James Is Dead And That's Why Snape Can't Get Over It And Move On

[lifeavantgarde]

No: HPFGUIDX 101130

rowena_grunnionffitch at y...> wrote:
>    James died, leaving Snape with an unpaid debt and a bitter 
enmity. James is dead Snape can't repay him or revenge himself on 
him, he can't even forgive him. Snape is stuck with an unresolved 
and unresolvable relationship and some very bitter memories. Then 
Harry comes along, looking just like his father, and acting like him 
too to Snape's highly biased eyes. Harry does break the rules quite 
a lot, (always for good reason) but one can see how this could look 
like his father's arrogance all over again to Snape. And he gets 
away with it, just like James always did, (again in Snape's biased 
view).>

Stefanie responds:
You said it right: Highly biased. James *is* dead. James never got 
to raise Harry. Harry didn't hear Hogwarts stories from James 
growing up. James had, except for the first year of Harry's life, no 
influence on Harry's character except for whatever personality 
traits Harry may have inherited. Snape knows James is dead, and 
consequently obviously knows this. To excuse Snape for hating Harry 
merely based on his parentage is practically equivalent to excusing 
a pureblood for hating a muggleborn...or to put it in muggle terms, 
hating someone for the race they were born into. We don't excuse 
others, why is Snape shielded from refute?

rowena_grunnionffitch at y...> wrote:
To have some sympathy for why Snape behaves as he does is not to say 
he is right, of course he isn't. But saying he should 'just get over 
it' is like asking Harry to 'just get over' how the Durselys have 
treated him, or Sirius to 'just get over' being framed and sent to 
Azkaban. The human, or wizardly, psyche just doesn't work like that.

Stefanie replies:
Harry was personally tormented by the Dursleys. Sirius was 
personally thrown into prison without trial by the Ministry...last 
time I checked, Harry didn't go about personally tormenting Snape. 
Yes, James did. Yes, that was wrong. James was 15 and not Harry. I 
believe a big "GET OVER IT" is in order.

But then again, judging from how Snape has reacted in other 
situations where a cool head over a seething grudge was needed 
(i.e., PoA's Shrieking Shack, throwing Harry out of Occlumency) I 
guess we should consider his treatment of Harry mild in comparison 
to the potentially lethal things he's let his grudge lead to.