Hearing from the Great Middle...well not really...

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 140216

vmonte wrote:
> > "Something that I find interesting in the Snape debates is that 
> > nothing JKR says in her interviews about Snape is ever considered 
> > as canon evidence. "
 
m replied: 
> For me, it's not that I think she ever lies, but just that "he's a 
> deeply horrible person" doesn't tell me what actions he will or 
> won't commit.  
<snip> 
> But I don't feel like I yet know all the things that were going on 
> in HBP, particularly exactly what Snape's motivations were.  I do 
> think DD had good reason to trust Snape the way he did that we 
> don't know yet.  
<snip> 
> Sometimes it's only in retrospect JKR's comments become clear. 
> It's not like Snape being horrible isn't already there in the 
> books, really.  So I think when she says that she's not revealing 
> what's going to happen so much as saying things that are important 
> that we should already know.  


SSSusan:
I've been staying out of this thread because... well... for lots of 
reasons ;-) but I just had to pipe up and say I *love* what m. has 
said here, and I think m. is absolutely right.

When JKR tells us Snape is "deeply horrible" and is "a sadistic 
teacher" and that we should "keep an eye on old Severus," it is 
certainly additional information on Snape.  It is, as Betsy described 
it, "commentary."  It could even be considered additional "clues."  

OTOH, the key question for me is what m. asked here:  How do these 
juicy tidbits help us understand Snape, particularly in terms of 
*predicting his behavior* or *understanding his motivations*?  The 
truth is, I think (and it's knee-jerk here, I'll admit -- I've not 
thought this through much), that they DON'T help us much in those two 
areas.

Most of us seem to think Snape a right royal asshole at times, 
particularly with Neville, Harry & Hermione.  Some of us think he's 
cruel and, yes, even sadistic at times.  And many of us have turned 
to that quote of JKR's as backup for that position. ("See?  JKR 
Herself said he's 'sadistic!'")  

But the trouble is, does knowing he's sadistic in her eyes, or does 
knowing that he bears watching help us to PREDICT what he will do 
from here on in or even to UNDERSTAND what has motivated him to this 
point?  I would argue:  No, it really does not. 

People have talked a lot around here since HBP about the 
most "straightforward read" of the book.  And, huh, isn't it 
interesting that people with many different "bottom lines" re: Snape 
each think their particular read is the more straightforward one?  

I mean, I'm a DDM!Snaper myself, and I think there's oodles of 
evidence for it in HBP.  Some of my best HP buddies are ESE!Snapers 
now, and they also firmly believe they've gotten there by taking HBP 
in its simplest presentation of the story and the evidence.  
Similarly, there are those who're OFH!Snapers, and I'm sure they 
think that's pretty straightforward, too.

But we can't all be right about that, can we? ;-)

JKR has deliberately drawn Severus Snape to be ambiguous.  I'm 
*loving* looking over the results in the Snape poll and the responses 
in Lupinlore's "Hearing from the Great Middle" thread, because I 
think it's fascinating to hear people's reasoning for where they come 
down.

But again, I think m. has really nailed it here.  These comments from 
JKR, while certainly additional clues or evidence or backup for 
something and for some positions, just don't give us ENOUGH to say 
definitively "I *know* what is motivating Professor Snape" or "I 
*know* what he's going to do next."  

Yeah, JKR's words corroborate the surface Snape -- he's a nasty, 
snarky teacher -- but they don't illuminate the inner workings.  And 
JKR has done it that way ON PURPOSE... don't you think??

Siriusly Snapey Susan