Narcissistic!Snape (was: Whither Snape?) [long!]

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 127184


Lupinlore wrote, in 127032:
>>>4) DANGEROUSLY TWISTED SNAPE: In this variant, Snape will remain
loyal to Dumbledore, but his inability to put aside his grudges will
lead to disaster. Some see the failure of Occlumency in OOTP as a
foreshadowing. Others think that the problems arising from Harry's
inability to trust Snape in OOTP will be mirrored by disaster arising
from Snape's inability to trust Harry in later books.

Personally, I think this is the most plausible direction for the
Potions Master. Certainly their has been a lot of groundwork laid for
such a development.<<<

Pippin wrote, in 127136:
>> SNAPE'S FATE
I think Snape is going to have to make some of the choices I listed
above, positively, I hope. His anger and his distrust of Harry may 
hinder him, but if there's a disaster it will probably be brought 
on more by Harry's unjust anger and inability to let go of a grudge 
than Snape's. At the end of OOP, Harry was blaming Snape for
Sirius's death in much the same way that Snape seems to blame
Sirius for luring him into the werewolf's lair. And Harry has told 
himself that he's never, ever going to forgive.<<


LL replied in 127163:
> But JKR has already done this with Harry. Much of the problem in
> OOTP came from his inability to trust Snape, and he practically
> admits as much to himself in Dumbledore's office -- going so far as
> to see his anger at Snape as a defense. That of course doesn't make
> it any less real. But to go through yet another example of how
> Harry's distrust of Snape causes problems wouldn't accomplish much
> for plot or character.

> For SNAPE, on the other hand, to be the instigator of disaster WOULD
> bring a lot to the table for plot and characterization. It would
> probably finally force DD to come completely clear about his history
> with Snape, and thus further develop both his character and 
> Severus', as well as clearing up lingering questions about the 
> Marauders.

SSSusan now:
I realize that what I am going to write about borders on what many 
see as folly – the application of a RL principle to a fictional 
character.  But in this case, that RL construct seems to fit so 
completely, that I can't set it aside.  Because of it, I think that 
LL's Option #4 for Snape's future is the most likely of the 5 he 
presented.  It also accounts for why – while *not* discounting 
Pippin's suggested possibility of Harry's mistrust & anger causing a 
problem before we're through – I think LL is correct that Snape will 
be the one more likely to struggle with his (what I'd call) "grudge 
demons" than Harry as we move through year 6 and into year 7.

All of this, for me, builds upon something Mooseming wrote concerning 
Arrogant!Snape in 125115.  In struggling to understand that question 
asked here a billion times – "Why CAN'T Snape let go of that 
grudge?" – as well as a question asked a few less times <g> -- "Why 
doesn't Snape try harder to teach Harry curricular & extracurricular 
vital information if he does understand Harry's importance to the 
cause?" – I came to a "Eureka!" moment when reading Mooseming's 
comments on Snape's arrogance.  

In thinking further & doing some reading on this, I've decided that 
what we have here is a truly classic case of Narcissism or... 
Narcissistic!Snape.  

Bear with me here, but what follows is an excerpt from a chapter in 
the book _The Social Psychology of Good and Evil_ / ed. by Arthur G. 
Miller.  It's lengthy, but if you have an interest in understanding 
Snape, it's worth the read.

*******************************************************
"Narcissists have exaggeratedly positive or inflated, yet fragile, 
self-views (Raskin & Terry, 1988).  Studies suggest that narcissists' 
unstable self-esteem stems from their extremely positive self-views, 
coupled with extreme fears of being found worthless (Morf & 
Rhodewalt, 2001).  When their fragile self-esteem is threatened, 
narcissists may easily be triggered into protecting, maintaining & 
enhancing their self-esteem, often at the expense of others.  In 
order to sustain their exaggeratedly positive self-views, narcissists 
constantly seek external self-validation in the form of attention & 
admiration from others (Rhodewalt & Morf, 1995).  Consequently, their 
self-views can be easily challenged by external agents or events.  
Consistent with this view, narcissists' self-esteem fluctuates from 
day to day in response to whether their social interactions are 
positive or negative (Rhodewalt et al., 1998).

