CHAPDISC HBP 15, The Unbreakable Vow

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 152114

> > SSSusan:
> <SNIP>
> > I mean, I'm convinced he's DDM!, and I find him a fascinating
> person, but I definitely don't like the guy.  I *might* by the end of Book
> 7, but that's TBD.  So when I read about him being given a bit of a
> hard time, I tend to think things like, "See how it feels??"
> 
> Alla:
> 
> If we multiply yours "see how it feels??", we will get my
> reaction. :)

Pippin:
If we go by the Pensieve scene, Snape does know how it feels. I
think, in a way, it's Harry who doesn't know how it feels. His reaction
to humiliation is anger and helplessness, but he's never, ever felt
like a worthless loser. He's only come close when he's blaming himself for
failing to rescue Sirius, but he numbs that feeling with anger. Snape
has been doing the same thing, IMO, but for much longer.

I think, to draw this together with the hero-types thread, that this
is a vicious cycle, like Rick's drinking in Casablanca. Rick drinks to
numb his feelings of worthlessness, but it makes him feel more
worthless to know he's a drunkard. Snape numbs his feelings of
worthlessness with anger and punishments, (which he thinks are
righteous and deserved)  but it makes him feel more worthless 
when they seem to have no effect except to make Harry and
Neville more resistant to his teaching.

I think this  feeling of worthlessness goes back to the attempt on 
Snape's life which was treated as a joke, and that should this
be resolved in Book Seven, the reader will finally understand 
Snape, while Snape will be able to break the cycle of anger.

Pippin