Twitchy, prowling Snape?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 86105

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Berit Jakobsen" <belijako at o...>
wrote:
> Did anyone else notice how Rowling describes Snape in the pensieve 
> scene? OoP p. 566 Bloomsbury:
> 
> Quote: "Round-shouldered yet angular, he [Snape] walked in a twitchy 
> manner that recalled a spider, and his oily hair was jumping about 
> his face."
> 
> The twitchy spidery thing really caught my eye. This is not at all 
> how Rowling describes Snape's manner of walking as a grown-up. 
> Whenever Harry sees him, Snape is either "gliding", or "sweeping", 
> or "striding" or "walking swiftly". All these imply someone moving 
> elegantly and with ease rather than clumsy or oddly. So why this 
> twitchy description in the pensieve scene? What does a twitchy walk 
> say about the person in question?
> 
> The only other description of Snape's walk that might not fit in with 
> the "elegant" is his "prowling" (PS p. 165 Bloomsbury). It says Harry 
> recognised his prowling walk in the scene where Snape threatens 
> Quirrell in the forest. I don't know if "prowling" goes into 
> the "twitchy" category or not :-) But if Harry easily recognised 
> Snape's prowling at the time, it follows that Snape usually walks in 
> a prowling manner, or Harry would not have recognised him. Does that 
> mean Snape usually moves around "striding in a prowling manner"? I'm 
> confused .-)
> 
> So, what to make of this? Is Snape's walk twitchy, or is it 
> sweepingly elegant? It couldn't possibly be both? And what does it 
> say about him as a person...?


I think the "twitchy" walk was part of his awkward adolescence and
that he either grew out of it or consciously overcame it. I don't
think "prowling" is incompatible with gliding. Remember that Harry
still thinks that Snape is sneaking around trying to get the stone for
Voldemort in this scene. But the gliding of the adult Snape is not
sneaking so much as one of the elements of his persona that gives him
power over others, his students in particular. It goes along with his
whispers or his sometimes silky voice. The neglected, abused boy has
transformed himself to the best of his ability into someone that it
would be foolish and dangerous to mess with. He doesn't torture his
students like Umbridge; he cows them. And what he'll do to his real
enemies when his powers are unleashed should be very interesting indeed.

Carol