OFH! Snape again. WAS: Straightforward readings?

[nrenka]

No: HPFGUIDX 140792

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "horridporrid03" 
<horridporrid03 at y...> wrote:

> Betsy Hp:
> There are a few rather large plot holes that speak against OFH!
> Snape to my mind.  The first (and biggest one, IMO) is that Snape 
> joined the Order at the very moment when Voldemort's power was at 
> its zenith.  He joined the Order *before* Voldemort went off to his 
> fateful meeting with baby Harry.  And, as per Lupin, the Death 
> Eaters were definitely winning at that time.  How does that fit in 
> with Snape merely going with the winners?

Snape actually answers this one himself, if you believe him, in 
chapter 2: he's there on Voldemort's orders to be a spy within 
Dumbledore's ranks.  This fits in perfectly to OFH!Snape.  Voldemort 
sez "Go be my spy--we may be winning, but I know DD is up to 
something, and you have the perfect story to get an in," and Snape 
then has the opportunity to be a genuine double agent.

I don't have a fixed point for when I think Snape necessarily 
flipped, but I think there was serious strain put on him from the 
moment he *went back* to Voldemort and had that personal contact.  
All of his actions from then on are fairly easily readable from the 
position of playing both sides, looking to see where and how the 
chips are falling on the table.  He then gets himself somewhat 
trapped into the UV, which really disrupts his precarious yet 
balanced position.

Now, I admit, this theory has a major weakness--it doesn't *explain* 
so much as it is content to label.  However, it has the consequent of 
being remarkably straightforward.  It requires no postulated fake AK 
curse or secret plotting (or last-minute silent communication) 
between Snape and Dumbledore.  It is content to let Snape's overtly 
positive actions be overtly positive and his negative ones be 
negative, without an exculpatory apparatus put onto every nasty 
little (or not so little) action.  It requires far less inference 
than DDM!Snape, for sure.  I get the feeling that Faith likes it 
decently well, and Faith is batting at a far higher percentage than 
any of us are.

I think people don't like it because it's thematically very different 
and rather harsh from where most of us (including myself) thought the 
character arc was going.  Don't dismiss it out of hand.  There's some 
powerful reads to get out from it that may well be validated.

-Nora dozes off to the fugal finale...