Snape and the meaning of courage

[anthyroserain]

No: HPFGUIDX 105740

June wrote:
> Snape is one of those folks you're always going to wonder about.  
My
> question is, where did the wimpy teen get the how-with-all to 
become
> so menacing?  I don't think being a death-eater is for sissies, 
unless
> you're Wormtail.  Any thoughts on that one?  

Carol responded:
> My thought on this is that, first, he must have developed a bit
> physically, going from being skinny at fifteen to thin and wiry as 
he
> reached eighteen or twenty. More important, I think he deliberately
> cultivated an image, possibly in direct response to the Pensieve
> incident and the Prank, that made him less of a geeky little 
oddball
> and more formidable, more clearly someone who should not be crossed
> without the risk of embarrassment or worse. He probably developed a
> more upright posture, a sweeping walk, an intimidating stare, a
> sarcastic manner, all as defenses against the Jameses and Siriuses 
of
> the world. Whether he became a Death Eater before or after he
> developed this persona I can't say, but he certainly has it in his
> thirties as Potions Master. The ability to control his anger (most 
of
> the time) and possibly occlumency, which I think he uses to hide 
his
> emotions even when he's not facing Voldemort, may be part of this 
same
> carefully cultivated personality.


Katie:

Okay. What follows is a rambling and decidedly subjective post. If 
you all have any thoughts on these subjects, I'd love to hear them.

What I find interesting about June's comment (above) is that it 
presumes a certain agreement with the idea that young Snape *is* 
wimpy. I don't think that he is. But I really dislike the whole 
notion of "wimpiness", as opposed to cowardice, which I consider to 
be a truly negative trait. Here's how I'd define the two concepts, 
by the way, and this is very, very subjective:
-Wimpiness: (borrowing a bit from another poster here) Cringing, 
whining, emotionality, timidity. To use an oft-despised sexist 
phrase, "acting like a girl."
-Cowardice:  The willingness to give up one's principles, friends, 
etc., in the face of danger. Ignobility due to an instinct for self-
preservation.

Snape subscribes to a certain world view shared by many people 
(though not by most of the HP characters), namely, the idea 
of "strong" and "weak" (inferior) people, and all that goes along 
with that. It is well summed up in Snape's explanation of what he 
considers to be "weak":
   "Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot 
control their emotions, who wallow in sad memories and allow 
themselves to be provoked this easily..."
(I'd say it sounds like Snape is describing Sirius. I don't think 
Snape fans and Sirius fans are opposing groups, but I DO think that 
Snape and Sirius represent opposites in many ways.)

The question is, do you, as the reader, agree with Snape? I 
certainly don't. I think Snape's coldness is one of his worst 
qualities. And of course, Snape himself frequently fails to live up 
to his standards (though who would want to??)

This persona Snape's cultivated since his Hogwarts years *is*, I 
think, simply a persona. It doesn't affect his deeper self, and has 
nothing really to do with whether he's a coward or not, only whether 
he allows others to perceive him as one. I'm sure that Snape's idea 
of courage has more to do with preservation of one's image of self-
control and superiority above all else. That's not my idea of 
courage (though I'm sure there are some out there who would disagree 
with me.)

I think a few posters have asked "Why was Neville sorted into 
Gryffindor, not Hufflepuff?" Put simply, I don't think real courage 
has *any*thing to do with outward appearance and daily behavior. I 
think it has much more to do with inner, personal strength, 
something I think Neville possesses a great deal of. (This is *SO* 
not valued enough at Hogwarts, except when it's in the form of 
Harry. Dumbledore tosses off a couple of points to Neville in PS/SS, 
and that's about all the public recognition he ever gets. Argh. But 
that's another post altogether.) Neville's bravery regarding his 
parents-- as well as his friends-- in particular amazes me. I think 
Neville would fight to the death to defend his parents' honor. 

So... yeah. This is all related, of course, to Gryffindor and the 
sorting process. (We get an awfully "Gryffindor-centric" view of 
Hogwarts in the books-- I wonder if the school is really biased this 
way, or if that's just because the books are from Harry's viewpoint. 
Or JKR's, for that matter.) Really, which house would most people 
want to be sorted into? 

Hopefully that all made a little bit of sense...
-Katie