Mourning Snape's life

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 183112

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Lynda Cordova" <sweenlit at ...> wrote:
>
> There was so much potential in Snape's life, but at every opportunity he
> chose the easy way, the way his family had taught him. And, considering that
> although he always went along with the pureblood philosophies, despite being
> halfblood himself, there was a lot of self-loathing he was dealing with
> too. Its sad, but also a good object lesson. A lot of people have similar
> attitudes and not everyone comes to understand the wrongness of them or if
> they do can overcome them to find a fuller life.
> 
> Lynda

Montavilla47:
I'll agree that Snape made the wrong choice in his teen years, but I don't agree
that he made easy choices.  He never had any easy choices. 

Also, we really don't know what his family taught him (beyond the knowledge 
that there were dementors at Azkaban). The only thing we know about his 
family was that his mother was a witch, his father was a muggle, and they didn't 
get along.

His love of the Dark Arts--was that a choice?  Do we choose the things we 
love to do in life?  That seems as silly as saying one chooses to the people
we are attracted to.  And, as we can see from his teaching and his healing,
an interest in the Dark Arts is not necessarily negative.  Had he not been
fascinated by curses and Dark Spells, Dumbledore and Katie Bell would have 
died much sooner.

His sorting into Slytherin.  Was that a choice?  He was glad to be there,
because he thought it was the House of Brains, but the Sorting Hat didn't
ponder, and Harry seems to be the first person to find out that you can
ask for a House.  It's not common knowledge.

The choice that Lily gave him was to give up his friends or to give up her.
His choice would have been to to give up neither.  But the choice she 
demanded was not easy.  To have chosen her would have meant being
targeted by two sets of bullies, instead of just one.  The bullies he did
have had already shown themselves capable of killing.  So were the 
ones he was friendly with.  

Should he have chosen Lily?  That would have been the morally right 
choice.  But it was a choice that would have cost him any peace of mind
during his final years at school--and it could easily have cost him his
life shortly afterward--as it did her.

Was joining the Death Eaters an easy choice for Snape?  I don't see
how it could possibly have been easy.  Their agenda was known.  And,
even if he disliked or even hated his father, he lived among muggles.
Did he hate them all?  His neighbors?  The kids he went to school
with for five years?  How could he hate all muggles when he knew 
Lily and knew her family?  

It was absolutely the wrong choice, but Snape wasn't Voldemort, 
who cared only about himself.  It couldn't have been an *easy* choice.

Once Snape realized that someone he loved was threatened, he 
started making very hard choices--and he kept on making 
them until he died.  

He chose to tell Dumbledore that the Potters had been targeted 
by Voldemort.  

He chose to do "anything" in return for Dumbledore protecting 
Lily.

He chose to continue protecting Harry after Dumbledore failed
him.

He chose to continue protecting Harry after realizing that he 
hated the brat.

He chose to make potions to help a man he had good reasons
to hate.

He chose to turn in to justice a man he had *every* reason to
hate, rather than take personal revenge.

He chose to spy on Voldemort, rather than running away or
staying in the protection of the school.

He chose to sacrifice his oldest friendships by lying to his
friends for Dumbledore.

He chose to save Dumbledore's life, and then he chose to
end it to save Dumbledore pain.

He chose to risk his life to protect the son of his friends.

He chose to play a role which would leave all decent 
people despising him, in order to protect the students
of Hogwarts from greater harm--knowing that he could
not possibly protect them completely.

He chose to sacrifice his most private memories in order to 
fulfill Dumbledore's plan.

Hard choices all.

Montavilla47