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

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 139143

vmonte:
> 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. 

a_svirn:

You have me honestly baffled here. Suppose Iago had an immoral 
consciousness rather than lack thereof, in what way he would act 
differently? As for motivations: unlike Snape, Iago gives us a 
plethora of reasons: 1) he was passed over for promotion, 2) he 
believes that Othello cuckolded him and wants a "biblical" 
revenge "wife for wife", and last but not the least "I hate the Moor 
and hatred is my cause". And all of the aforementioned motivations 
are pretty "easy to spot" as you put it.

I can see where one can find a certain affinity between the two, 
though: "We cannot all be masters, nor all masters / Cannot be truly 
follow'd" and even more tellingly: "But I will wear my heart upon my 
sleeve / For daws to peck at: I am not what I am".

vmonte:

> 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. 

a_svirn:
Agreed. But then how can we classify his consciousness with any 
degree of precision? we are still in the dark. 


vmonte:
> 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). 

a_svirn:

I'd say it sounds rather like "amoral" Iago. The whole plot of 
Othello is about Iago hurting people, because he wants toand 
bragging about it .