Why Snape is so interesting

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 153799

Randy:
> I think the reason Snape is so interesting to the readers is due to 
his hidden motives.  We see the good side and the bad side.  He is 
described in images of bats, spiders, and dragons as someone else 
posted earlier.  I find it interesting that he is described by these 
images, and he is the focus of so many debates about his evil or 
goodness.
> 
> Bats, spiders and dragons are sometimes represented as evil in 
> mythology.  Other times these creatures are represented as givers 
of 
> life, knowledge, and protection.  
*(snip)*
> Randy who wishes to see others interpretations of the symbols 
rather than get into a violent argument about who is correct. ;0)

Ceridwen:
Randy, I'll try to accomodate you.  Bats and spiders are creepy.  
Everyone cringes when they think of them, the sight of a common house 
spider can get my second-born screaming and running from the room.  
No one wants bats in their hair, and that used to be something girls 
who ratted their hair (or just wore it down!) were warned about.  
Bats drink blood, spiders sting their prey and save it up for later 
in their web.  Pretty nasty, right?

I like both bats and spiders.  I don't like bugs.  I particularly 
don't like mosquitoes, and bats eat mosquitoes.  Spiders eat flies, 
and they eat aphids if you have them in your garden.  My kids, esp. 
the second-born (see above) want to know why I like spiders when I'm 
allergic to their venom, and this is a major part of the reason.  I 
also like their webs, and I have a sympathy for them because everyone 
dislikes them so much.  And, they're loners.

Dragons in Western culture are both demon and protector.  See 
Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' for a dragon protecting a treasure; see Shrek 
and the fairy tales that movie is spoofing to see Dragons guarding 
the beautiful princess from her rescuing knight.  The dragon 
terrifyingly guards a treasure of some sort and is meant to scare the 
armored pants off the knight on his quest.  So, dragons themselves 
are ambiguous, and the quote kindly given in another post makes the 
allusion to the protective dragon, if I recall right.

But, I don't think Snape was actually compared to a dragon, it was 
just 'this is like that', using a dragon for reference, in my 
opinion, just because it's terrifying.  I think that sticking to bats 
and spiders is a pretty safe bet, so I will.  *g*

Ceridwen.