Apologies and responsibility

[zgirnius]

No: HPFGUIDX 139236

 
> Alla:
> 
> Oh, but that is not what Lady Indigo was saying at least how I read 
> her argument. You don't insist that Harry somehow owes Snape for 
> actions of his father, right?

zgirnius:
It's possible I am not 100% in agreement with her, yes...I think an 
aknowledgment that the Snape/James relationship is an issue for Snape 
is potentially constructive as an attempt to clear the air. (This can 
be done without any admission that Snape is "right", or James is "a 
bad person". The second is a proposition I find unlikely, anyway...)
If Snape really is a totally evil person out to torment Harry for the 
fun of it, none of this really matters, but if it were the case that 
Snape is (very inappropriately) dumping on Harry because of his own 
issues with James, the apology combined with some "I'm not by father, 
darn it" reminder might have a chance of getting through. Moot point 
now, for sure!

Alla wrote:
> I am starting talk in circles, but I am going to say it again - I 
> just do not think it is realistic at all to expect Harry who grew 
up 
> being bullied to think that apology would change anything and  
there 
> was nobody whom he could learn from otherwise.
> 
> I also still believe that despite what I said above, such apology 
> may have happened  but for Snape throwing Harry out and then  just 
> timing was wrong - Snape was avoding him Sirius dead, etc, etc. And 
> definitely in book 6 Harry had a lot of other things on his mind.

zgirnius:
Oh, I agree with you here. I think these are excellent explanations 
for why Harry, even though he is a fundamentally very good and fair 
and empathetic person, did not make the apology. Both because of his 
life experiences with the Dursleys, and how things have played out 
since. I certainly do not mean to condemn him for not apologizing!

elsewhere in this thread (post 139222)...
Pippin wrote:
It's interesting that the question of apologizing comes up
in the pensieve memory itself. IIRC, James demands that
Snape apologize to Evans, and Evans says she doesn't want
*James* to make Snape apologize. It does sound though
as if she would have accepted an apology from Snape.

Is that Snape's great regret? That he could have apologized
to her and never did? Should he have done so, though he
would have lost face in front of the Marauders?

zgirnius:
Oh, I really liked this observation! Yes, of course he ought to have. 
Yet another reason he hates this memory...