Why Snape's love for Lily was real

[njelliot2003]

No: HPFGUIDX 173601

Julie
I liked your analysis of Snape and I'd like to contribute a couple of 
thoughts of my own. I'd like to examine Snape's motives for taking on 
the role of spy. I don't believe it was purely for revenge of 
Voldermort and love of Lily. Snape was attracted to the role of double 
agent for both those motives and because he showed he was, in a sense, 
greater than Voldermort. He bested him - V never discovered the traitor 
in his midst. 

Being a doulbe agent takes enormous courage which is why he screamed at 
Harry in HBP for calling him a coward "I AM NOT A COWARD". But I 
believe a more important reason for his spying is that Snape wanted to 
prove to himself (and to others eventually) that he was a good a wizard 
as V. He wasn't bad enough to be Voldermort, but he wanted to be 
somebody. He'd been a loser, a loner and an object of ridicule all his 
life, why wouldn't he want to stick it up his enemies. The man had 
talents. He was a very good wizard (witness his potions textbook - I 
imagine him to be as talented as DD and V and Grindelwald) but his 
attraction for the dark arts was destructive - it caused him to lose 
Lily and it overcame any leanings he may (should) have had to become 
the greatest potioneer of the age if he had been a man with a better 
moral fibre. 

Unfortunately his moral compass was not strong, whether due to his 
inheritance or his unfortunate upbringing we don't know. Besting the 
evilest man around, and all his followers, was an incredible 
achievement and perhaps in his mind he believed he was showing Lily 
what a talented and worthy man he was, as well as showing her that he 
had renounced his career as a deatheater by working towards their 
overthrow. 

However I don't think his morals for being a double agent were entirely 
pure. I believe he never fully let go of his attraction for the dark 
arts - it was satisfied by sitting at the right hand of Voldemort and 
by participating vicariously in their cruelty. He was having it both 
ways. If he couldn't give up the dark arts for Lily when she was alive 
then he certainly wouldn't when she was dead - he deluded himself if he 
thought his role as a double agent made him entirely noble in Lily's 
eyes. 

I guess that deluding yourself comes with the territory if you're a 
successful double agent. And deluding himself was one of his flaws - he 
thought he could have the dark arts and Lily - up until the moment she 
rejected him I'd guess. 

Severus Snape is a great fictional character. The debates for and 
against him in this forum prove that. 

Nicholas Elliot