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

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 140246

vmonte responds:

> Checkmate! You've finally revealed yourself completely. It's beyond 
> me how you can say that you don't understand how folks get the idea 
> that Snape is deeply horrible and sadistic when the author plainly 
> states this as fact in her books and in her interviews. 

houyhnhnm:

Well, actually the "deeply horrible" was in a separate statement.
"Sadistic" comes from a remark about the former teacher on whom the
character was based.  I felt she was using the word "sadistic"
loosely. Whatever she felt about the teacher she once had, she has not
portrayed Snape as sadistic, at least as far as I can see.  

"Sadistic" is not the opposite of "nice" and it's not synonymous with
"mean".  I've known plenty of mean people--teachers, bosses, relatives
even.  I always saw them as miserable individuals who selfishly
displaced their own pain onto others, or who were so wrapped up in
their own misery they didn't have a thought to spare for others.

A sadistic person is something else--a person who takes pleasure in
another's pain.  I have never known anyone who was truly sadistic,
thank goodness.

Rowling *has* written a truly sadistic character--Dolores Umbridge.

----------------------------------------
...beating her wand against her empty palm and breathing heavily.

"What Cornelius doesn't know won't hurt him," said Umbridge, who was
now panting slightly as she pointed her wand at different parts of
Harry's body....

Somebody had to act," breathed Umbridge ....
----------------------------------------

I said, in another post, that I didn't think there was any adult
sexuality in the Potterverse.  I take it back.  Dolores is just about
to climax in that scene.  This is some pretty sick stuff.

We don't get any heavy breathing from Snape.  We don't see him panting
with excitement when he's giving the Trio a hard time.

I don't think anyone here is trying to say that Snape is a nice
person.  He's a miserable bastard who lashes out at people.  He's a hater.

A person is not necessarily evil, though, just because they're a
hater. I guess I stick up for the character because, in the real world
I finally learned that it doesn't make things better to hate back. The
only way to conquer such a person is with compassion. There are some
who feel that Rowling is going in that direction and I hope they're right.