[HPforGrownups] Re: I'm presenting "Snape's Appeal in Canon: Severus, Meet Sherlock" at this fall's Harry Potter Symposium in Salem!!!

[Kathryn Jones]

No: HPFGUIDX 130865

unicorn_72 wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "vivienne_davalon"
> <vivienne_davalon at y...> wrote:
> <snipped>
> 
>  >
>  > 1) The paper I am presenting is called "Snape's Appeal in Canon:
>  > Severus, Meet Sherlock"  and the summary follows:


    Kathy writes:

	You made some very good comparisons and have some very good points.  I 
think there are some interesting differences in the writing of the 
characters.

1.  Holmes himself wasn't the most interesting part of the stories.  He 
was merely the vehicle used to demonstrate the use of logic and the "use 
of the brain".

     Snape on the other hand is not a vehicle so much as an enigma.

2.  Holmes was not a cruel person.  He was simply not involved in the 
lives of anyone including Watson. He appeared to have no discernible 
need for anyone in his life, including his twin brother. He was rude, 
opinionated, brooked no argument, and frequently hurt Watson's feelings. 
Holmes was snarky to everybody except interesting clients.

     Snape is cruel and deliberately hurtful.  While he often arrives at 
the correct conclusion through the use of observation and logic, he just 
as often fails to do so because of the inability to see beyond his 
personal hates and fears.  Snape appears to be quite pleasant with 
fellow teachers and those in authority.

3.  Having read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories, I don't recall ever 
wondering what his home life was like, or what his family was like.  It 
was as if he was dropped fully formed on the earth.  He was very much a 
two dimensional character.  Watson had more humanity than did Holmes.

     Snape is given more personality.  He can be angered, upset, 
frightened, spiteful, and is much more of a character.  He hasn't really 
done anything brilliant as yet and still he has captured our interest 
and attention as a person.  We are curious about him.

4.  Holmes was written as an erratic genius with insomnia.

     Snape is a competent wizard with insomnia. (so far)

5.  Homes was on the side of good and if it was an interesting problem, 
otherwise he could not care less.

     We have not been totally convinced that Snape is on the side of 
good, bad, or let's see who comes out on top.

6.  Holmes was the absolute authority. He had enormous personal power.

     Snape would like to be the absolute authority. He has power only 
over his students.

7.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle hated Sherlock Holmes by the end and hated 
having to write stories about him. He could not understand why anybody 
would read them.

     JKR likes writing Snape, but she can't understand the interest that 
this particular character has generated. I can't really explain why, but 
I find the character of Snape to be more interesting and intriguing than 
Harry, Dumbledore, or Lupin.  I don't really care if Sirius ever returns 
and Ron and Hermione are just characters.  I read around Harry to get to 
Snape.  Of course, come to think of it, I read around Sherlock to get to 
the puzzle.

I hope that you are well-received in Salem.  It was an excellent summary.
KJ