making him 
a one note villain, like Draco, she has given us glimpses into him 
that make me think that half way into writing him she let go of 
whatever nasty prototype she had in mind and gave him layers 
that "cruel" and "sadistic" simply can't cover anymore. She likes 
him, as much as she pretends otherwise or tries to convince us 
(perhaps to blindside us?) that he is not one of her favourite 
characters. I don't pretend to be in her head, of course, but what 
am I to think when she give him that hilarious line to Crabbe in 
OotP: "And Crabbe, loosen your hold a little. If Longbottom 
suffocates it will mean a lot of tedious paperwork and I am afraid I 
shall have to mention it on your reference if ever you apply for a 
job."

Or of the image of Snape in GoF walking with Karkaroff outside the 
Yule ball, scaring couples out of the bushes and taking points?

And comedy aside, Snape coming forward at the end of GoF and 
exposing the dark mark? Snape at the end of PoA trying to get 
Dumbledore to listen to his story over Black's, like a child 
fighting for his father's favour? Not to get into the glimpses to 
Snape's actual childhood and bullying he had suffered as a student 
in OotP.


JKR has painted him as sadistic and cruel, unsympathetic, unkind and 
cold. She pulls no punches, reminding us time and again that he's 
supposed to be ugly (though Rickman's charismatic presence doesn't 
help) however, right from the start she has been giving us pieces of 
the puzzle little by little, the whys and hows of his character 
until we can't help but wonder: "What if he simply seems the type?"


 Mim (very much interested in keeping the Snape discussion going)