Snape Loved or In-Love with Lily?

[kiricat4001]

No: HPFGUIDX 148385

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboyminn at ...> wrote:

> > 
> > Jen: I'm sort of thinking Harry would be infuriated to find out 
> > Snape loved Lily rather than Lily saw something good in Snape. 
> > Harry would think Snape had duped his mum or coerced her. He 
> > would need to know Lily cared about Snape of her own free will
> > and saw something in him the Maruaders didn't see, imo. 
> >
> 
> bboyminn:
> 
> That is precisely why I reject /romantic/ love between them; it
> complicates things too much. But a fond friendship or even a 
distant
> admiration seems to work out just right. As I said, over time and
> through association and through acts of unwaranted kindness, Snape
> grew fond of Lily.
> 
> Think of the love you have for your friends, you would probably 
jump
> in front of a bullet for them, but despite that love, it would 
never
> manifest itself in a 'lovey-dovey' or romantic way. So, in that
> friendship sense of love, I agree Snape loved Lily, but I reject 
any
> significant romantic feelings. 


Marianne:
Okay, you've convinced me.  I think the possibility of a Snape-Lily 
friendship exists.  It also could fit into my feelings that there 
are reason(s) that we don't yet know as to why Snape reacts so 
vehemently when called a coward by Harry in HBP. To toss out a half-
formed thought - what if Snape was indeed at Godric's Hollow with 
Vmort?  Snape hangs back, per Vmort's instructions, but the thought 
is in his head that if he were to attack Vmort while the old bat is 
dueling with James, perhaps the two of them can defeat him. Of 
course, this rushing in to the rescue is virulently anti-Snapeish, 
so he hesitates.  James is killed. Snape still hesitates.  Lily is 
killed. 

Snape is left with living with his actions (or non-actions) and 
trying to rationalize why he acted as he did.  The thought that he 
might have been cowardly is something he rejects on the surface, but 
which bubbles away like acid underneath. I realize there are lots of 
flaws in this, including the thought that, if Peter was there to 
pick up Vmort's wand, we might end up with way too many people 
wandering around GH at the crucial time.  


 
> > Jen continues:
> >
> > As for the part about 'my mother would have wanted me to' I 
> > completely agree. We've seen the many ways Harry is like James,
> > most notably showing Peter mercy. I think there needs to be an 
> > equally powerful way Harry is like Lily and showing compassion
> > seems like a good bet.
> >
> 
> bboyminn:
> 
> I think you are on to something here. Lily in a sense has always 
been
> held in the background. Oh yes, people speak positive of her, but 
we
> are lacking a great deal of detail. For James, we know about the
> Marauders and their adventures. We have 'Snapes Worst Memory' to 
tell
> us a lot about James, but only hints at Lily. 
> 
> Plus, we have the constant references to Lily's eyes. JKR has made
> various comments indicating that somehow Harry's eyes will be
> significant, and since his eyes are like Lily's, she should also be
> significant. So, it seems clear, to me at least, that JKR is
> intentionally holding back information about Lily, because if
> revealed, it would simply give away the whole plot, or at least, 
the
> whole sub-plot. Further, I think Lily's kindness and compassion, 
and
> her (somewhat) championing of the underdog will certainly all come
> into play when more details are finally released regarding Lily.

Marianne:

Didn't JKR also say at some point that Harry's eyes are his most 
vulnerable spot, or something along those lines? I tried searching 
through JKR's interviews but didn't find that quote, so maybe I'm 
imagining it.  

Snape and Lily are the two characters, IMO, that JKR has done the 
most to hide, although using different methods.  Lily is mentioned 
in only positive terms by everyone who has anything to say about 
her.  No feet of clay there, or so it seems.  Yet, this lack of 
balance paints her into something more saintly than human.  The fact 
that we discovered she was somewhat cheeky in HBP made her seem more 
like a real person.

As for Snape, we see and hear him do all sorts of things, but we 
know there are still gaping holes in the backstory.  And some of the 
backstory we've been given has not been from Snape himself, but from 
others, such as DD's mention of Snape's remorse.  There is a 
deliberate withholding of information on Snape, so much so that even 
when he apparently kills DD with an AK, this action is seen as 
ambiguous by a large part of the audience. 


Marianne, needing a good dose of caffeine, wonders in a crazed 
moment whether only Harry's eyes could be a Horcrux, rather than his 
entire body.