Facilis descensus Averni---Snape's little problems

[lealess]

No: HPFGUIDX 140426

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "ericoppen" <oppen at m...> wrote:
> It occurs to me that a big part of what ails Snape is that he's  
> been mixed up with the Dark Arts for so long. In many (most? I am
no 
> scholar of the occult) magical and magickal traditions, those who 
> palter with evil for easy power pay a price.  While the power comes 
> easily, much more easily than it does on the "good" side of things, 
> there are always side-effects, and nasty ones.
> 
> --SNIP of interesting stuff-- 
>
> One reason that I think D'dore kept Snape away from DADA, though 
> he's a stone expert, is because in JKR's world, Dark Arts are not 
> only corrupting to the body and soul, they're _addictive._  Snape 
> might be like a dried-out alcoholic, who's okay as long as he 
> doesn't start drinking again.  But if he fiddles with Dark Arts, 
> even in passing, he's already done himself enough damage for them
> to be much more dangerous than they might be for someone who'd 
> never had anything to do with them.
> --More SNIPPAGE--

I can see the attraction of this argument, as it echoes what Rowling
said herself, that the DADA position would bring out the worst in
Snape (although I think she was being tongue-in-cheek).  But this is
also like saying firefighters work in their professions because they
like to start fires, pharmacists because they want to mess around with
drugs, psychiatrists because they're screwed up, and so on.  There may
be kernel of truth for some professionals, but not for all.  Do you
think Lupin was corrupted because of his year teaching DADA, or would
have been had he continued teaching it?  He had as much experience
*being* a Dark Creature as Snape had with Dark Arts.  Had the real
Moody taught DADA, would he have been corrupted?  He had the
experience of fighting the Dark Arts, seemingly using its own methods.

I rather look at Snape, at least in potions, as a scientist.  He might
bring that same perspective to the Dark Arts, perhaps a value-free
perspective, or a practical one.  He may also have become the
firefighter who saves lives by fighting them instead of taking them by
starting fires.  Unfortunately, we saw little of Snape teaching DADA,
so we don't know what effect teaching the class had on him.  He didn't
seem overly preoccupied with Dark Arts when we did see him, however. 
He had more pressing things on his mind.

lealess