Snape-the Hero -- Snape-the Abuser

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 143133

Alla:
> BUT I think that if Snape will be punished for who he is, as a 
> package deal, it is perfectly reasonable to assume that abuse will 
> be included in there.
> 
> Say Snape indeed dies while saving Harry, but before he dies, he 
> has time to say " Potter, I am sorry for everything I ever did to 
> you". In that case scenario, even if JKR did not mean to include 
> Snape's abuse of Harry while teaching him in the apology, I as 
> reader will be able to imagine it. Everything could be included in 
> here - starting with Snape " rolling the ball" to make Harry an 
> orphan and continuing with him mistreating Harry during the lessons 
> and of course killing Dumbledore in front of Harry.
 

And indeed, if indeed we are talking about "karmic" payback then 
this would be about the only way it could unfold.  Of course that 
raises the question of whether JKR is, in fact, a "karmic" writer or 
some other type of writer (meaning does she favor karmic 
resolutions -- or if you prefer poetic justice -- or other kinds of 
resolutions).

>From what we have seen, the karmic aspects of her writing do indeed 
seem quite strong.  All of the books so far have featured turnings 
of the karmic wheel in one variety or the other, although an 
argument can be made for OOTP being somewhat of an exception.  The 
question that arises is whether the series as a whole will be seen 
as karmic/poetic in its resolution.

Another question is the extent to which karmic resolution relies on 
the theme of character as destiny.  I think that it is inextricably 
bound up with such an idea.  Poetic justice, as opposed to 
legalistic justice, tends to punish for an overall presentation of 
character as opposed to specific actions (although of course the 
relationship between character and action is always, at best, murky 
and complicated).

Which of course leads inevitably to the question of essentialism.  
To what extent is character an essence and not a choice?  The 
answer, intuitively I suppose, is that it is very much an essence 
rather than a choice.  So does a karmic resolution in and of itself 
bespeak a certain kind of essentialism?  Maybe and maybe not, but it 
does seem to at least point in that direction.

Oh, and for the record, the use of karmic here simply means poetic 
justice or fitting payback.  It doesn't mean actual religious 
theories of karma which, I know, get complicated and involve 
particular religious doctrines about action and reaction.


Lupinlore