Snape's DE past

[Nora Renka]

No: HPFGUIDX 111408

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "cubfanbudwoman" 
<susiequsie23 at s...> wrote:

> SSSusan:
> And you've got JKR's word on it, Alla.  Here 'tis:
> 
> "Snape is a very sadistic teacher, loosely based on a teacher I 
> myself had, I have to say. I think children are very aware and we 
> are kidding ourselves if we don't think that they are, that 
> teachers do sometimes abuse their power and this particular teacher 
> does abuse his power. He's not a particularly pleasant person at 
> all." [The Connection, Oct. 12, 1999]

Ah, that quote.  Curse you all for inspiring me when I should be 
studying. :)

That nails the aspects of Snape's character that I ethically find 
most troubling.  Now, I'm not a believer in ESE!Snape, and I think he 
is/was/has been/probably will be doing good things.  But he's got 
some serious vices on the Ordinary level, and those are what I'm 
going to focus on.  Note: this discussion of moral failures does not 
invalidate or really have any bearing on thinking about the positive, 
selfless, daring acts that Snape has done.  This is all about the 
little things.

I think he is indeed something of a sadist.  Certainly not Bellatrix 
class or particular type, so no slippery slope arguments please.  I 
think it fits him, though, because he seems to genuinely *enjoy* the 
discomfiture of the children--those scenes that always make me 
think 'Right point, perhaps, but do you have to do it THAT WAY?' (his 
reprimand of Harry sneaking out in PoA, Harry and Ron coming in with 
the car in CoS, reading the Skeeter article about Hermione out loud 
to the class, etc.).  The 'abuse of power' issue has been discussed 
over and over again, so I refer any doubters to our past discussions 
there.  To be short, none of the other faculty seem to be capricious 
in the same way, except Umbridge (who is far, *far* worse than Snape, 
for her sadism is moral, physical, clearly malicious, and overtly 
damaging).

I do buy the argument that Snape has fairly good relationships with 
the rest of the faculty.  A large part of it is that, well, he can't 
and doesn't treat them like he does the students.  You think 
McGongagall is going to take crap from anyone, not to mention someone 
she probably taught as a snot-nosed 11-year old?  The teachers are 
all on the same level--of course, the PoA issues with Lupin are 
another can of worms.

So why does Snape treat the students like poo?  In part, I think--
because he can.  For some unknown reason, Dumbledore hasn't 
dramatically stepped in, partially (I suppose, much in line with the 
BADD ANGSTers), because he actually *doesn't* want to meddle all the 
time.  And it's that element of choice, letting one's baser desires 
override the intellectual knowledge that you really shouldn't treat 
people like that, that's so frustrating about Snape (and makes him a 
more interesting character, for sure).  How you treat your 
inferiors...

[Intermezzo to clarify: I think that how you treat people in general, 
everyday, is a moral issue of great significance.  It's not only 
doing the big things that matters.  How you treat people everyday is 
a strong reflection on your own character, because it indicates that 
you do or don't respect the rights, the subjectness, of other people.]

I guess that's why the OotP Pensieve scene failed to really make 
Snape more sympathetic for me.  We see one scene with no context, but 
that scene *is* horrifying--honestly, I find it difficult to read--
and there Snape is victim, while in the present time he is bully.  
Shklar has the great quote on this, about overvaluing victims.  I 
know that people who are abused often end up being abusers, but I 
also credit Severus Snape with being sharp enough that he really 
ought to know better.  I make no claims as to knowing whether he does 
know better, if that made any sense.

And now, I'm going to go back to studying German grammar.

-Nora, who is a big fan of Diana and thinks that's part of why 'I see 
no difference' can be read as a problematic moral statement, not just 
a harsh comment to Hermione