[HPforGrownups] Are appearances important to Snape?

[Kathryn Jones]

No: HPFGUIDX 142160

cubfanbudwoman wrote:
> Without taking a position one way or the other myself ;-), I would
> like to ask KJ (or others who agree with her) if more could be said
> about why you feel "appearances are so important" to Snape.
> 
> Siriusly Snapey Susan

   KJ writes:
      This one of the hardest things to explain. So much of the Snape 
character is neither one nor the other.

     One interesting thing in HBP is that when the sisters arrived at 
Snape's house, his hair was described as "long black hair parted in 
curtains around a sallow face". This is the only time that his hair is 
not specifically described as greasy.

      I think his manners and behaviour were summed up quite nicely in 
Carol's post. He can apparently be quite debonair when the situation 
calls for it. How can he be shown as so relaxed and confident, with 
greasy hair and yellow teeth? Is it all Harry's perception or is it his 
Hogwarts persona?

      While Snape seems to resent anything which ridicules him or 
lessens his authority, like Gilderoy,  Neville's boggart, or the vulture 
hat in the Christmas cracker, he also runs out to protect the school in 
his night shirt. So much for appearances. I would expect Snape to get 
dressed so he wasn't forced to confiscate cartoons of himself in his 
night wear. As well, he seems to harbour no particular resentment when 
the Trio knocked him out in the shack. He defended them admirably to 
Fudge. Why?

      In the first book we see him do wandless magic to protect Harry 
from Quirrel. Perhaps he was forced into it by circumstances. We don't 
see it again. Only Dumbledore regularly performs wandless magic. We see 
Minerva perform more intricate magic than Snape. We see some of his 
strength in conjuring 4 stretchers out of thin air in PoA, but it is not 
until HBP that we begin to see what he can do. He was a young wizard 
when Voldemort fell and has undoubtedly learned a great deal in the past 
16 years. He is obviously a skilled legilimens, just as obviously a very 
skilled occlumens. This gives him a huge advantage in a duel as we see 
with Harry. He also has the ability to look at a situation in a very few 
seconds and make a decision. He would appear to be the only member of 
the order, excepting Moody, perhaps, who actually has the ability to 
cast an AK. Apparently he has been training hard. For what?

      It seems to me that he is forced to play a certain role while he 
is at Hogwarts, and another role when he is in the company of the Death 
Eaters. If this is the case, then, *appearances* are everything to him, 
just not in the way one would first think.
KJ