The Irma/Eileen Theory

[wynnleaf]

No: HPFGUIDX 164256


> lealess
>> What bothers me about this theory, however, is that it makes 
Snape's 
> return to Dumbledore less about remorse and more about 
opportunity, 
> and it makes Dumbledore more of a calculating manipulator of 
others.  
> Draco believed he could kill someone for his family, and acted on 
> that belief, until Dumbledore offered him another option.  If 
Draco 
> had accepted the offer, he would have "owed" Dumbledore 
something.  
> It is probably in Dumbledore's nature to let people make 
choices... 
> on the other hand, the argument he had with Snape in the forest 
shows 
> he does not really let go once a promise has been made.  And 
Snape, 
> for his part, may just be helping Dumbledore because it is 
> advantageous to his family, not because he really wants to make 
> amends for past actions or work for good.  It's a kind of 
> blackmail/deal-making on both Dumbledore's and Snape's parts, and 
> less mercy-second chances-risks voluntarily taken on.

Let's suppose for a moment that Irma=Eileen and that Dumbledore 
arranged this "wizarding protection program" for Snape's mother.  
That doesn't mean that the concern you outline above holds true.

In comparing Draco's situation and Dumbledore's offer to him to 
Snape's situation, there are some *key* differences.  

1.  At least by later in HBP, Draco did not want to fulfill his 
mission any more (perhaps just out of frustration for the 
difficulty), but he felt *forced* to continue in order to protect 
his parent's lives.  We have no indication in the series that 
Voldemort ever tried to hold the safety of Snape's mother or parents 
over his head as a threat.  By OOTP and HBP, Voldemort seems to 
trust Snape without any need to threaten him, nor is there any 
reference to earlier times when Voldemort *didn't* trust Snape and 
had to force him to comply.

2.  If Draco had quickly taken Dumbledore up on his offer (and 
assuming they could escape the Death Eaters), the offer was 
essentially to hide both Draco and his mother.  There was no offer 
to "work for me and I'll protect your mother."  So if one was 
drawing a direct parallel to Snape, there would be a similar offer 
for him -- no "I'll protect your mother if...."

Besides, Dumbledore said that Snape's return to him was due in some 
way to his regret over Voldemort's targeting the Potters.  This 
strongly implies that Snape was regreting something about the 
effects of his actions, not simply regreting a danger to dear old 
mom.

My thought has been that if Dumbledore was hiding Eileen, it would 
have occurred something like this:  Snape came back to Dumbledore 
and professed his regret over Voldemort targeting the Potters.  
Somehow, between them, Dumbledore and Snape decided that Snape would 
spy on Voldemort for the Order.  *However* if Snape had ever been 
discovered as a spy, it could place any of his loved ones in supreme 
danger.  That being a concern in Snape's spying for Dumbledore, the 
problem was solved by somehow faking Eileen's death (which meant, by 
the way, that she had to leave all her possessions including books 
at Spinners End), and giving her a new name, job, and life at 
Hogwarts as Irma Pince.

This would be a partial reason for Dumbledore's trust in Snape -- 
that Snape trusted Dumbledore with his mother's safety.  But it 
means that there's still a greater reason for Dumbledore's initial 
trust in Snape and his decision to use him as a spy in the first 
place.


> Another theory is that Irma/Eileen went to Dumbledore to save her 
> son, much as Narcissa went to Snape to save her son -- a story of 
> mother love, without the sacrifice Lily made of her own life, and 
> without the potential sacrifice of another that Narcissa 
engineered.  
> Under this theory, Snape accepted the brokered deal, for whatever 
> reason he may have had.

Can't see why Snape would do this.  If he was loyal to Voldemort, 
his mother would be in little danger -- well, especially if Tobias 
were already out of the picture.  Why would he need to protect her 
by switching sides?  How would she be able to convince him to switch 
sides?

> 
> None of this says that Snape didn't feel genuine remorse over his 
> actions as a Death Eater and the revelation and subsequent 
> interpretation of the Prophecy.  But, while the Irma/Eileen theory 
> explains many things, and perceiving the motive to save a family 
> might be the only way Harry can ever forgive Snape, it still 
throws 
> Snape into a non-redeemable area for me.  His actions, while they 
can 
> be perceived as self-sacrificing, can also be seen as selfish -- 
not 
> that saving your family is the worst motive in the world.

First, I think we can be fairly certain that if Pince=Prince, Snape 
*is* on the right side -- not because of plot proofs, but just 
because there's practically no other reason for JKR to do that 
unless as supporting evidence for Snape.

But I certainly don't agree that a revelation that she's his mother, 
and that Dumbledore has been protecting her, somehow means that 
Snape only went over to Dumbledore *in order* to protect her.

Like I said, if Snape had been loyal to Voldemort, there's little 
reason for his mother to have been in danger from Voldemort.  The 
more likely danger to her would be if Snape was *already* switching 
sides to Dumbledore and was concerned about her safety in the very 
real possibility that Voldemort discovered he was a spy.

In that case, Snape turned away from Voldemort for other reasons -- 
regret over the Potters, or general regret over getting involved 
with LV in the first place -- and simply needed Dumbledore to hide 
his mother so that Snape would be free of worry for her as he spied 
on Voldemort.

wynnleaf