Of Sorting and Snape

[lizzyben04]

No: HPFGUIDX 175380

> zgirnius:
> I loved that about the memories, myself. My very favorite being 
the 
> inclusion of Snape's first meeting with Dumbledore. Yeah, Sev, way 
to 
> convince Harry you're a good guy - feature that scene where 
Dumbledore 
> is disgusted with you because you could not care less about James 
and 
> Harry.
> 
> If Rowling intended the inclusion of the 'bad' elements to be a 
turn-
> off, she failed with me. The memories have a confessional sort of 
> nature (they are far more information than Harry needs, and they 
tell 
> the story of Snape's life, really). And that they do not show 
Snape in 
> a completely perfect light makes them seem honest. Presumably 
those 
> memories, warts and all, were chosen within the story *by Snape*, 
> whatever reasons Rowling had for writing them.
>

lizzyben:

Well, there's two levels here - the actual story itself, and the 
meta level. I'm pretty much sticking to the meta level, cause I find 
it so facinating. At the story level, Snape had reasons for 
including the memories he did, and it was quite touching - I loved 
that Snape, alone, finally provided Harry with the truth. And the 
fact that he gave all those memories did show a trust in Harry that 
Snape would have denied. He did care what Harry thought of him. I 
also totally sympathised w/poor Snape in those memories, and they 
did have a confessional quality - Snape confessing his sins to 
receive absolution. Combined w/"look at me" - it's Snape's plea to 
finally be seen and understood. I got that. It's touching.

But on the meta level, it's horrible. Because, ultimately, it's JKR 
selecting those memories, and she's selecting those memories for a 
reason. There's an agenda here, IMO.(Warning: here's where this post 
stops making sense - this is just my reaction to the chapter).

OK. There is a story here, but I felt like the author's dislike for 
the character got in the way of telling that story in an effective 
way. Because in this chapter, I could hear the Author practically 
screaming in my ear, and the author was saying "EWWWWW!" First, 
little Snape is always described in the most unflattering, off-
putting possible way - he looks "greedily", he's watching Lily 
through the bushes like a stalker, he's wearing weird clothes & has 
dirty hair. EWWWWWW! He's pathetic, he's desperate for friends, but 
he's nasty and mean too. EWWWWW! At the age of nine, he's already a 
bad kid - he drops branches and wants Lily to be in (gasp) 
Slytherin! EWWWWW! He wants to be friends with Lily, but he's 
defending Mulciber! EWWWW! He's crying over Lily's letter, & ripping 
up a photo! EWWWWW! Even his love is twisted & wrong! And etc. By 
the time I reached the scene where DD/JKR tells pathetic, wretched 
Snape "you disgust me," I just wanted to rush into the story and 
say "OMG, OMG leave him alone already!" 

Those memories pounded in, again & again, that no, Snape actually 
had no inherent moral compass at all. And the break-up of the 
friendship was totally his own fault. And his love was obsessive and 
weird, because Slyths can't have normal relationships. And he hated 
Harry for no reason! And the only morals he ever got were from Lily 
& DD - his exposure to the golden glow of Gryffindor goodness 
diverted him from his natural selfish slimy Slytherin ways. And, 
most importantly, he didn't really change. Because people can't 
really change in this universe. Snape tries, he really tries, but he 
fails because of his naturally bad Slytherin character. It's a 
redemption story without a redemption. This is reinforced by the way 
Snape dies, and is left in the shack as worthless. How we never see 
any sign that Snape gets an afterlife (unlike the Elect). How Snape 
is never given forgiveness or absolution before his death. He is, 
still, judged by the Author as unworthy.

>From a Calvinist perspective, Snape was damned from the moment he 
entered Slytherin house, actually from the moment he was born, & 
nothing he did could really change that. That's why each memory 
shows him doing something "bad", from nine years old - reinforcing 
the Calvinist message that he was effectively born bad. This is why 
we shouldn't feel bad when he is sorted to the House for bad 
children. Lily couldn't help him, nobody could help him, because no 
one can change who they are. (This goes back to the agonized child 
we're not supposed to help in King's Cross). It's a totally harsh & 
deterministic view of human nature, but that's what's offered. 
Basically, I've just been trying to figure out if Snape gets to go 
to heaven. And based on the cosmology of the Potterverse, it seems 
like the answer is no. That breaks my heart, for real.


lizzyben