In defense of the Snape apologists :-)

[tbernhard2000]

No: HPFGUIDX 136010

dan wrote:
> The world Rowling has made does not devolve to this or that
adventure element, but to the central characteristics of the players.
In that sense, no matter how good one's canon is (and canon can be
shown to be ever so slightly shaky internally - the maths issues, for
example) if that canon does NOT include this personality assessment,
it cannot answer the questions at all, not even if Snape is a real
bastard or just a bastard. 

Mari wrote:
> My question is, do you feel that those who argue, for various
reasons, that Snape is not just ESE, have not engaged with these sort
of questions about his personality?  
> I'm in the "not just ESE" camp at this stage but I certainly
wouldn't deny that Rowling has shown us that Snape is an unpleasant
character. Do you think posters who argue that Snape is not ESE
generally try to deny the fact that he has an unpleasant personality?
I haven't seen that they do.

dan (with a couple nora suggestions):
Well, this is a difficult point, because you seem to be saying that,
no matter what Snape is, or does, he still might not be 100% evil. But
I don't argue that anyone is. I didn't even say one or the other side
of the debate is being cute.

What I did say was that any analysis of the books should probably take
into consideration the characters' characters! It's canon now. Albus
studied Tom's personality and it is central!

So, an analysis of Snape that doesn't take into consideration certain
things he's done is not complete - it is open to criticism. And I
submit that we know enough about Snape to agree he's a nasty person.

Does dropping the potion in OOP count for nothing? Or trying to get
Harry kicked off the team in CoS. "I see no differnence." Now, unless
you can argue that Snape sees things really weirdly different than the
rest of us, like, sees people's souls or such instead of their bodies,
that comment was pretty telling, eh?

That is Snape. He joined the racist DE, and then he betrayed them,
ostensibly, and repented.

All I want is to move the debate beyond ESE or not, and into what is
the fundamental character of Snape. And it is not pleasant. 

dan