Harry's emotions his strength or his weakness?

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 141543



> 
> Carol responds:
<BIG SNIP>

> I do hope you have a nice, tasty recipe for crow, as I'm equally
> confident that Harry *must* follow Snape's advice--stay away from 
Dark
> magic, close your mouth (nonverbal spells), and control your 
emotions.
> Yes, a particular emotion (love) is the key to defeating Voldemort,
> but he's not going to find that path by Crucioing people and seeking
> revenge.


Chuckle.  Well, if Alla does has such a recipe, perhaps she would be 
kind enough to put it in the files section for all of us to copy 
down.  As for revenge -- well, what is the difference between revenge 
and justice?  An interesting philosophical quandary, that.  But if the 
difference is that justice must be impersonal or have no emotional 
component -- well, there truly is no such thing as justice in this 
world.  But there are definitions of justice that see it as being 
intimately related to revenge.  

Closing his mind or Occlumency?  Hmmmm.  If that's a necessary 
component of Harry's fight against Voldemort, JKR surely has screwed 
up.  We've had an entire book where she spun her wheels on the 
subject, and NOW it's going to come back as a big theme?  Chalk up 
another mark on the "idiot Dumbledore" chart.

> 
<SNIP>
> 
> And Snape may not understand Harry at all, but he understands
> Voldemort and the Death Eaters and what is needed to defeat them. He
> is not asking Harry to operate on cold intellect, which would be
> completely out of character. He's asking Harry to control his
> emotions, to conceal his intentions, to avoid the weapons of the 
enemy
> (Dark curses)--in short, to do what's necessary to preserve his soul
> intact and stay alive, both necessary conditions for defeating 
Voldemort.
> 

Well, that's making an awful lot out of a few nasty jibes thrown in 
the heat of battle -- especially from a man whose a terrible teacher 
in any circumstances. Not to mention it makes Snape out to be both a 
lot better person morally and a lot more in control of his own 
emotions and reactions than we have evidence of him being.  

Snape understands the DEs?  He knows how to defeat them?  He hasn't 
been doing a very good job, so far.  Indeed, his understanding and 
his habit of suppressing his feelings and instincts seems to have led 
him right into a trap -- namely the UV (I personally think, by the 
way, that the "Spinner's End" reference is to a spider caught in his 
own webs).  Not a good model to emulate, that.  If Snape had listened 
to his instincts (presuming, for the moment he's DDM or OFH), he 
could have avoided it quite easily.  Instead, he suppressed his 
feelings and spun a web of crafty intellect -- and look where it got 
him.

Harry by listening to his feelings cost someone his life, but managed 
to avoid handing Voldy a major victory.  Snape by suppressing his 
feelings cost someone his life, and Voldy gained a major victory in 
the bargain.  Should Harry have been somewhat more in control that 
night at the MoM?  Of course, although most of the blame for that 
catastrophe lies with other parties.  Does Snape have much of 
anything to teach Harry on this score?  Not really, unless Harry 
wants to make much worse and more tragic mistakes.


Lupinlore