Spilled Potion (WAS Broken potionvial etc. etc.etc.)

[Neri]

No: HPFGUIDX 163264

>
> Dan:
>
> Now, all this arguing over spilled potion is quite the point Rowling
> was making - the point is neither that Snape sabotaged the potion,
> nor Harry flicked it accidentally, how can it be? We aren't told, 
and
> there's no key given to "solve" what happened (the so-called 
truth) -
> but people will take pointed sides based on the what IS known - THAT
> Snape gloated, THAT Harry fumed. This is, of course, the point - but
> to try to extrapolate some ideal "what happened" from emotional
> reactions is not only silly, it's damn dangerous.
>


Neri:
Unfortunately, this approach misses completely the question both 
Potioncat (if I understood correctly) and myself were interested 
with: why does a mystery writer excelling in red herrings seems to 
sincerely believe that some things in her books are self-evident, 
even when they are only hinted at in the books. 

So if JKR left certain important aspects of Snape (for example), such 
as his motivations and loyalties, as official mysteries, then by the 
above slippery slope argument we can know *nothing else* about him, 
unless it was canonically specified as fact, and even then it's 
subject to Snape acting, Harry's filter, future potential revelations 
and so on. Moreover, there can't even be a discussion regarding the 
impression that the author intended to create (as opposed to what 
actually happened) because whenever some canon isn't absolutely 
unequivocal (which they almost never are) it means the author must 
have intended to make the point that no point can't be made.

When a fan says to JKR "Apart from Harry, Snape is my favourite 
character because he is so complex and I just love him", according to 
your argument JKR should take this as a great complement because this 
is exactly the effect she intended, making Snape complex and 
ambiguous. And yet JKR answers "Why do you love him? Why do people 
love Snape? I do not understand this." She seems to be genuinely 
baffled, but according to your argument she must be lying through her 
teeth when she says things like that.  


Neri