Snape: the Riddle

severelysigune severelysigune at yahoo.co.uk
Tue Aug 2 09:15:34 UTC 2005


No: HPFGUIDX 136043

Sigune previously:
> > Snape's foolishly accepted Unbreakable Vow 

Eggplant:
> Nobody is foolish enough to make an Unbreakable Vow on a whim and
> Snape is far from foolish.

Sigune again:
It's not a whim, exactly - see below. But I maintain that it is 
foolish, dangerous and final.

Sigune previously:
> > Snape and Bellatrix obviously dislike each 
> > other, and yet there is a seduction going
> > on: she coaxes him into making a mistake. 

Eggplant:
> The Idea that Snape could be seduced like an overly romantic love 
sick teenager into making such a blunder somehow strikes me as funny. 
If that turns out to be true just try to imagine how trashy book 7 
will be!  <

Sigune again:
Oh dear! If I gave the impression that Snape is lovesick, let alone 
romantic, then my words came out quite differently from what I meant! 
Please allow for a broad use of the word 'seduction' - there is 
intellectual seduction as well as sexual, and the seduction of power 
and glory; I assure you I have an absolutely unromantic and 
unsentimental view of Snape.
Bellatrix is staunchly loyal to Voldemort and doesn't trust Snape at 
all; all through the conversation she tries to get him to make a 
mistake. It is to impress her that Snape agrees to the Vow.
As for Narcissa, I have tried to show that the charm she works on 
Snape is not that of sex, really, but the fact that she appeals to 
his vanity and works on his weaknesses. Snape is a half-blood who 
seems to have consistently sought the company of pure-bloods, a 
commoner who likes to think of himself as a Prince, a wizard who 
doesn't receive the recognition he craves. Narcissa touches upon all 
that. What does it for him is not so much the fact that he has a 
woman at his feet; it is that he has a rich, upper-class pureblood 
humbly begging for his help. And yes, I call that a seduction of 
sorts. Combine it with the need to maintain his cover in front of 
Voldie's dear Bella and snap, he's in.


Sigune previously:
> > To agree to anything like an Unbreakable Vow
> > seems incredibly naïve – 

Eggplant:
> It would be naïve, unless you were only vowing to do what you were
already determined to do, to kill Dumbledore if Draco failed to do 
so. <

Sigune again:
I'm afraid I must beg to differ. If Snape's aim was to kill 
Dumbledore, why should he first give Draco a chance? And do you think 
Snape sees a killer in Draco to begin with? Snape has had plenty of 
opportunities for killing Dumbledore without Draco's interference, 
and I daresay he'd have made a cleaner and more efficient job of it. 
How about if he had said, "Terribly sorry Headmaster, but that thing 
with your hand - impossible to heal. It was an honour to have worked 
with you. Rest in peace." But he doesn't.


Sigune previously:
> > Why doesn't he tie a bow around Harry and 
> > carry him as a special present to his
> > Dark Master 

Eggplant:
> Because Snape does not have a Dark master although Voldemort thinks 
he does. Snape has fooled Voldemort just as he fooled Dumbledore and 
he wants both dead. He's halfway there and to get the other half he 
needs Harry alive and healthy. <

Sigune again:
I must be missing something here, but I really can't see what Snape 
stands to gain by Dumbledore's death. Voldemort's death, that I can 
understand. But by killing Dumbledore, Snape has lost *all*: his 
mentor, his protector, his safehouse, his job, his income - you name 
it. Cut in his own flesh, he has. He wouldn't have done it if he felt 
he had another choice.


Sigune previously:
> >When Dumbledore whispers "Severus 
 please 
"
> > he is not pleading for his life, because 
> > he is not afraid to die; neither is he 
> > asking Snape to kill him as arranged, 
> > because there was no such arrangement. 
> > What he means is, "please don't tell me I
> > was wrong about you all the time 

Eggpant:
> I think that's true and tragically in his last few seconds of his 
life Dumbledore learned the brutal truth, he had been wrong about 
Snape all the time.<

Sigune:
Eggplant, you are a pessimist :-). Can we do anything to cure you?


Yours severely,
Sigune
(no longer depressed by HBP and again fully trusting Snape - because 
Dumbledore said we should AND because Snape looks so totally evil 
<g>...)







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