Snape's Role

[teddyb142002]

No: HPFGUIDX 176436

I have found the many discussions of Snape on this forum to be
very interesting, and I'd like to add my two cents...

There is no doubt that Professor Snape is an interesting and
complex character.  He is obviously a very powerful wizard,
perhaps on the same plane as both Dumbledore and Voldemort.
How well and how ethically he uses his power could be a very
interesting debate, but I'm more interested in his role in the
story, and I think that his role sheds a lot of light on why
his character was written the way that it was.

For me, Snape was used to demonstrate the world defining power
of love. I'm not talking about love the emotion, but rather
about love the defining characteristic of the Harry Potter
series. Call it the essence of the world if you like. (I'm
composing a MUCH longer post about love as an essence.)

It is, in my view, Snape's love for Lily that allows her to
make the sacrifice that gives Harry his protection. Snape's
love for Lily is far from a perfect expression of love the
essence. Snape's love is selfish and disregards what Lily
holds dear. Let's face it, even if Voldemort had pushed Lily
out of the way and killed Harry, Lily would have NEVER returned
Snape's love. She may have loathed him even more.

Still, Snape's love, however imperfect, is enough to start
the cycle that leads to Voldemort's demise. It is his grief,
a powerful and purer expression of love, that galvanizes Snape
and gives him the courage to play his role. Snape's courage
throughout the story is also an expression of his love for Lily.
He is immensely brave, and this give a scope of the depth of his
love for Lily. His bravery is the fulcrum that balances the good
and evil in the story and allows the story to progress.

Voldemort's relationship with Snape underscores his inability to
understand love in any form. He misunderstands Snape's love for
Lily allowing her sacrifice to protect Harry. Voldemort is unable
to sense Snape's grief for Lily allowing him to become a double
agent. Voldemort is unable to recognize Snape's courage allowing
Snape to become one of his most relied upon lieutenants.

I still can't see Snape heroically, but I can acknowledge his
importance. It is readily apparent that he is capable of love
which is an accomplishment, considering that he didn't have
the happiest childhood. It is difficult to overlook his other
behavior, but one should also be careful to judge too harshly
one who is capable of love. After all, none of us has been able
to express love perfectly.

Ted