JKR Interview on Mugglenet; Snape = Evil?

[Milz]

No: HPFGUIDX 133809

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "snipsnapsnurr" 
<snipsnapsnurr at y...> wrote:
> pookasmorning quoted the interview:
> 
> MA: 
whether this had been planned, and since Dumbledore had this 
> knowledge of Draco the whole year, had they had a discussion that 
> said, "Should this happen, you have to act as if it is entirely 
> your intention to just walk forward and kill me, because if you 
don't, 
> Draco will die, the Unbreakable Vow, you'll die," and so on — 
> 
> JKR: No, I see that, and yeah, I follow your line there. I can't — 
> I mean, obviously, there are lines of speculation I don't want to 
> shut down. 
> ***
> 
> 
> This is the "evidence" from JKR that Dumbledore definitely did not 
> order Snape to kill him? This looks to me like JKR saying, "I don't 
> want to give that away. It would ruin the 7th book." I don't see an 
> answer one way or the other in her response.
> 
> snipsnapsnurr

Here's the parts of Rowling's  answer you didn't include above:

JKR: No, I see that, and yeah, I follow your line there. I can't — I 
mean, obviously, there are lines of speculation I don't want to shut 
down. Generally speaking, I shut down those lines of speculation that 
are plain unprofitable. Even with the shippers. God bless them, but 
they had a lot of fun with it. It's when people get really off the 
wall — it's when people devote hours of their time to proving that 
Snape is a vampire that I feel it's time to step in, because there's 
really nothing in the canon that supports that. 

ES: It's when you look for those things —

JKR: Yeah, it's after the 15th rereading when you have spots in front 
of your eyes that you start seeing clues about Snape being the Lord 
of Darkness. So, there are things I shut down just because I think, 
well, don't waste your time, there's better stuff to be debating, and 
even if it's wrong, it will probably lead you somewhere interesting. 
That's my rough theory anyway.

So Rowling wants some theories to be discussed because they are more 
profitable for the discussions. In other words if the discussion is 
totally off the wall like the Snape is a vampire speculation, she'll 
shut it down. However, that doesn't mean to say, she'll only allow 
speculations on things that will definitely happen in the final 
book.  

This was the part of the interview slightly before the above passage:

ES: Was Dumbledore planning to die?

JKR: [Pause.] Do you think that's going to be the big theory?

MA & ES: Yes. It'll be a big theory.

JKR: [Pause.] Well, I don't want to shoot that one down. [A little 
laughter.] I have to give people hope.

It looks like she is encouraging speculation not because it will 
definitely happen, but because she doesn't want to destroy hope in 
her readership. So, while it's nice to speculate, don't get so caught 
up in the speculation that you can't see the real clues peppered 
throughout the books.

Millz