Snape's Memories Again

[Schumar1999]

No: HPFGUIDX 135475

> Gatta:
> 
> Why is it that when we are shown Snape's memories (OotP, hb U.S. ed.), both when he is 
teaching Harry Occlumency (p. 592) and in the Pensieve (pp. 640-649), Snape appears "in 
the third person", as it were?
> That is, from the outside, even though it is Snape doing the remembering?
> 
> Am I just strange? Don't most people remember themselves "in the first person", from 
the inside out?
> 


Schumar: 
I believe that ALL the memories we have seen in the pensieves have 
been in  the Third Person, right from GoF to the memories of all the wizards/
house elf in the scenes with Tom Riddle. The ONLY pensieve view that I can 
recall where we did not see the person to whom the memory belonged was 
the Pensieve "Quick View" retelling of the prophecy by Sybil Trelawney. We 
know that memory was Dumbledore's and I can only surmise now that he did 
not want Harry to see EVERYTHING there by entering the memory, in which he
would have seen the Snape/Aberforth interruption and whatever Dumbledore's
reaction and next step was. 

I believe the point of seeing the Pensieve memories in the third person is that 
we get to see what ACTUALLY happened, not a biased interpretation of the 
rememberer. I think this can serve not only other people, but it gives the 
wizards a greatchance to look from outside themselves to analyze something
that took place...much like people videotape themselves for future analysis.
Extracting a silverystrand from one's temple and being able to actually be inside the 
memory seems much more satisfying than a 2 dimensional videotape. though,
and much harder to modify, as Slughorn proved.

Marianne S.

p.s. forgive me if this has been said before, better, by others. 
p.p.s. I actually sometimes dream about myself in the third person.