JKR's answer to "Was Snape ever loved?"

[leslie41]

No: HPFGUIDX 134322

JKR is asked directly:  "Has Snape ever been loved by anyone?"

JKR: Yes, he has, which in some ways makes him more culpable even 
than Voldemort, who never has. 


I'm wondering what we all should make of this.  JKR's 3-part 
interview seems for the first time to really indicate that she 
believes Snape is evil.  Yet in previous interviews she hinted that 
there was a redemptive pattern.

I'm wondering what to think, because it seems in the books that 
she's making every effort to leave a good deal of room for 
interpretation (unlike Voldemort, Bellatrix, Lucius, Dudley, etc.).  
But in these three interviews...well it's really hard to believe 
that she's trying to fool us, especially since she says in the 
interview that when speaking about her books, she's never tried to 
mislead her readers.

She seems to be saying that we're "clinging to a desperate hope" and 
Snape is worse than Voldemort, which is making it very hard for me 
to really support the clues in the text.

What do ya'll think?

leslie41