Snape's worst memory...you are kidding right?

[coldsliversofglass]

No: HPFGUIDX 150706

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Joe Goodwin 
<joegoodwin1067 at ...> wrote:

>Here is something that has bothered me for a while. Could the
>scene in the pensive really be Snape worst memory? A high school (in
>the US) altercation with a couple of guys he didn't like? Doesn't
>that sound way to much like those Jerry Springer commercials "Got
>issues from high school and want to confront your old schoolmate?

zgirnius wrote in reply:

>>Or maybe it is not really Snape's worst memory. Maybe it is one of
>>the two Harry did not see. Or maybe Harry assumes (having seen SWM)
>>that Snape put his worst memories in the Pensieve, but really Snape
>>put in the memories he'd most prefer Harry not see, which is not
>>necessarily the same thing.

(snip)

>>Or maybe Harry assumes (having seen SWM) that Snape put his worst 
memories in the Pensieve, but really Snape put in the memories he'd 
most prefer Harry not see, which is not necessarily the same thing.


coldsliversofglass:
This made me wonder if maybe it's not Snape's worst memory at all, 
the chapter title aside (OoP, Chapter 28, Snape's Worst Memory).  The 
word order implies that it is Snape's worst memory, but one could 
also take the title to mean that it's really Harry's worst memory if 
one looked at the chapter heading in a different way.  By which, I 
mean, that—despite the involvement of the other characters—the books 
revolve around Harry, and the chapters are titled with the assumption 
that the reader already knows Harry has a part in what's going on. 

The chapter titles usually reflect Harry's experiences, even titles 
that mention someone else.  For example, Chapter 13 of Order of the 
Phoenix is called "Detention with Dolores": Harry is the one having 
detention with Dolores, but there's no need to explain that in the 
chapter title because it's already implied.  Chapter 10 is "Luna 
Lovegood" but the chapter refers to Harry's interaction with her, and 
Luna's assurance that Harry is not going crazy, because they can both 
see the thestrals.  Anyhow, I think that, although it may be Snape's 
memory, it's Harry's worst memory—of his father, at the least.

I'm imagining that a pensieve is a bit like a good book: the reader 
temporarily becomes the character and experiences not only the 
adventure, but also the character's emotions and reactions.  More 
importantly experiencing another person's memory makes that memory 
ours—in part—too.  Harry—through the pensieve—experienced Snape's 
memory, which now makes it Harry's memory too.  I imagine it's the 
worst memory for Harry, because he has so few memories of his parents 
in the first place.  How unpleasant it must be to have such a bad 
memory as one of the few vivid recollections of one's father.

I also think that it's hard for Harry to separate Snape's memory from 
his own experience of the memory.  The worst memory could be the 
memory that fostered the realization that his father his bully, 
combined with the memory of the moment Harry came to the 
realization.  After all, Harry realizes at the end of the chapter 
that "his father had been every bit as arrogant as Snape had always 
told him" (OoP 650).  Snape's perception of Harry's father has been 
proven to have a basis, where as Harry has just realized that his 
accusation that Snape was maligning Harry Potter has no basis: in 
essence, Harry was maligning Snape with no proof of Snape's guilt, 
even though Harry had accused Snape of doing the same thing in 
regards to James Potter just to get to him him (to get to Harry, I 
mean).

So, anyhow, I think that maybe it's Harry's worst memory, and the 
syntax of the title just makes the reference to Harry more vague than 
in some of the other chapter titles.

coldsliversofglass