Could Snape ever be a hero?

[Freeman, Louise Margaret]

No: HPFGUIDX 135547


Unfortunately, I don't see any redemption for Snape at this point.  I don't think DD would want 
*any* of his followers to commit murder, for any reason, especially not with the AK curse. I 
think at heart Snape is a true Slytherin: out to protect his own skin as much as possible.  I think 
he did initially join DD as Voldy's spy, then when Voldy fell he decided to join up with DD for 
real, then when Voldy was reborn, he played both sides as best he could for as long as he 
could, (not a bad way to go, with both sides already thinking you are a double agent) but at 
some point, decided he had to go with Voldy (maybe when he saw how all the plans DD 
suggested, like recruiting the giants and the centaurs, were failing.)  Maybe he didn't make the 
final call until forced to do the Unbreakable vow. DD may not have been 
wrong to trust him 15 years ago, but I think he did misjudge him over the last 2.

When Draco told DD that Snape "promised my mother" and DD replied "Of course that's what he 
would have told you" I think it slipped that DD was in error....  that wasn't just the story Snape 
told Malfoy; it was the truth and DD didn't know it.  I don't think DD was pleading for his life, 
but I think he was pleading for Snape not to betray his trust and not to make the irreversable 
choice for the Dark Lord.

I think it's becoming clear that there are several traits Rowling considers essential for a genuine 
hero: they can't be seeking glory for themselves, they can't  be so fearful of death that they are 
afraid to die for a good cause and they have to be able to forgive and show mercy. DD can 
certainly do all three and we've seen Harry develop all those traits over the years.  Voldemort, of 
course, does none of them, and I think Snape has shown he can't either.  When we first met 
him, he boasted that he could "brew fame, bottle glory and stopper death." He couldn't put 
aside his hatred for Sirus and James and Lupin, from either their schooldays or cheating them 
out of his Order of Merlin in PoA.  DD has already told us he misjudged how deep that 
resentment ran. He had to chose between killing DD or dying himself at the end and he chose 
to kill; he had already told us that the one to kill DD would be honored by the Dark Lord above 
all others.  It's hard to see any nobility there.  Snape's as about as Voldyesque as he can get by 
the end.

Basically, it comes down to a simple formula:  Snape is telling both Voldy and DD he's working 
for them as a double agent.  He has to be lying to one.  He has to have deceived one of these 
brilliant minds for a long time. 
Who is the one who has an uncanny ability to tell when he's being lied to?  Voldemort.  DD has 
compassion and is certainly a good judge of character, but he can be deceived. He thought 
Sirius was a traitor and peter pettigrew a hero for 12 years. He never knew about the 
Marauders. He thought Barty Crouch was Mad-Eye Moody for a whole school year.

Harry could spare Wormtail's life, and could even start to feel compassion for Malfoy by the end.    
I think his next big test may be, can he show mercy to Snape if called upon to do so?

I also think the "wild cards" in the game are now Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew, not Snape.  Both of 
them now owe their lives to the good guys, Malfoy to DD and Peter to Harry. I'm guessing that 
one or the other or both will do some minor defiance of Voldy that will tip the scales in the 
Order of the Phoenix's direction (and get flattened for it!) in a way reminiscent of Neville's 
winning the House Cup for Gryffindor during the first year.
__
Louise M. Freeman, PhD
Psychology Dept
Mary Baldwin College
Staunton, VA 24401
540-887-7326
FAX 540-887-7121