Snape's grandfather, the Pure-Blood Prince (Was: Snape's Parents)

[Emily Salter]

No: HPFGUIDX 134959

Carol wrote:

>Until HBP I always assumed (like many other readers) that the abusive
>man was Snape's DE father, but clearly that can't be the case. But the
>hooked nose shows that he's a close relative, one who can cow Snape's
>witch mother and who must therefore be a wizard with some sort of
>authority or control over her. It's impossible that Snape's pure-blood
>grandfather would have approved of her daughter's marriage to a Muggle
>(whom she must have loved--there's no other explanation.) The parallel
>with Gaunt and Merope is clear, but with one significant difference.
>Tom Riddle never witnessed his wizard grandfather abusing his witch
>mother. Little Severus apparently did.

>Possibly Grandpa Prince tracked Eileen down, taking her and little
>Severus away from Tobias, maybe even murdering him, when Severus was
>between three and five. That, at any rate, is my take on the memory,
>which certainly seems to be a traumatic one involving a hook-nosed man
>who is clearly a wizard. I think he's Severus Snape's grandfather, the
>Pure-blood Prince.

Emily writes:

It's possible that the man was Grandfather Prince but the problem I have 
with the theory is that Snape, as a one time Death Eater, clearly has or had 
a hatred of Muggles.  When he arrived at school at the age of 11 he is said 
to have known more curses than the seventh years and ingratiated himself 
with older Slytherin students like Lucius and Bellatrix, suggesting that 
this rejection of his Muggle background began at an early age.  If he had 
seen his maternal grandfather terrorising his mother at such a young age, 
surely this experience would have turned him against wizards instead of 
Muggles? He would associate magic with this looming man who made his mother 
cower in fear while he looked on, helpless and crying.  I would think he'd 
be afraid of wizards and magic and scared of going to Hogwarts instead of 
going out of his way to make himself a dark wizard before he'd hit his 
teens.

As for why Eileen was allowing herself to be intimidated by a Muggle, I 
think this goes back to the psychology of the abused woman.  Even the 
strongest of people can be cowed and terrorised, manipulated into believing 
that they 'deserve' the violence somehow and that they are dependent on the 
relationship or guilt-tripped into believing that their partner/spouse is 
dependent on them.  It's the cycle of violence - outburst followed by 
apology, affection, pleas not to leave, that it will never happen again and 
an apparent end to the violence, followed by rising tension and finally 
another outburst.  I don't think magical ability would have a bearing on 
this.

No, I think Harry is right in this case - we were looking at the Snape 
family in that scene.

Emily