Lupin's character development and why Snape's pseudonym?

[lindseyharrisst]

No: HPFGUIDX 135691

I'd like to use my first post since reading the book to make two 
separate points. The first concerns the character develoment of 
Lupin and the second is about "why the half blood prince?"


1. Am I the only one to be slightly uncomfortable with JKR's 
treatment of Lupin in HBP?
I find him quite weak and self-pitying in this book, but rather than 
feel sorry for my second favourtie character, I find it irritating 
and a diminution of his character. I also don't know why he was 
paired with Tonks. I'll be disappointed if Tonks only narrative 
purpose turns out to be to give Lupin a girlfriend, since she's a 
very two dimensional character in my eyes and I was hoping we'd "get 
to the point" of her in this book. With only one book to go, I hope 
it happens soon and that Lupin, who doesn't have a tougher life than 
snape does or hagrid did when he was with the giants, shows some of 
the old quiet strength for which I liked him. 


2. Why the half blood prince?
I thought it fairly obvious at an early stage when Harry started to 
use the potions book that it had been Snape's, mostly because I 
recognised his writing, through other times JKR has described it 
as "spidery" and secondly, the phrase "just shove a beazor down 
their throats" which was so Snape it made me shout out as I was 
reading. My point, though, is WHY did snape start caling himself 
this - yes, his mother was a "prince" and he was a half blood, but 
why give yourself a pseudonym, especially one that highlights 
something that (presumably, because he was a slytherin and preparing 
to be a DE) he was not proud of?

a. was it a nickname or something he called himself I wonder. I 
don't think he would've taLked about being a half blood to his house 
mates, so if it was nickname, who gave it to him?

b. It's a weird mix of self-agrandising and damning that might 
reveal something about him psychologically. We have the impression 
from a fragment of memory from OOTP that he had an abusive Dad and 
victimised mother. We don't know what he felt about her - resented 
her for being weak, felt sorry for her, loved her more than anything 
as a woman who tried to protect her son and had a special bond 
coming from not having two loving parents??? I guess his feelings 
about that can be deciphered to tell us why he referred to himself 
in the context of his mother's family and his parentage. Anyone got 
any ideas? Perhaps it's to say "even though I'm half blood I'm a 
prince" (as in important, or as in one of his mother's family and 
therefore capable of putting up with things done to him and 
surviving?)

c. Was it a reaction to James and co.s bullying? That brings me to 
another thing. Why was the book called the half blood prince when it 
was not really important to the plot? I know that it was 
Harry's "skill" *cough* in potions that enabled his friends to have 
the felix felicius when they needed it, but so far that's all we've 
seen it do that could be considered relevant, and eevn then, that 
doesn't make the half blood prince as a person important, just the 
book. Do you think this is going to come back to haunt the plot? How?

I think this is worthy of consideration because in amongst all the 
snape theorising (which I love - guess which side I'm on, lol)it 
doesn't seem to have been considered...

Snapesangel x