[HPforGrownups] Snape and Raistlin Majere

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 126465

On 22 Mar 2005 at 21:15, phoenixgod2000 wrote:

> This post contains some spoilers for the dragonlance series.

As may mine.


phoenixgod2000: 
> What makes Snape so contempable to me and many other people, while 
> similar literary characters can be just as dark and bitter and yet 
> still remain sympathetic and understandable--even in their own way 
> likeable. I do realize that Snape has his fans but he also has many 
> detractors.  For those of you who've read both series or another 
> series with a Snape like character, what seperates Snape from them 
> to make him either more or less likeable and sympathetic?

Shaun:

OK - I have read both Harry Potter (obviously) and the Dragonlance 
Chronicles and Legends - though the last time I read Dragonlance 
was probably five years ago or so now. I've also read a smattering 
of the other Dragonlance books over the years.

Having said that, I would say I am more sympathetic to the 
character of Snape, in general, but I can see some reason to be 
sympathetic to Raistlin's that *may or may not* apply to Snape. We 
know more about Raistlin's uprbringing in  my view than we do about 
Snapes - we have snippets about Snapes.

The major reason I regard Snape more positively than Raistlin is 
because Snape strikes me as a man who has *genuinely* swung between 
evil and good. He was evil (when he was a Deatheater). He is now 
good (as a member of the Order). That is, of course, open to debate 
- but it's the way I see it. Of course, if he's deceived everyone, 
I'd have to reasess.

With Raistlin, it's different.

People reading this should be aware that the Dragonlance books were 
written as a tie in to scenarios and a gameworld for the Advanced 
Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D) game. At around the same time as the 
original Dragonlance Chronicles (the first three novels that 
started the Dragonlance series) were released, a series of AD&D 
Modules in which you could play the characters was released. The 
world of Krynn in Dragonlance is an AD&D gameworld. It follows the 
rules of the AD&D game (generally - there were some particular 
changes made for the specific world).

In AD&D, the concepts of Good and Evil are not really debatable and 
abstract. It is a feature of the game that every creature has an 
'alignment' - an absolute statement of whether they are (among 
other things) Good or Evil. Not every AD&D/D&D game follows this, a 
lot of players and Dungeon Masters actually hate the concept and 
abandon it in their games, but it is a feature of the 'offficial' 
game, and as the Dragonlance novels were official products they 
subscribe to it.

Alignment has two axes in the game - but only one - the Good, 
Neutral, Evil axis is relevant to what I am saying here, so I'll 
just use those three terms.

Now an interesting feature of the Dragonlance world is that Mages 
(Wizards) wear robes that indicate whether they are Good, Neutral, 
or Evil. Good Mages wear white, Neutral Mages wear red, Evil Mages 
wear black. There are rare renegades who break the rules, but even 
most renegades seem to follow them.

As the Dragonlance Chronicles begin, Raistlin is a Red Robed mage - 
he's neutral. This does make him unusual as most, if not all, of 
the companions are good, but there is a real distinction between 
neutral and evil.

Over the course of the Chronicles, Raistlin becomes black robe - 
but it's the reason he does this is why I regard him as far worse 
than Snape.

Because while Snape in my view, genuinely swings between evil and 
good - Raistlin becomes evil for one major and primary reason.

He deliberately chooses to do so, because he wants power and he 
sees the black robes as his path to power. Raistlin is ambitious - 
he'd definitely be a Slytherin. Incidentally, he's also studious, 
brave, and very hard working. But ambition overall.

To me, *deliberately* choosing to be evil in order to become 
powerful... that is *really* evil. Raistlin was neutral until he 
made that choice - and his actions before and after his choice 
indicate to me that if he wasn't seeking power, he still would be.

Raistlin is, in my view, pretty close to Voldemort, in fact.

But there are still a few other factors to be considered.

Raistlin has a twin brother - Caramon. Caramon is almost the 
opposite of Raistlin in many ways - Raistlin is the weak scholarly 
wizard, Caramon the immensely strong, physical, warrior.

Caramon loves Raistlin. Loves him incredibly. It's more or less 
unconditional love.

And though Raistlin tries to reject it - as he rejects everything 
that doesn't lead to power - he never really *quite* succeeds. 
Caramon helps him hold onto a shred of humanity in my view, so he 
never quite falls as far as Voldemort (though he does become 
immensely more powerful and successful).

Raistlin also had a pretty hard childhood. He almost died (and was 
saved only by the love and dedication of his elder sister Kitiara - 
who also, incidentally turns to evil). There may be some parallel 
with Snape there - but Raistlin was protected by his siblings to an 
extent. We don't really know if anyone protected Snape if he did 
have a hard childhood as many of us believe.

Perhaps the greater insight we have into Raistlin than Snape... the 
Dragonlance Legends (the second series of three books in the 
Dragonlance series - these six books are probably considered the 
core DL books - there are a huge number more by a lot of different 
authors, but these are where it started - the three Tales books 
might be included as well, but are quite different) were about the 
twins, Caramon and Raistlin, so we get to see a lot more of them 
than we do of Snape... perhaps that greater insight makes Raistlin 
more sympathetic in some ways. We get to see much more of what 
makes him tick.


Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia