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

[jhenderson9]

No: HPFGUIDX 177866


"Carol" wrote:
> We could easily explain the whole Gryffindor mentality, from James's
> imaginary raised sword to Harry's "saving people thing" to Hermione's
> attempts to solve every problem without consulting anybody to a strong
> desire to be the "Rescuer" mixed with a less conscious desire to be
> the "Persecutor" (James's bullying, Harry's desire for revenge against
> Snape

The fact that it was Snapes Worst Memory (SWM) can't be emphasized
enough in understanding how all the elements from the scene tie in
together. I was quite surprised that Book 7 did not explain more and
even put James in a much better light [Rescuer vs Persecutor]. Since
there was none, that does leave lots of room for speculation.

Beginning with the Levicorpus spell rather than the exchange of
name-calling, a key to the scene being SWM may come in answering the
question, "If Snape invented Levicorpus as a non-verbal spell, how did
James Potter know it was Snape who was using it and then learn its
secret to be able to use it himself?

Lupin told Harry that spell popularity comes and goes, and the
Levicorpus spell became quite popular. For the scene to be SWM,
however, it must not yet have been popular or Snape's humiliation
would not have been so keen.  The fact that Snape was livid about it ,
may not just have been that he was embarrassed in front of the whole
school, but that he was revealed as its creator and had his own spell
used against him. Perhaps Snape had used Levicorpus several times, but
since it was non-verbal and he was so secretive, I suggest that not
only was he was never detected before, perhaps wasn't even suspected.
James, by exposing Snape and his secret, would not be such the bully
after all that Harry seems to take from the scene. James still
wouldn't be quite heroic, but he could be more justified for revealing
the culprit. Especially if afterwards he shares the spell so that, as
Lupin reports, it then became widely popular.

I can't think of many good theories of how James would have acquired
the spell, other than either that James or another Marauder stole the
book (which seems unlikely) or that Snape confided in Lilly, and she
shared it with James. With the latter explanation, the scene being a
"worst memory" is even more emphasized, because Snape would have felt
not just embarrassed but betrayed. Betrayal, not humiliation could
have prompted the response of Mudblood name-calling. 

jhenderson