When threatened, narcissists respond with intensely negative 
emotions....  Furthermore, narcissists respond to ego threat with 
aggression against others (Baumeister et al., 2000).  For example, 
Bushman & Baumeister (1998) conducted a study in which participants 
had the opportunity to aggress against someone who had insulted them, 
someone who had praised them, or against a neutral third person.  
They found that the combination of high self-esteem, narcissism & 
insult resulted in the highest levels of aggression; high levels of 
narcissism predicted increased aggression, especially in instances 
when negative feedback was received.  Building on this research, 
Kirkpatrick & colleagues identified narcissism as a significant, 
positive predictor of aggression when these subjects were placed in 
conditions of ego threat.

Narcissistic tendencies are also linked to bullying behavior.  
Salmivalli (2001) reports that bullying behavior is most typical of 
adolescent boys who have a "defensive" style of self-expression, 
defined as needing to be the center of attention, thinking too highly 
of oneself, and demonstrating inability in facing criticism.  

In sum, research suggests that narcissists tend to focus more on the 
self and on protecting their fragile self-esteem than on relating to 
others or enhancing the quality of their relationships with others.  
When narcissists experience an ego threat, they are likely to react 
with anger, hostility and aggression toward others.  This reaction 
may temporarily relieve anxiety but ultimately deter them from 
building close, mutually caring & supportive relationships with 
others.  Even in the absence of ego threat, narcissists tend to focus 
more on self-enhancement than on their relationships.  For example, 
although both narcissists & high self-esteem people see themselves as 
better than average on agential traits such as intellectual ability, 
narcissists do not believe that they are better than average on 
communal traits such as agreeableness or morality (Campbell, Rudich & 
Sedikedes, 2002).  Unlike high self-esteem individuals, narcissists 
tend to endorse more external contingencies of self-worth, such as 
appearance and outdoing others in competition (Crocker, Luhtanen, 
Cooper & Bouvrette, in press), consistent with their insatiable need 
for external validation and admiration from others (Morf, 1994).

"The Pursuit of Self-Esteem" by Jennifer Crocker, Shawna J. Lee, Lora 
E. Park (pp. 284-5).
******************************************************

Susan again:
I am most intrigued by the comments about bullying, lack of ability 
on *communal* traits such as agreeableness [hee!], and the seeking of 
external self-validation (Order of Merlin, anyone?).  

Granted that we have little insight into adolescent Snape, so we 
can't be certain whether the typical adolescent manifestations of 
narcissism were present for him, but they certainly don't seem OoC 
from what we do know and from adult Snape's behavior.  

JKR has described Snape as "deeply horrible," "sadistic," and one who 
abuses his power.  Many HPfGUers see him as a classic bully.  And 
even many of those who see him more in the role of classic 
schoolmaster than bully do acknowledge that his behavior w/ Harry, 
Neville & occasionally Hermione is cruel or excessive.  

Wouldn't a narcissistic Snape explain a *lot* about his inability to 
tolerate "dunderheads," his annoyance with know-it-all Hermione, his 
snarky put-downs of others?  For everyone who is *lesser* than he in 
ability actually builds him up, and anyone who is *equal* to or 
*greater* than him in ability, challenges him uncomfortably.

To have to encounter a Harry Potter who reminds Snape of James and 
James' legacy & shenanigans (including the impression that James was 
smarter & better than others, that he & Sirius tried to kill Snape, 
and that they humiliated Snape in front of his peers) would be 
difficult for many but nearly impossible to bear for the narcissist 
because of what it does to the ego and self-esteem.  But to also have 
to encounter a Harry Potter who is apparently destined to do what he, 
Snape, CANNOT (i.e., defeat Voldemort) just doesn't fit cognitively 
with what Snape needs and can bear.  

He's not done struggling, that man.

Siriusly Snapey Susan