What's in it for Snape? Finding motive...

[Barry Arrowsmith]

No: HPFGUIDX 97226

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "cubfanbudwoman" 
<susiequsie23 at s...>
wrote:
 >
   As for the rest of your post, vmonte, I enjoyed it very much.  I
  think this is some of the stuff many adults really, really want to
  learn in books 6 & 7:  what does motivate Snape?  what is he working 
towards?  who is he working "for"?  Kids I've talked w/ kind of dismiss 
Snape.  My daughter, for instance, while finding him interesting, takes 
him at face value: he's just a mean, nasty
  teacher to her.  But me?  I can't wait to find out what makes him
  tick.
 >

Hmm.
"Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings." But of course we, as 
supposedly intelligent adults feel the need to delve deeper.
And I have to admit that I'm an enthusiastic digger myself. Get down to 
the root  causes, finger his soul, maybe find a justification of sorts 
for what stands before us. And maybe not.
But I really don't understand why the misanthropy of Snape seems to 
cause problems for some. It's a deliberate characterisation, isn't it? 
So he seems to hate/dismiss/feel contempt for most of the other 
characters in the books. Why not? That is assuming that what we see is 
what is truly there with no distortions, exaggerations or personal 
prejudices - remember, we see everything through Harry's eyes, and he 
ain't exactly objective.

True, JKR reckons he's not at all nice, possibly sadistic, vindictive, 
all that good stuff that upsets some fans, but he is essential.

Voldy is supposedly the arch-villain - and  just  how many times has he 
appeared in the text? Count 'em on the fingers of one hand. He's almost 
background. Unlike film where a  very infrequently appearing threat can 
be fairly easily handled, in a book it's not so straight-forward - 
where is all the tension going to come from? From a character like 
Snape, of course. Essentially his function is as the everyday presence 
that makes Harry's life a misery. Splendid!

This can be expected from almost any book of the genre but
our Sevvy has a lot more going for him than the usual run of
every-day miserable old gits. After 5 books we know very little
more about him than we did at the end of PS/SS. The betting is
that this is contrived to make all the eventual revelations/actions all 
the more surprising. All I hope is that he stays in character right to 
the end - and the hints from JKR is that he will.

Lots of posters deplore his actions and attitudes - but there again 
lots of posters seem to disapprove of any actions or concepts in the 
books that they consider might give an uncomfortable moment or two to a 
youngster. Not so JKR herself: "I write for myself ... if I only end up 
with 6 readers, so be it. I will not write to order."  This in answer 
to a question concerning future plot lines and how they may be 
received.
True, she continues that doesn't want to alienate youngsters, but there 
again it's not the youngsters who complain, it's adults. They know 
best, you see. They've mostly forgotten how resilient most kids are and 
that they start to distinguish between fact and fiction about the same 
time that they start to express preferences for books, clothes and 
friends.

Personally, I prefer villains that aren't  cardboard cut-outs and who 
won't eventually be turned from their despicable paths by the winning 
smile of some snotty little brat immature enough to think that everyone 
  is nice if you give them a chance. Yuck! The soft-option conclusion 
where everything in the garden is lovely is thankfully not universal in 
kids stories by any means. Anyone read "The Little Mermaid"  before 
Disney (spit) got at it? "Chronicles of Narnia" doesn't end in a bundle 
of laughs,  and Pullman's "His Dark Designs" is no softy either.

So I have high hopes; Snape, the most interesting personality in the 
books by far, will not go belly up, join the Band of Hope, sign the 
pledge and start a campaign for the rehabilitation of distressed DEs.

But back to the point, which was what's in it for Snape? Not a lot, 
IMO. He wants revenge (again my opinion), it's his reason for being, 
but I'm not certain he'll get it. He'll die, probably getting young 
Potter out of one of his habitual cock-ups. This may allow for a 
certain measure of redemption, not that he would be interested in that 
in the slightest. The thought of Hermione in tears beside his shattered 
corpse would be anathema to him. But I  do hope that he gets at least a 
chance to balance his accounts, it's what his present and future are 
about, there isn't anything else.

While motivations explain, they do not necessarily excuse subsequent 
actions. Snape's behaviour would not be  excusable in real life 
(fiction is more flexible), but it should be understandable, even 
credible to most of us. But this is an analysis premature and maybe a 
step  too far. For now I'm happy to savour his distinctly unfashionable 
attitudes towards teaching, kids in general and Harry in particular. 
And if he can AK a few pests along the way I'll be even more pleased.

Kneasy