Snape's mom-domestic abuse

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 159984

BAW wrote:
> > How do you know it was 'abuse'?  He was yelling at her, yes.  All 
> couples fight. <snip>

> 
> zgirnius:
> The bit that gets most people to the abuse conclusion is not that he
is yelling. I agree, that can absolutely be part of a relationship
which is basically sound. The problem is that the woman is 'cowering'.
Not just listening, or arguing, not yelling or throwing crockery
herself, but acting scared of the man.
>

Carol responds:
And note the resemblance in her behavior to that of Merope Gaunt, who
was terrifeid of her wizard father. I doubt that sullen-looking
ex-Gobstones champion Eileen Prince would be terrified of a Muggle,
especially if she was anywhere near as gifted as her son.

As I've said twelve million times (okay, slight exaggeration), surely
Harry would have noticed if the hook-nosed man in the memory was
dressed as a Muggle. I think it's at least as likely to be Grandpa
Prince (the Pureblood Prince, :-) ) as Muggle Tobias. The resemblance
to Snape would still be there, Eileen's terror would be accounted for,
and we'd have an explanation for little Severus's ability to learn
and/or invent so many hexes before he even went to school. He must
have been raised by his Prince relatives, whether or not he lived in
Spinner's End (which Snape could easily have acquired as an adult and
used only during the summers.)

Carol, who agrees that it was abuse (note not only the cowering woman
but the crying child) but doubts that the abuser is Muggle Tobias, who
must have been out of the picture quite early in Sevvie's life