[HPforGrownups] Snape's Rage at Being Called Coward : Brave Snape

[Lenore]

No: HPFGUIDX 171935


>Vivamus:
> > He fully expects to die doing what he believes is right, damned
> > forever with no redemption by everyone on both sides, including Harry.
> >   It is probably the bravest act by any character in the entire series,
> > for he cannot even take comfort in being called a hero when he dies.

Lenore:  Outstanding interpretation!

>Jadon:
>Is that bravery or self-sacrifice for a noble cause? It _involves_
>bravery - I don't think Snape can be called a coward for an instant;
>whatever side he's on, he's in the thick of it. Plenty of enemies,
>and he's just killed the wizard who believed in him. The coward stays
>out of the war, the Gryffindor scrapes through to victory at great
>personal risk, the Slytherin operates by preference from a safe
>distance, but he'll walk in and sacrifice everything to the cause if
>he considers it necessary. Consideration, planning is the key.
>Slytherin doesn't require glory; it requires results. It might
>involve what a Gryffindor would call cowardice (and all Harry's doing
>in this scene is trying to get a rise out of Snape; Snape thinks he
>has better options), or it might involve outright daring, but it's
>unlikely to be showy, and I this is one thing Snape is very touchy
>about: he does believe, to whatever extent, that Harry is arrogant
>and likes to show off. Perhaps he really does want the recognition
>Harry gets, feeling he deserves the glory. He doesn't appreciate that
>luck is a quality of Harry's as putting effort in and working for
>results is a quality of his own.
>
>If Snape does have a plan to save the world, where does that leave
>Harry, our designated hero? If there's a possibility that Snape is
>_competing_ with Harry to save the world first, he has to fail; it's
>unthinkable that anyone other than Harry should defeat LV, and that
>would be too tragic an ending: sacrifice everything, all for nothing,
>because Harry's just defeated the Dark Lord on sheer unworked-for
>brilliance.

Lenore:
IMO, you have written one of the most sensitive and perceptive 
delineations of Snape's character that I have ever read.  It has 
helped me to see why there is so much in the "good, brave" Snape that 
I can identify with in myself, e.g. "Slytherin doesn't require glory; 
it requires results"; "might involve what a Gryffindor would call 
cowardice"; "it's unlikely to be showy"; and he is touchy about 
arrogance and glory seekers.  He is not afraid to die but neither 
would he take needless or stupid risks. He has foresight; he would 
always be able to think twelve steps ahead and be prepared for it... 
and he wouldn't miss much.

I had a flash that Gryffindor is the exact shadow side to Slytherin, 
and vice versa.  That's one reason they detest each other so 
much.  They just cannot understand or feel respect for each other's 
modus.  Indeed, it seems to me that Gryffindors would have difficulty 
surviving at all if it were not for their vaunted innate luck factor 
(evil grin).  And yes, this would surely add to Snape's bitter 
feeling toward them.

However, if my strong intuitive reaction to your post is accurate, I 
do not believe Snape would be competing with Harry or even that he 
wants recognition in the same sense that a Gryffindor would want 
it.  Snape wants respect. He is willing to do what others would not 
do, but he would like the others to realize, just a little bit, what 
it is like for him and what the cost really is.  (Granted, there is 
some subjectivity in my view in this paragraph...)

Lenore (who identifies with Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, but 
not much with Gryffindor)