Bad guys and black hats (was Re: Unreliable narrator)

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 117759


Alla wrote:
> > Take Snape, for example. :o) She says that he is sadistic 
teacher 
> > and not that I had many doubts about that quality of his, but I 
> > still thought that  maybe he plays at least a little bit. When I 
> > hear such quote from the author's mouth, I am fully convinced.
> > 


>>>Renee:
> It's only when JKR tells us what to think of certain characters 
and  events and how she mean things to come across that I tend to 
balk  and say: "Show, don't tell!" 
> 
> What would you have done if you hadn't considered Snape a sadistic 
> teacher, or conversely, if JKR had said he's mostly play-acting? 
> Would you have rejected her comment like you reject the one about 
> the conventional black hats? Can you really do this: accept those 
> authorial comments that confirm your own judgement and 
> interpretation but reject those that don't?


Potioncat:
Did I read this correctly?  Has JKR said Snape is acting? 

In JKR's defense, she is being bombarded with questions about 
characters.  She can hardly refuse to answer.  There she is, on the 
spot, and whether she thought the character was perfectly clear, or 
whether she intended some confusion on our part, she needs to say 
something. Of course, she could refuse to give interviews at all.
>