Snape Survey, Snapeity, Dumbledore's sacrifice

[Sydney]

No: HPFGUIDX 149049

> So in your Opinion, who's side is Snape on?

Dumbledore's.  Duh.  Anything else is so ludicrous to me, storywise, I
can't even get up the energy to argue it.  

Lupinlore,  re my really, truly, semi-final Snape-and-DADA-theory
(#149003):
>Okay.  Now THIS I can easily see.  As you say, it allows Snape to be
>Snape and DD to be DD and Harry to be Harry

And everyone embraces in one harmonious group hug! It's so thematic I
can't stand it!!  LOL... I'm telling you, there's one thing I'm pretty
sure of.  And that is, when Book 7 comes out, the Snape-lovers and the
Snape-haters will come together upon this neutral ground, and they
will say unto one another:  "See?!  It's just as I was saying all
along!!"  

Because, I have so much respect for Rowling as a plotter and as a
characterizer, I would start a website if there weren't already one
zillion.  She lays it out, and she lets it be as messed-up, as
ambiguous, as black-and-white, as grey, as obvious, as
un-agreeable-upon, as life itself.  It's like the 1-to-1 scale map of
the world in "Sylvie and Bruno".  

unlikely2:
>Snape saves him and it is the intimate
>manner of his doing so that I find interesting. Singing. Not a potion
>but something from and of himself. And it is the cure for his own
>damaging spell

There are so many lovely notes on this side of Snape-- he so full of
love, for magic (tell me this guy doesn't LOVE magic), for knowledge,
for something mysterious that had him wearing his heart on his
sleeve-- Lily?-- he's so on the brink of being this extraordinary
person, but so held back, at the same time, by his rage and hatred and
immaturity and inability to forgive himself.  He's a rubber band,
stretched out to to extremes; he could snap either way, there's so
much crazy energy in this character!  He's FABULOUS!  *hearts Snape*
*knits him scarf* 


Back to villany of the straightforward kind:  Lupinlore:
 >Villains never really make sense, that's part
> >of the reason they're villains.  Heroes or "good" characters,
> >however, are supposed to make at least a surface kind of sense.
(a few messages later,)
> I've never found that particular rule to lead
>me far wrong, in either life or fiction.

Hitler, Stalin, Voldemort and Pol Pot and brought up.  Am I to
understand that by 'villain' we're referring exclusively to
psychopaths and megalomaniacs?   Because otherwise this rule would
seem to leave one alarmingly vulnerable to underestimating the more
common or garden villans one might come across!  Not to mention, by
assuming they are irrational and stupid, being prone to not being
prepared for their evil schemes!  

*Sydney is downright concerned for poor innocent Lupinlore, so
defenseless against the patently sane, intelligent, and
all-too-motivated villains she comes across in daily life!*

Ooh, I am FAR to aware of my own potential for villany-- being very
attracted to money, power, and all the lovely things they bring-- to
make such a category mistake as to suppose my enemies are
fundamentally different than I am.  Sadly, my enemies also tend to be
less lazy than I am (pretty much anybody is less lazy than I am),
which generally tends to result in them winning.  


RE:  the whole issue of Dumbledore's preparedness to sacrifice his
life for strategic gain:

Ahem.  I can't BELIEVE nobody's brought this up:


"Yes..." said Ron softly, "It's the only way... I've got to be taken."

"NO!" Harry and Hermione shouted.

"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I
take one step forward and she'll take me -- that leaves you free to
checkmate the king, Harry!"

"But --"

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"

"Ron --"

"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!".

"There was no alternative.

"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go - now,
don't hang around once you've won."

He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced."



Let me see, that would be the second-to-last move? Because for some
reason it seems strangely relevant <g>.  The hilariousness of Snape
being the "White Queen" aside, of course. With a little recasting:


"Yes..." said Dumbledore softly, "It's the only way... I've got to be
taken."

"NO!" Snape shouted.

"That's war!" snapped Dumbledore. "You've got to make some sacrifices!
When the time comes you'll take me -- that leaves you free to
checkmate Voldemort, Severus!"

"But --"

"Do you want to stop Voldemort or not?"

"Albus--"

"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have won!".

"There was no alternative."



Well, Snape certainly didn't hang around.  Structure, people.  It's
all about the structure.

-- Sydney, feeling downright villainous after the perfect meal of rare
steak, a mess o'greens, and a dry martini