Retribution for Snape the Teacher (was Snape, Hagrid and Animals)

[leslie41]

No: HPFGUIDX 143946


Lupinlore:

But when have we ever been led to believe that Snape's thought  processes are essentially logical?  He is certainly capable of logic, as his puzzle guarding the PS/SS shows.  But he is also capable of great leaps of emotionalism, indeed near hysterics, when it comes to Harry and James Potter.  I don't see why it is particularly odd for him to hold contradictory opinions of Harry.  People do that all the time -- particularly deeply neurotic and near-hysterical people.

Yes, this is a good point.  Many supremely logical people are only logical when their emotions are not engaged. 

(As for Snape's "hysteria," the only time I recall him becoming hysterical was in PoA, when he nearly lost it at the end there when Black escaped.  

Yet, of course, everything he was accusing Harry of was absolutely true, and DD was trying to shut him up despite that.  I might have gotten hysterical myself.) 

Plus, to take anything Snape said at Spinner's end, about Harry or anyone else, as gospel in terms of what he thinks and feels is very problematic.  

He may be trying to downplay Harry's power by trying to paint him as clueless at this point.  I'm firmly in the camp of DDM Snape, and it makes perfect sense that Snape would make Harry seem less threatening than he really is. 

The question is what would make for an ending that brings the story's wheel to a balanced and well-written end.  That requires,  IMO, an amount of sermonizing about Snape in the form, as we have  discussed on another thread, of a third party intervening to confront, chastise, and yes, humiliate Snape in much the same way  Dumbledore confronted, chastised, and humiliated the Dursleys.  

Oh my, no.  

Truthfully, we don't exactly know what DD might have said to Snape during the summer after the occlumency lessons.  He did refer to them as a "fiasco," and thus I think it might be logical to believe that DD and Snape had words about it.  But I have no doubt that there was no humiliation involved.  DD has an enormous amount of pity and understanding of Snape.  He made a mistake in letting Harry take occlumency lessons with him, but he regards it as his own mistake, for not understanding how deep Snape's wounds ran, and that they were in fact, to his mind, unhealable.

It's also obvious that Snape's relationship with Dumbledore in HBP is extremely trusting and close, closer ever than before, no matter what Snape might have done.  Certainly Dumbledore, I think, would never choose to humiliate Snape publicly over Snape's teaching methods.  

And there's no one left, really, who can humiliate him.  Lupin?  McGonnagal?  How could they possibly humiliate SNAPE?

And yes, it requires a certain amount of  fire and brimstone raining onto Snape's head for his  abusive behavior toward Harry and Neville.  Allowing him to go unpunished  for that would be questionable on any number of fronts, literary, emotional, and yes, indeed, moral.

There will be no fire and brimstone raining down upon Snape, at least for his teaching methods.  If it turns out he's a supporter of Voldemort, there will be fire and brimstone of another sort.

There won't be fire and brimstone because there's no one who is in a position at this point to humiliate him.  The person who could have done that is Dumbledore.  And Dumbledore made it evident at every step of the way that he valued Snape as a friend, healer, member of the order, and as a teacher.          


 



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