Harry as Job, Snape as the Satan

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 123797


I've had reason lately, to wander about among the old posts.  
Sometimes it's hard to tell them from the current ones.  The same 
old arguments that fill the screen today, filled screens years
ago

with the same lack of resolution.
 
But I came upon a post (38508) with a very interesting slant, and at 
that, one I haven't seen before.  Following the thread back led me 
to a copyrighted essay in the HPfGU files written before Order of 
the Phoenix. Don't be put off by the Hermione type title.  It's a 
thought provoking, readable essay and it may generate some new 
discussions. It addresses some of the same issues that I've seen on 
the list lately, "How could DD allow this to happen?" "Why did Snape 
do that?"

The Conundrum of Justice and the Divine Adversary: Literary 
Parallels between Harry Potter and the Book of Job 
By Porphyria, 2002.


The essay gives some background about the story of Job and also 
about the Hebrew view of the Satan as portrayed in the Book of Job. 
We aren't talking about the devil here, not really. 
 
Part I looks at Harry as being very Job like. He is innocent, yet he 
suffers. Dumbledore, the benevolent God-like figure, seems to look 
the other way.  Harry's friends and neighbors (fellow students) 
sometimes reject him or certainly question him. Personally I like 
this idea, better than Harry as a Christ figure.  A Job-figure has 
to stay loyal, a Christ-figure implies a certain type of sacrifice.
 
Part II looks at Snape as being in the Satan role.  Satan's role is 
test Job, and to act as Prosecutor or Accuser. Now, that's a role 
Snape could enjoy!  He also is charged with roaming the earth. 
(Roaming Hogwarts?)  Thinking of Snape as the Accuser actually 
explains much of his behavior in the books.
 
Here is a sample of Porphyria's text about the Satan:
 
"The Christian sense of "Satan" as the supreme agent of Evil, the 
fallen angel who rebelled against God, did not come into use until 
hundreds of years after the Book of Job was written.6 In her book An 
Adversary in Heaven Peggy L. Day explains that the Hebrew 
word "satan" is best translated as "adversary" or "accuser" and that 
this often has the strictly forensic sense of a prosecuting attorney 
or the opponent in a legal case.7
 
snip
. In the Book of Job, the character called "the satan" is a member 
of the divine council, meaning he is an angel, and a perfectly loyal 
one at that.  
Snip
 
In the Book of Job, God specifically seeks out the satan from among 
his divine council and questions him. For a character with few 
lines, the satan exerts a sardonic and eloquent presence in the 
text."
> 
> 
> That sounds just like our beloved Snape!  
> 
> Well, what do you think? Would anyone like to discuss the literary 
> parallels of Job to the Harry Potter series? The essay was written 
> before Order of the Phoenix came out. 
> 



Alla:

I want to thank you for making me reread "Book of Job". 

I read Porphiria's essay back in my lurking days.


I happen to think that OOP put some holes in to that interpretation, 
maybe others will disagree with me.

Yes, "Harry as Job" sounds about right before OOP, but Job never 
ever questions the G-d authority, no matter how badly he suffers  
and no matter how upset he becomes ( and yes, at the end he becomes 
a bit upset) ( at least in  the translation I read) Despite what his 
friends tell him ( to change his behaviour and then G-d will return 
his blessings to Job, etc), Job keeps his faith.

It does not sound to me that at the end of OOP Harry keeps a lot of 
faith in Dumbledore.

Snape as Satan? As Accuser? Sure, why not? :o) She argues though 
that just as Satan, Snape never does more than allowed by Dumbledore 
and theoretically I could accept such reading before OOP, even if I 
personally disagreed with it, I could see it - Snape's function in 
the text as  testing Harry, looking at how worthy of being a Hero he 
is.

I think that after OOP it could be argued that "Satan" oops, Snape 
started to do MORE to hurt "Job" Harry than G-d allowed.

Although if I assume for myself that "Satan" started to make his own 
decisions without G-d permission, I can see that Snape retains the 
function of testing Harry's worthiness as Hero.

Besides, I don't see Dumbledore as God like figure anymore, not even 
close.

Alltogether essay was very interesting and  when I reread it today, 
I felt the same way I usually do when I see the  cool piece of 
creative writing - I want to write like that. :o)


These were my first impressions after rereading. I would love to 
talk more.


Just my opinion,

Alla