Understanding Snape

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 91060

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "naamagatus" <naama_gat at h...> wrote:
> 
> The way I see it is that Snape hated James and the others before the 
> prank. The scene we see in the pensieve *is* his worst memory, at 
> least of the humiliated-in-school genre, and clinched his hatred of 
> the group, and James in particular. The prank happened because Snape 
> was obsessed by his desire for revenge. The fact that James saved his 
> life - the person he  hated most of all - put him in an unbearable 
> emotional bind. It could tear a person to pieces, to be obligated to 
> someone he loathes so much. When Harry came along, it revived that 
> emotional dissonance for him - which explains his hatred of Harry, 
> his protectiveness towards him, and the intensity of both. 
> 

Kneasy:
Personally, I can't see that  embarassment is a worse memory than the
bowel-loosening experience of suddenly facing a were-wolf. But maybe
that's just me.

Lots of fans have spent many hours trying to figure out when these events
happened in the time-line and a rough consensus has emerged -  but we 
still don't know for certain. And anyway, would embarassment be worse 
than some of the things he did as a DE? Killing, perhaps?

Namaa:
> Another thing. There's been a consensus here regarding Snape's victim 
> status vis a vis James. I'm not trying to justify James, but I think 
> the realtionship between them is not as black and white as it may 
> appear. There was a lot of discussion here about the subjectivity or 
> otherwise of the pensieve. My opinion is that the pensieve is 
> subjective, i.e., if you enter a memory, you can only sense what the 
> subject of the memory sensed. If so, Snape, for all he seemed so 
> engrossed with checking his test, was actually in a position to hear 
> what MWPP were saying. It's an example, in fact, of Snape's spying on 
> them. I think it's also very significant that he was so quick to draw 
> his wand, since it implies that he was very much aware of their 
> presence. Also, he was the first to physically attack, and James who 
> retaliated. 
> So, although we see a scene in which Snape is bullied, I wouldn't say 
> that he was necessarily a victim. At least not an entirely innocent 
> victim.
> 

Kneasy:
I agree about the relationship between the two. It is subjective and
possibly open to re-interpretation for that reason.

The 'spying' theory in the Pensieve memory is a bit problematical.
It's a passage that has always left me feeling dissatisfied.
As they all leave the exam hall Snape is separated from the rest by
a group of chattering girls, followed by a log-jam at the doorway.
Yet we are expected to accept that Snape can still hear every word 
exchanged by the Marauders. I'm not convinced. It's could be
resolved if entry into a Pensieve memory allows access to the words
and actions of all persons in the sight of the person whose memory 
it is. In fact, that would make the Pensieve itself an object used for
studying a situation instead of a straight play-back device, rather 
as a hologram allows different perspectives to be observed from 
an apparently single viewpoint. 

More information is needed before I'll feel happy about resolving 
the issue.