Snape, Harry and the Pensieve WAS Re: Pensieves objectivity

[princesspeaette]

No: HPFGUIDX 79982


Pen wrote:

It seems to me that the diary analogy is as close as I can get to the 
idea of prying into someone else's thoughts. There is, however, a 
difference between something written-down-and-read, and something 
experienced-and-seen. I'm not sure how to quantify it - perhaps 
someone else can do so? At any rate, what I mean by "a violation even 
worse than reading someone's diary" was that sneaking into the 
Pensieve to see directly what was in Snape's mind was considerably 
more intrusive than reading his written notes could possibly have 
been.



I agree that going into the Pensieve is a far greater violation than 
reading someone's diary.  Of course I never sucessfully kept a diary 
for more than a week, because I wasn't going to leave information 
like that lying around. (I lose things a lot) I remember Dumbledore 
said something about a pensieve allowing the person to examine 
thoughts and memories at their leisure, and helping to spot patterns 
(sorry, don't have the book for an exact quote, but I know that's 
close).   To me having someone go into your memories in such an in 
depth way would feel almost as if someone had broken into your 
psychatrist's office and read all their files, listened to all the 
tapes of sessions.  I cannot imagine anyone doing something like 
that, especially someone you dislike so intensely.  I think Harry got 
what was coming to him.  Yes, it would have been better, and more 
mature, of Professor Snape to keep his temper, but I completely 
understand why he didn't.


And just because I haven't posted to this thread before, and I've 
been looking for an opportunity to work this in, I don't think 
Professor Snape threw the jar.  I don't think Harry blew it up 
unintentionally.  I actually think Snape might have blown it up.  And 
that makes me feel even worse for him.


~Margaret