[HPforGrownups] Re: In Defense of Snape (long.)

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 122770

On 22 Jan 2005 at 17:27, eggplant9998 wrote:

> "Amanda Geist" <editor at t...> wrote:
> 
> 
> > Harry knew perfectly well that Snape
> > had put those memories in the
> > Pensieve to keep Harry from seeing them. 
> 
> And that , especially in the context of the war game they call 
> Occlumency lessons, is exactly why it was Harry's duty to do all he 
> could to look into that Pensive. Sure Snape would get angry but 
> Harry has no reason to be sensitive to Snape's feelings and 
> everybody gets angry when you lose a battle. Snape lost that little 
> encounter and I will cry few tears over it. I said it before I'll 
> say it again, Snape was a coward to put those memories in the 
> Pensive when he didn't give Harry the same opportunity for his most 
> secret memories and Snape was a fool to let Harry see him do it. 

I think something is being missed here.

Snape is a teacher. Harry is a student.

I think a useful analogy can be drawn here, between the idea of a 
teacher supervising students in certain school environments. It can 
be entirely appropriate for a teacher, on certain occasions, to see 
their students in a state of undress - for example, if the kids are 
changing for sport. It is *far* less appropriate (perhaps totally 
inappropriate depending on the environment) for the teacher to 
allow the students to see them in such a state of undress.

My point is that to say Snape is a coward for attempting to conceal 
his memories in the pensieve and not allowing Harry the same 
privilege is to seriously ignore the teacher/student dynamic. I've 
seen the arguments that Snape isn't really functioning as a teacher 
during the Occlumency lessons, and I think they make good points - 
but even if that is granted, it remains the case that after the 
lessons are over, Snape *needs* to still be a teacher, and Harry 
*needs* to still be a student.

And it is entirely appropriate in quite a few circumstance for a 
teacher to take more care about their own privacy, than they give 
consideration to a students privacy.

With regard to the Occlumency lessons, the primary purpose of these 
lessons is to teach Harry to conceal his thoughts. Leaving the 
thoughts he would most want to conceal from Snape inside his head 
makes it a real test of his ability, and gives him a real incentive 
to learn the lesson he is supposed to be learning. Letting him 
remove the memories that he wouldn't want Snape to see - well, it 
would seem to me to render the lessons far less significant.

Snape is not in those lessons to learn himself. Presumably he is 
already an accomplished enough Occlumens that he is not likely to 
learn that much from battling Harry. So he has no reason to leave 
that in his head.

In simple terms - I think there's a lot of difference between a 
teacher seeing a student naked in the course of normal schooling, 
and allowing the student to see the teacher naked.

And I think arguably, we're dealing with a similar situation here.

Unfortunately, I'm off for four days tomorrow on a university 
commitment. This is annoying because I'd love to follow this 
thread, which I'm finding very interesting and perhaps post a bit 
more in it. But I can't be in two places at once.


Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia