Why Snape doesn't have to be human

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 107559

> Pippin wrote:
> <snip>
>  But if you think the mystery, or rather the problem for Harry,  is 
> whether he can find a way to work with  a person who has so 
> little empathy, and treats him so poorly as a result, then the 
> question of  whether Snape was born with little empathy or  lost it 
> as a result  of some trauma is less relevant. The solution for 
> Harry would not depend on Snape changing, but on Harry 
> changing his expectations of Snape.
> 
> Non-human origin would then simply be an elegant way of 
> stating that Snape was born  the way he is, and there isn't much 
> Harry can do about it.
> 
> I think that this bears very deeply on JKR's thinking about bigotry 
> and prejudice. It is always easier to empathize with 
> people who are like us. If  we do what is easy and prefer to 
> co-operate only with people who show empathy towards us, we 
> will always have a preference for people like ourselves and we 
> will always have a bigoted society.

Neri:
This is indeed a good message when looking at it from Harry's point 
of view, but when looking at it from Snape's point of view, the 
message would be: "I'm a SOB, but that's ok because I was born this 
way and there nothing I can do to change it. In fact these are my 
roots and I'm PROUD of them". And there's quite a danger that many 
readers will identify with this point of view.

I think JKR does not endorse this kind of biological determinism. 
Hagrid, for example, is half-giant and he's indeed very big and not 
extremely bright, which he cannot help. But apart of his monster 
fixation he is the most un-giant character in the book and he has 
empathy in tons. And this is also despite of having a very difficult 
childhood (no mother, father who died at a young age, a dark secret 
to hide, other children laughing at his size and being expelled for 
something he didn't do). Lupin (whether ESE or not) also doesn't show 
any particular wolfish character qualities. Either he's a good 
person, or he's an extremely good actor. In both cases he doesn't 
seem to be bound by his non-human side.

Neri