Snape--Abusive?

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 114970


Carol responds:
> I second this proposal. Snape's emotional abuse of Harry is *not* a
> given, it's a perception, based on the poster's own definition of
> abuse and the reading of a book that denies us access to Snape's 
> point of view and deliberately keeps his motivations mysterious. I 
> see no harm to Harry from Snape's treatment of him (though he does 
> need to control and redirect his anger away from Snape toward the 
> real enemy), and we have no conclusive evidence that Snape 
> *intends* to be abusive or that he would even recognize or 
> acknowledge the (Muggle) concept of emotional abuse. 


SSSusan:
I snipped almost all of this exchange between Alex & Carol, though I 
enjoyed it & agreed almost entirely with both of them.

The one thing that I wanted to pull out and disagree with *somewhat* 
is this:  "I see no harm to Harry from Snape's treatment of him."

I have come a LONG way from my original views of Snape as a teacher.  
I've finally decided that I *was* imposing 21st-century, RW 
educational models & methods onto a Hogwarts which decidedly is not 
such a place.  So I recognize the validity of the arguments that 
Harry is not likely to react as Tommy Twenty-First Century might, 
that Hogwarts is not based upon the same principles as the schools in 
my local corporation, that Snape's not causing Harry to break down 
into sobbing fits or bringing on nightmares, or even that 
Snape's "making" Harry fail Potions, for apparently Harry never has.  
*I* might break down into sobbing fits or have nightmares if I were 
in Harry's shoes, but I'm not.  I still don't like Snape's teaching 
style, and I still think he borders on & occasionally crosses over 
into being abusive, but by & large, the students don't seem to be 
suffering horribly.

Still, I would argue that there *is* at least one way in which 
Snape's methods have harmed or hurt Harry.  By this I am thinking 
of "harmed" or "hurt" less in the sense of emotional distress and 
more in the sense of HINDERING his learning.  

I think most people agree that Snape gets apoplectically frustrated 
when he has to deal with dunderheads.  Many have argued that this 
frustration is what causes him to be so nasty to Neville [because he 
keeps screwing up again & again] and at least *part* of what causes 
his cruelty with Harry.  Many people have also pointed out that, of 
all the students at Hogwarts, the two who likely *need* to learn as 
much as they possibly can are Harry & Neville, due to their positions 
as possible prophecy subjects and as potential targets for Voldy.  It 
is because of this that I think Snape has failed these two somewhat.  
While they may have learned *some* things in Potions, I believe they 
could have learned much more.  His methods have caused or exacerbated 
Neville's nervous, frightened mishaps and contribute to Harry's 
general pissed off attitude and "I don't care!" defiance in class.  

I don't want to get into a "But he's justified..." argument about 
either Snape OR Harry here, because that's not the point I'm trying 
to make.  (Both have been at fault, imo, especially if we bring 
Occlumency into things.)  But Snape is a bright guy, no?  Snape is an 
insider, no?  Snape is also someone who can clearly picture what 
Voldy's capable of, no?  Then he should comprehend the importance of 
Harry learning.  Yes, he gets angry understandably when Harry doesn't 
try hard enough, but his sarcasm and humiliating remarks and unfair 
punishments DON'T do anything to alleviate Harry's attitude; they 
only exacerbate it and keep the cycle going.  

Where I fault Snape is in his NOT being willing to curb his cruelty 
and/or try a different tack with Harry.  If the most vital thing to 
the future of the WW is to make sure that Harry Potter is prepared to 
defeat Lord Voldemort, then every teacher at Hogwarts needs to see 
that Harry is learning.  *Harry* must accept responsibility for that, 
as well, but he hasn't always been as privy to the info about himself 
as presumably at least some of the key staff members are.  Snape, I 
believe, *is* privy to that, and one of his primary concerns should 
be to see that Harry is learning, even if it means he has to bite his 
tongue on occasion.

(Of course, whether Snape actually WOULD do this is up for debate, 
and then we're right back to the thread on "If Snape won't change, 
then what should Harry do?"  I'm not sure I'm ready to revisit that 
one just yet. :-))

Siriusly Snapey Susan