Moral, Immoral, and Amoral: Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Snape

[vmonte]

No: HPFGUIDX 139104

Moral, Immoral, and Amoral: Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Snape

Amoral: "Lacking moral sensibility, not caring about right and wrong."
American Heritage® Dictionary
          
Ever since I started reading the Harry Potter books I have never been 
able to shake the feeling that Snape reminded me of the character 
Iago, from "Othello."  Iago is a very complex, "amoral" villain, very 
different from the "immoral" Voldemort. Immoral villains are easy to 
spot. You can understand what motivates them—everything is black and 
white. Amoral villains, however, are complex and often difficult to 
understand. They are often more devious and manipulative.  Iago is in 
almost every scene of "Othello" and has a hand in almost all of what 
happens in the play. Iago also manipulates the other characters like 
puppets. He is a great villain because his motivation does not rely 
on an immoral conscience but rather his lack of conscience. Snape 
also seems to have a hand in everything--although you find out about 
his actions after the fact.  J. K. Rowling's Snape is "genius" in 
that he is not pure evil/immoral; he, like Iago, also seems to be 
amoral--without a conscience. Unlike the two-dimensional Voldemort, 
Snape's motivations are an enigma.  What motivates Snape? Do we 
really know? What made him become a DE? And what made him switch 
sides? Finding out this information is key to figuring out Snape. 
Whether you believe that Snape is a liar, or an evil or good person, 
his behavior is often a riddle. Why is he so "sadistic" and "deeply 
horrible" to Harry and the other children? Why does Dumbledore trust 
him if he is responsible for making Voldemort focus his attention on 
the Potter family? And why are the events at Godric's Hollow Snape's 
greatest regret if he hated James? We don't really know why Snape 
does what he does, but there are some clues.  
        
J.K. Rowling has given us a lot of information about how Snape feels 
towards other characters in the Harry Potter series. It's safe to 
assume that Snape loathed James as well as many other people: people 
in the Order (Sirius, Lupin), the DEs (Bellatrix, Wormtail), and in 
the ministry (Umbridge).  The only person Snape NEVER speaks about is 
Lily. In fact, the only time we see Snape interact with Lily is 
during "Snape's Worst Memory," a memory Snape tries to hide from 
Harry.  A lot happens in this memory, including a moment in which 
Lily stands up for Snape, and yells at James and gang for being 
bullies. Snape also calls Lily a "Mudblood" in this memory. We know 
that Snape will become a Death Eater after Hogwarts, so this behavior 
seems appropriate. But is it? If Snape were truly a Voldemort 
follower would he call himself the "Half-Blood Prince?" I don't think 
so.  Tom Riddle did everything in his power to erase his Muggle 
father from his name. He even kills Tom Riddle Sr. in an attempt to 
conceal/erase his past. Snape, on the other hand, keeps his half-
blood origin in his new moniker. Why?  It's simple really, it's 
because he has nothing against "Mudbloods" he just lashed out at Lily 
for some reason, (embarrassment, jealousy, resentment?), and said the 
thing that would hurt her the most.  So, why did he become a 
murdering DE you say?  Because he wanted Lily Potter!  

I've resisted the Snape loves Lily theory since Order of the Phoenix 
came out because I was convinced that someone with so much hate and 
resentment like Snape would be incapable of loving anyone; then The 
Half-Blood Prince came out and a new thought occurred to me. One of 
the themes in the book is romance—natural and unnatural. We also see 
lots of jealousy.  Ron is jealous of Hermione's old relationship with 
Krum, Hermione is jealous of Ron and Lavendar (Hermione even attacks 
Ron with birds she conjures), Harry is jealous of Dean and Ginny, 
etc. We also have unnatural love caused by a potion, and obsessive 
love in the form of Merope's attraction to Tom Riddle Sr. What does 
all this have to do with Snape? The answer is in the chapter titled: 
The Half-Blood Prince. It's when Slughorn mentions that obsessive 
love should never be underestimated, or taken lightly. "When you have 
seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power 
of obsessive love
" (The Half-Blood Prince, Scholastic, page 186). 

