Snape's canon opposite/ Proving loyalty (Re: Hearing from the Great Middle)

[zgirnius]

No: HPFGUIDX 140183

vmonte wrote:
 
> It's curious how people are always ready to make excuses for Snape. 
> Now it's the DADA position that made him go bad? He had no choice? 

zgirnius:
I do not feel that the curse *made* him go bad, no. My comment about 
liking the DADA theory for why Snape took the UV reflects my 
admiration of Carol's long and interesting post 137,961. She argues 
that the curse might work by exploiting the flaws of each of the 
teachers in such a way that they each contribute to their own 
downfall.

I find the fact that Snape took the Unbreakable Vow is hard to 
explain, because, by and large, I think he's a pretty smart customer. 
It is not the brightest move (IMO) for any brand of Snape (ESE!, 
ESG!, OFH!, TopWizard!, etc.), since it has potentially lethal 
consequences to him and limits his available courses of action. It 
would seem to me that any advantage he might gain from taking the UV 
can in the long run accrue to him if he refuses to take it, but then 
performs the desired actions anyway at the most opportune moment. In 
my reading he does not know what he is swearing to (he's stringing 
Cissy and Bella along in order to gain this information) and he 
believes he can avoid the negative consequences. So his action is not 
immoral (except insofar as it is part of deceiving Bella and Cissy, 
but I'm OK with that in a spy...) in that he has no intention of 
killing or helping to kill anyone, and thus does not need to be 
excused. It is just a *mistake*.

As I see it, the DADA curse may also explain why Dumbledore chooses 
the night when Draco brings in the DEs, or all night, to go Horcrux-
hunting. If we buy this supposition, it puts Snape in the position 
where he can no longer use his cleverness to wiggle out of the 
situation. He must kill Dumbledore, or die. He never expected to find 
himself in this position, and I like the idea that he would never 
have found himself in that position if it were not for the malign 
influence of the DADA curse.

But once Snape *is* in that situation, I certainly agree that he is 
responsible for the choice that he makes. He kills Dumbledore. The 
curse does not force him to do it. 

Actually, I'm really glad you wrote this and got me to put out my  
DADA ideas down on paper (OK, on screen...) because it has made me 
have another idea I like about Book 7. I believe that Snape is not at 
all happy with how things have turned out. I think he feels he set 
himself up, and I think he feels that his action in killing 
Dumbledore and saving himself was cowardly. Which is why I believe 
that Snape will do something to redeem himself in Book 7. And the 
neat thing is, if it does play out this way, Voldemort will have 
harmed *himself* with the curse, by giving Snape the motivation to 
finally do something big for the Good Guys.

(Hmmm...maybe Carol has already hinted at this towards the end of her 
post...)