Reasons for reactions to Snape (was: Reactions to Snape's death)

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 175777

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Judy" <judy at ...> wrote:
<SNIP>
> Thanks, Alla, for answering my question.  So, if I understand you 
> correctly, what makes you hate Snape is primarily how he treated 
> Harry, especially since (by giving the prophecy to Voldemort) 
Snape 
> contributed to Harry's being an orphan. You also feel that if 
Snape 
> were truly remorseful for giving Voldemort the prophecy, he would 
> have behaved (and felt) differently towards Harry.  Have I gotten 
> this right?

Alla:

Yes, absolutely. But also the way he treated Neville is the 
important part of why I eventually came to hate him. But it started 
with that, yes. I mean started with how he treated Harry and Neville.


JudySerenity: 
> I think that one reason I see Snape so differently is that I never 
> perceived him as hating Harry. Yes, I knew that Harry believed 
Snape 
> hated him, but Harry was often wrong about Snape's motivations and 
> intentions, starting from Book 1 and continuing until Snape's 
death.  
> So, I figured Harry was probably wrong in thinking that Snape 
hated 
> him.  I did perceive Snape as disliking Harry a lot, but I never 
saw 
> Snape as HATING Harry. 
<SNIP>


Alla:

You see, I always trusted Harry's view enough and no matter what did 
not put much emphasis on **Harry's filter**. Not that I thought that 
Harry was not making mistakes in evaluating what's going on and as 
we know he did, but I always trusted him describing facts rather 
accurately and with the amount of information he had ( which is 
often incomplete), he made correct conclusions and wrong ones too.

But I was often willing to make mistakes along the way of Harry's 
journey, if that makes sense.

So, yeah, I trusted Harry on his conclusion that Snape hates him. It 
is like if we take first lesson, would the fact of Snape asking 
Harry those obnoxious questions change if say Draco Malfoy would be 
describing it?

Sure, Draco malfoy would give those facts different emotional 
colouring, but I always felt that facts of Snape doing what he did 
to Harry, Neville, Hermione would be same, filter or no filter.

But here is another confession to make - for quite some time when I 
still had some sympathy for Snape as character, I wanted that to be 
true, I wanted that to be seen that Snape does not hate Harry.

I used to say that I have love/hate relationship with Snape's 
character, it is probably turned to hate by the end of book 5, I 
think.

JudySerenity:
> As for Snape's role in making Harry an orphan, I am a very long-
time 
> believer in the theory that Snape loved Lily. <SNIP> 

Alla:

Well, I am not as long believer in it as you, but thank goodness I 
have preDH posts to prove it, that I was also saying that LOLLIPOPS 
in some variety are coming for quite some time. I mean, not that I 
LIKED them coming, I just thought that it is a pretty strong clue 
that Snape only was badmouthing James and never sad a bad word about 
Lily, never ever.

So, I hated them, but yes, expected very much for them to come, sort 
of resolved myself to it for the last year or so.

I was hoping for pure obsession though, for Snape not only 
bargaining with Voldemort, but being there in GH and asking Lily to 
step aside too and watching her die.

Oh well, I am quite Okay with how it played out, really.


JudySerenity:
One important factor in my feelings towards Snape is that I always 
> thought that he wanted to save Harry for Harry's own sake.  When I 
> read in Book 7 that Snape was only saving Harry for Lily's sake, I 
> was really surprised.  Had I known this all along, it would 
probably 
> have made me like Snape less, although I think I would still have 
> liked him some. 
><SNIP>


Alla:

Hee, and as I wrote to zgirnius, I am pretty convinced that Snape 
did not give a fig for Harry as a person till the end.

But there is opposing POV too, but here the text for me is clear 
enough and I am happy that JKR expressed her intent to be exactly 
that, even though I know for many readers it does not matter - the 
intent I mean.

It matters for me if nothing else, but as extra support for my 
interpetation.

JudySerenity: 
> Of course, this raises the question of why I believed that Snape 
> actually had concern for Harry, rather than just wanting to save 
him 
> because Lily wanted Harry to live.  This is complicated, so I'll 
make 
> a separate post about that later.
><SNIP>


Alla:

Cannot wait to read it :)