Snape and Draco / Despised Lackey or Social Equal?

[eloiseherisson at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 90262

Rachel:
>    On reading the books, I have never got the impression that Snape 
> is trying to "molly coddle" Draco and I can't think of any canon to 
> support his feeling of sympathy towards Draco(but if you can find 
> any please do tell me because it could be an angle that I have just 
> never seen before). 

Eloise:
It's an angle that comes from my own analysis of Snape's character, more than 
anything else, working backwards in an attempt to explain why he is like he 
is. Also (and here I'm in danger of getting into trouble as has happened 
before, because if you say parallel, people have a tendency to think you mean an 
exact parallel and I don't) there seems to be some analogy being drawn between 
the Draco/Harry antipathy and the Severus/James one.
Now that could work both ways. Either it could mislead, or it could be 
genuine and if so Severus could be homing in on that antipathy to Harry, which would 
be another point of identification.

What I also must make clear is that I'm talking about a degree of 
*identification*, not of sympathy or liking. I'm saying that at some psychological level, 
Snape may favour Draco because in doing so he is fulfilling psychological 
needs of his own which frankly *cannot* have been fulfilled as a child, IMO. Just 
look at him. Did that man have a happy childhood? Was he made to feel good 
about himself? Did anyone ever give him any sense of self worth? I doubt it very 
much. The behaviour we see from him in the Pensieve and during the action of 
the books suggests otherwise. I'm suggesting that he's not favouring *Draco*, 
he's favouring juvenile Severus, a Severus who still, in his thirties, needs 
to grow up in many ways.

Rachel:
>   I took the scene where Snape orders Dracos ingredients to be cut 
> up for him, more as Snapes way at getting at Harry by forcing his 
> best friend to do work for Draco. 

Eloise:
That element is undoubtedly there. He does like to get at Harry through his 
friends.
But conscious and unconscious motivations can go hand in hand.

Rachel:
>   I agree with Sigune in respect that Draco is too stupid (not 
> academically but with regards to common sense and awareness), for 
> Snape to respect him all that much.  I get the feeling more that 
> Snape likes to portray overt favouritism towards Draco, in order to 
> annoy Harry and highlight his dislike for Harry and show that just 
> because other people think he's so great, Snape definately does not 
> agree. In Snapes eyes, the more he supports and favouritises Draco, 
> the more it puts Harry in his place. 

Eloise:
True. But the emphasis is on his favouritism of *Draco* in particular. OK 
there are good practical reasons for this, aside from the fact that we're seeing 
things largely from Harry's POV. But I still see potential parallels.


Carol:
 >But also consider what working for a
>living, even in a "genteel" position like teaching, did to the
>person's social status. Lucius Malfoy reminds me of the "gentlemen" in
>Jane Austen's novels who consider work of any kind beneath them, and
>for that reason I think he would see himself as socially superior to
>Snape. 

Eloise:
A very good point which I failed to make! Yes. I think there is a crucial 
difference there. Interestingly, though he speaks as if Draco will need to pursue 
a profession. I wonder why?
I too have always assumed that Lucius lived off inherited wealth. I wonder 
why he thinks Draco *needs* good grades.

Carol:
>Also their relationship when they were both in Slytherin may
>affect their current friendship or whatever we should call it. Snape
>is considerably younger (four or five years), and that age difference
>would have shaped the way Lucius treated Severus in the two years
>during which they both attended Hogwarts. 

Eloise:
According to the dates available to the Lexicon, it's more like six years, so 
Lucius would have been taking his NEWTS while Severus was still a first year. 


Carol:
>Severus would have been a
>precocious little boy and Lucius the presumed leader of the gang of
>Slytherins which he let Severus join. (I base "leader" on Malfoy's
>taking the lead in the Muggle baiting and in the raid on the DoM.) 

Eloise:
I guess he probably stood out, but I wonder if Lucius would have taken much 
notice of a greasy-haired little oddball like that. Social notice, that is. If 
his talent were precocious, then I can see that he might have noted it.

Carol:
I think that's where Sirius's snide reference to Snape as Malfoy's "lap
dog" comes in. He can't know how they interact as adults, but he does
apparently know that Severus was Malfoy's "little pet" (which is what
"lap dog" means) when they were boys.

Eloise:
It's quite possible. But Sirius is quite capable of being snide just because 
Snape, well, exists. I thought that this remark was simply meant to cast 
aspersions on Severus, imply that Snape's meetings with Lucius (presumably reported 
to the Order) are the reverse of what they are reported to be. Just a nasty 
way of accusing him of being still in Voldemort's service, in the process 
riling Snape further, because Lucius' lap dog is no doubt *exactly* what Snape is 
having to pretend to be and I can't see him enjoying that. Not to mention 
giving JKR (via Snape's dialogue) a neat way of leading in to the fact that Lucius 
had recognised Sirius. I'm not sure that it *has* to have a retrospective 
meaning.


Carol:
>I'm almost certain that he thinks Snape is still a loyal Death Eater
>(Snape must have explained to him why he couldn't be at the graveyard
>in GoF) and that Malfoy is the means by which Snape finds out what LV
>is telling his Death Eaters. I don't have any proof of this, but I'm
>thinking of Snape's mission at the end of GoF and his words to Harry
>in one of the occlumency scenes in OoP 

Eloise:
I still wonder about that one.

We don't know that all the DEs know each others' identities. Snape's starting 
at the mention of Lucius' name when Harry describes the graveyard scene could 
be explained in conflicting ways. It could have been shock, not realising 
that Lucius *was* a DE; it could have been the confirmation of a suspicion; it 
could have been concern that Lucius would realise he was missing.

Ages ago, some work was done trying to put all the DEs into their respective 
cells. I think the original idea came from Peg Kerr (29347): it was thought 
that it was probably prudent that not all DEs knew each other. Later others 
(Eileen, I think was involved) tried to work out who probably knew each other. 
Unfortunately I've not managed to find the respective posts yet (although I think 
Tom might have been looking at DE posts recently). 

Even in the graveyard they are masked: it is Voldemort who has the privilege 
of naming and shaming or else praising. Knowing your place in the circle does 
not mean you know the identity of everyone else (though granted, once any 
dialogue ensues, then you'd be able to identify wizards you knew).


Julie:
>>Snape is able to project a strong aura of power and intimidation in
>>the books, besides the added impression of residual DE nastiness that
>>Harry and gang know about from his past, but set that aside (and it
>>can be as he was very careful, almost meek, in his dealings with
>>Doris Umbridge).

Carol:
>Meek? That's not how I read the scene. He clearly has as much contempt
>for Delores Umbridge as McGonagall does and is not about to let her
>control his class or to give her information that he regards as onone
>of her business. ("I suggest you ask Professor Dumbledore.") Umbridge
>intimidates Trelawney and confuses Hagrid, giving her grounds to
>report them as incompetent and suggest their removal. Snape gives her
>no such ammunition.

Eloise: 
Snape's position is very precarious. He had Fudge on his side, but he has now 
*told* him that he was a DE (though how he didn't already know, I have no 
idea). As he did with Fake!Moody, he has to play an ultra-cautious game with 
Umbridge. The last thing he needs is for all the parents to be told that he was a 
DE or for Umbridge to suspend him. If he were outed, then I guess Lucius would 
do all in his power to avoid him. He'd also be away from Hogwarts and the 
protections it affords. 

~Eloise
Who spent far too long trying to write this because of the infernal slowness 
of Yahoo today.


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