Snapey-poo, Sticky-goo, and Mary-sue (was Re: Would Harry forgiving Snape)

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 164309



Carol:
> > Killing him [Snape] would be both unoriginal and unimaginative. 
> 

Eggplant:
> So not killing him [Snape] would be original and imaginative? 


Now Lupinlore:

Well, I guess all approaches to this are completely subjective, as 
that is really the only way, at base, to approach an imaginary 
world.  We aren't dealing with celestial mechanics here.  The orbit 
of Mars can be measured objectively.  The trajectory of an imaginary 
character cannot.

Having said that, I think any expectations based on JKR 
being "original" in her basic plot structure are dangerous.  To 
borrow language from Nora, I'll see your "unoriginal and 
unimaginative" death of Snape and raise you about a million horrified 
Harry/Hermione shippers who swore that JKR would NEVER do something 
so "predictable" and "boring" as pairing Harry up with Ron's little 
sister.  Then I'll double with a few million enraged Dumbledore fans 
who declared that killing off Harry's mentor would be "ordinary" 
and "expected" and, yes, "unimaginative."  JKR is deeply enthralled 
to ordinary literary patterns -- indeed slavishly so when it comes to 
basic narrative.  As she herself said, for instance, DD had to die 
because "the old wizard with the beard always dies in this kind of 
story."

On the subject of Harry and his involvement in the death of Snapey-
poo, that I don't expect.  It would be a break with narrative 
tradition that would be uncharacteristic of JKR.  Instead, I think 
Voldy is the most likely candidate for Snapey-poo-exterminator.  
Whatever alphabetical flavor of Snapey-poo comes out in DH, at some 
point Voldy, bless his little paranoid heart, will probably decide, 
rightly or wrongly, that the potions master has betrayed him.  At 
that point, Snapey-poo's vaunted knowledge of the Dark Arts and 
dueling skills will be badly overmatched and, lacking Harry's special 
powers, Snapey-poo will be reduced to Sticky-goo.

About the only way a character such as Snapey-poo could escape 
Gooification would be if he was in some way deeply iconic for the 
author -- a kind of Mary Sue (or, I suppose, Gary Stu in this case).  
But JKR already has her Mary Sue in Hermione, who thus escapes 
backlash from her actions, and her Gary Stu in Harry, who will emerge 
triumphant in the end.  Snapey-poo, like DD, is only a supporting 
character, as much plot-device as anything else.  And like DD, he 
will probably be discarded once his purpose has been served.  And 
that is just as well for JKR, since anyone who would use Snapey-poo 
as an iconic character would be in an ... unenviable ... state of 
existance.


Lupinlore, who wishes the woman would just hurry up and get the 
dratted thing out, since the longer she delays the more shades of 
the "three year summer," and thus the catastrophe of OOTP, get aroused