Why did Snape call Lily a 'Mudblood'?/ Drama triangle

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 177647

> lizzyben:
> 
> This scene actually does work for me & it makes sense from 
> a psychological standpoint. As I was flipping through a psych book 
> about "scapegoating" (regarding Slytherins), I came across an 
> interesting theory - it's called Karpman's drama triangle. And 
this 
> theory *perfectly* describes what happened in Snape's Worst Memory.

Magpie:
What a fascinating theory! It's funny because it totally goes along 
with something I've said for years, that I only now realize is 
exactly the same thing. I used to say that in the Potterverse there 
are essentially three types of people: bullies, victims and 
protectors from bullies. Only bullies and protectors are often the 
indistinguishable, and Victims grow into either one or the other.

I thought this because it seems like power is just such a motivating 
force in this universe, the thing everyone dances around. It very 
much relates to the definition of courage as well--courage implies 
power in terms of power over onesself. In DH when they're under 
Voldemort's thumb the Malfoys mostly lack the courage to throw off 
the victim role, unlike courageous Neville who stands up to the DEs 
without becoming a persecutor. Harry ultimately "defeats" both his 
bullies by rescuing them--it's not like he experiences that with one 
and then also gets on the receiving end by being rescued by someone 
he hates. (That issue is sidestepped with Snape--Snape's story is 
immediately something to taunt Voldemort about--not because he's got 
any reason to care about Snape emotionally, but it shows he made a 
mistake.)

That's a bit of a tangent, but anyway, yes, the books have always 
been obsessed with bullying and abuse. I would say the role of the 
Rescuer is elevated to the highest status, though I'm not sure if 
the mixed motivations are ever really acknowledged.

What do you think? Because I find myself always very suspicious of 
mixed motives in this area, but I'm not sure if they're 
intentionally there. To use another obvious example of the obsession 
with this dramatic triangle, was Snape wrong for resenting James for 
saving his life? Was it just a sign of his immaturity? Because 
ultimately that's rather what it seems like to me, given what we 
ultimately learned about the Prank and the way Lily was portrayed. 
(And maybe even the way Harry's "saving people thing" was never 
really deconstructed and...well, a ton of other things.) We could 
probably get into Peter's death there as well. Harry saves Peter who 
doesn't deserve it, which means he owes him and gets killed later. I 
personally didn't see much remorse in Peter, but that seemed to be 
the way Harry insisted it worked: Peter ultimately did acknowledge 
Harry as his noble rescuer and so felt remorse.

-m