Would Harry forgiving Snape be character growth for him? Re: CHAPDISC: HBP 29,

[julie]

No: HPFGUIDX 164111


>
> Betsy Hp:
> I guess the problem is that I don't see forgiveness figuring into 
the 
> story if Snape is ESE.  What has he done to invite forgiveness at 
> this point?  How is Harry being pushed towards forgiving him?  Do 
you 
> feel that Harry's main goal for DH should be to chase down Snape, 
> forgive him, and I guess through the power of his patented Harry-
love 
> turn Snape towards redemption? Because I don't see any hint of this 
> being a theme in the books.
> 
> Va32h (Barbara) wrote:
> 
> Forgiveness is about the one who is forgiving, not the one who is 
> forgiven. 
> 
> Snape and Voldemort are as screwed up as they are because they 
could 
> NOT forgive, never forgive. They couldn't forgive their mothers for 
> being weak, nor their fathers for being Muggles, nor whatever fate 
> gave them the lives they were handed.
> 
> In Snape's case, he also has the additional ludicrous childhood 
> grudge against the Marauders that he stubbornly hangs on to. And 
> Voldemort is exactly the type to remember and nurture any slightest 
> wrong. 
> 
> Harry needs to forgive for Harry's sake - so that he too is not 
> consumed by his hatred and need for revenge. Snape does not need to 
> invite Harry's forgiveness, he doesn't even need to accept it, or 
> even know about it. 
> 
> I don't expect Harry to invest himself in forgiving Snape in DH. 
But 
> at some point in the story, yes, I do think that Harry cannot 
remain 
> pure of soul if he does not forgive. 
> 
> Will he also forgive Voldemort? Probably not, that is too much to 
ask 
> of anyone. But I do think that for Harry to successfully vanquish 
> Voldemort, he must do it out of a desire to save the wizarding 
world, 
> and not out of a desire to avenge. And part of letting go of that 
> vengeance is in letting go of past hurts. Hating Snape will not 
bring 
> Dumbledore back. Forgiving Snape won't either, but it will remove a 
> burden from Harry's soul. Hate requires too much energy to sustain.
> 
> As for forgiveness not being a theme in the books - I'm sitting 
here 
> totally kerflummoxed at that! It seems to be all over the books to 
> me! 
> 

Julie:
What Barbara said, especially that forgiveness is all about
the one doing the forgiving. While forgiveness *can* benefit
the forgiven (if he/she truly desires that forgiveness), it
ALWAYS benefits the forgiver (relieving a burden from the
soul). That's why I want to see Harry forgive Snape. For
Harry. Not for Snape. 

To add a note for Alla, I do think Harry can gain something
from forgiving an ESE!Snape, just as he could from forgiving
Peter Pettigrew, the Malfoys, the Dursleys, Voldemort, etc.
But the simple truth is, it's a much BETTER story if Harry
forgives a DDM!Snape, with all his shades of grey, the guy 
capable of doing good things for the right reasons, but
equally capable of falling prey to his worst instincts.
It's a better story if Harry recognizes his hatred of
Snape is out of proportion to the man's crimes (at this
moment I'm leaving open the question of whether killing
Dumbledore was outright murder or not), especially when
compared to the other characters who have done Harry
much worse wrongs, like Voldemort (who actually did
kill Harry's parents), Bellatrix (who actually did kill
Sirius), Peter (who actually did betray Harry's parents
knowingly and without compunction), etc. It's a better
story if Snape isn't one of a dozen one-dimensionally
(or nearly so) evil characters like the aforementioned
baddies, because why do we want one more ESE character
when we can have a much more complex DDM character (who
is not--NOT NOT NOT--all good or saintly by any means)?

That's the main reason why I would hate to see Snape
as ESE, or anything but the bitter, sarcastic, mean,
vindictive, miserable but resolute DDM I believe he is.
ESE guts the character, and hurts the story. That's it.

IMO, of course,

Julie