Lily was a popular girl. Slughorn mentioned that she had exceptional 
talent at potions and that she had a very cheeky personality.  I 
wonder if Snape liked her too?  Was he consumed with jealousy when he 
found out that Lily loved James? Or did he think that James had 
somehow forced her into a relationship? (I'm reminded of what Harry 
thought after he first saw this memory. Harry had wondered how his 
mother could ever love someone like James and thought that perhaps 
James had forced her into their relationship.) And what would make 
someone like Snape turn into a DE anyway? Did he want something he 
could not get on his own? Did he want Lily? Did Snape make a pact 
with the devil? 

"If I say it myself, Harry, I've always been able to charm the people 
I needed" (Tom Riddle, Chamber of Secrets, p310).  Did Lily reject 
Snape? And did he have trouble dealing with her rejection? An amoral 
person lacks moral sensibility and does not care about right and 
wrong.  Just think about Ron's "amoral" reaction to Harry while under 
the influence of the love potion.

"I can't stop thinking about her!" said Ron hoarsely
"I don't think 
she knows I exist," said Ron with a desperate gesture

"Who are you talking about?" said Harry, with an increasing sense 
that all reason had dropped out of the conversation.
"Romilda Vane," said Ron softly
"I think I love her," said Ron in a 
strangled voice
 "I love her," repeated Ron breathlessly
  
"This is really funny and everything," said Harry impatiently, "but 
joke's over, all right? Drop it."
He turned to leave; he had got two steps toward the door when a 
crashing blow hit him on the right ear. Staggering, he looked around. 
Ron's fist was drawn right back


Snape is obviously not under the influence of a love potion, but if 
he were amoral and wanted Lily, he would do whatever he could to 
attain his goal. In an amoral mind the "ends really do justify the 
means."  Did Snape manipulate Voldemort into doing a favor for him? 
Did he want Lily and didn't care who got in his way?  If Snape had an 
obsessive attraction to Lily he may have felt that James was not good 
enough for her. He may have had unrealistic hopes or fantasies. Yes, 
it's ridiculous and delusional—stalkers are like that. So, did 
Voldemort play this weakness against Snape?

"Then you will find yourself easy prey for the Dark Lord!" said Snape 
savagely. "Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who 
cannot control their emotions, who wallow in sad memories and allow 
themselves to be provoked this easily—weak people, in other words—
they stand no chance against his powers!  He will penetrate your mind 
with absurd ease, Potter!" (OOTP, Occlumency, page 537)

Is Snape talking about himself here? Did Voldemort promise Snape that 
he would let Lily live? Is this why Voldemort told Lily to step 
aside? Did Snape want James and Harry out of the way so that he could 
have Lily for himself? Obsessive love is unnatural. It can take over 
a person completely, and color the way they perceive the world.  
Snape may actually believe that James got what he deserved, while 
never understanding that what he did was wrong. 

Voldemort is an immoral person and he revels in it. Immoral people 
are easy to figure out. Eleven-year-old Tom Riddle bragged about how 
he was able to hurt people, and Dumbledore saw right through him.  "I 
can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them 
hurt if I want to" (The Secret Riddle, page 271). Riddle is 
Dumbledore's exact opposite. Dumbledore is moral and Tom is immoral. 
Snape, however, is different.  

"I have played my part well," said Snape. "And you overlook 
Dumbledore's greatest weakness: He has to believe the best of people. 
I spun him a tale of deepest remorse when I joined his staff, fresh 
from my Death Eater days, and he embraced me with open arms—though, 
as I say, never allowing me nearer the Dark Arts than he could help
I 
am pleased to say, however, that Dumbledore is growing old.  The duel 
with the Dark Lord last month shook him.  He has since sustained a 
serious injury because his reactions are slower than they once were.  
But through all these years, he has never stopped trusting Severus 
Snape, and therein lies my great value to the Dark Lord
"(Half-Blood 
Prince, Spinner's End, page 31)

The best liars always mix truth in whenever they can. Is it possible 
that Dumbledore believed "Snape's story" because Snape told him that 
he was in love with Lily and would never want any harm to come to 
her?  It's rather chilling to think that he may have wanted Lily 
alive while also wanting Harry and James dead. Is this the deal he 
made with Voldemort? If so, Voldemort failed miserably. I wonder what 
Snape thinks of Voldemort now? I keep thinking of Harry's comment to 
Dumbledore regarding Snape: "Haven't you noticed, Professor, how the 
people Snape hates tend to end up dead?"  Snape's tendency to hold 
grudges is epic in proportion.  I wonder where his grudge will take 
him next?

Vivian