Did you LIKE Snape?

Mon Jun 16 13:31:46 UTC 2008

No: HPFGUIDX 183282

In post 183133

 "Mike" wrote:
> 
> But that wasn't my question, was it? ;-) I wanted to know if you 
> liked Severus Snape. I don't want to know if you liked having his 
> character in the books, I've already said that I liked having Snape 
> in the books and I hate the guy. I'm not really asking if you 
> sympathize or empathize with him. Heck, I sympathize with the young 
> Severus in the playground with Lily, per-Hogwarts. No, what I want 
to 
„« know is if you *liked* Severus? 

Potioncat:
Mike started this thread just as my RL went into warp drive. I've had 
time to read the responses, but no time to reply myself. I've given 
it some thought as I've rushed around preparing for company and end 
of school. It isn't an easy question to answer.

Severus Snape is still something of an enigma, so that those who 
would count him as friend don't agree on who the man was, and those 
who see him as foe, see him all together differently-- and as varied--
than the first group. So, if I answer, yes, I liked him, it wouldn't 
be same Snape that some of you see.

So, yes, I liked Snape. Now, that didn't surprise anyone, did it? 
Being fully in the fictional Potterverse, and meeting Snape in the 
way we all did, I liked him; not at first. Not till I realized he was 
up to something. I started to see that in most cases, when he was 
being snarky, he was also doing something else. (Guarding the halls, 
protecting Harry) At that point, I started enjoying his sarcastic 
humor, even as I winced at his treatment of the students. 

> Mike:
> If you were in the Potterverse, would you be mates with him? If 
your 
> answer is yes, is it unqualified? That is, would you have been 
mates 
> when he was just pre-Hogwarts, during Hogwarts as a student, only 
> after he returned to Dumbledore to plea for Lily's life, or do you 
> have no qualifications? If your answer is no, are there times in 
the 
> life of Severus Snape that you wouldn't have minded being around 
him? 

Potioncat:
You see, this does become difficult. I think it would depend on when 
I met him. If I had met Severus Snape, Death Eater, I would not have 
become his friend. In real life I avoided KKK members and those who 
had sympathies with them. (Hold the applause, it was nothing.) I did 
however, have friends who held prejudiced ideas.

If I had met him as an 11-year-old, I would have become his friend, 
or had I met him after LV's fall--and found later he had been a DE, I 
would be his friend. Actually, that's how it happened. We met the 
former DE and slowly learned about his past. I'm not sure what would 
have happened, if we had been friends and then I found out he had 
joined the DEs. And, I'm not sure if a friendship would have survived 
his use of Mudblood, but I don't think he arrived at Hogwarts using 
that word.

If we had been friends as youngsters I would die laughing at his 
barbs, and sometimes rebuke him. Wait a minute, maybe I would be more 
like Lupin, and not speak up. Can't really be certain of that one.

Snape's appeal lies in his thirst for knowledge with the subsequent 
magical skills and understanding. He invented spells. He knew 
potions. He appeared to be an outstanding Healer, a Dark Arts 
specialist, if you will. His appeal also lies in his courage and 
loyalty. There was something intriguing in someone who could behave 
so badly while doing the right thing.

> Mike:
> I have a particular revulsion for the Snape in PoA, in the 
Shreiking 
> Shack scene. I've expounded on that enough, I won't continue to 
bore 
„« you. Funnily enough, I was most entertained by Snape in PoA, too.

Potioncat:
The Shrieking Shack scene is one in which friends and foe interpret 
very differently. We all wonder how the other side comes to their 
conclusions. So I won't go into it either. The scene that concerned 
me--as a Snape friend--happened later. Snape's conversation with 
Fudge bothered me a great deal. However, it makes more sense now. 

> Mike:
> I get that some people identify with Snape, just like lots of 
people 
> identified with Harry and I identified with Sirius. Did that make 
you 
„« like Severus, or understand him, or both?

Potioncat:
I used to think that the readers who liked James and Sirius had been 
the kids who had the upper hand at school, the jocks, the practical 
jokers, the in-crowd. The ones who disliked the Marauders or who 
liked Snape (not necessarily the same group) were the kids who were 
picked on or overlooked in general. But I don't think that's 
necessarily true. Many readers liked the Marauders before SWM, and 
continued liking them. Others stopped liking them.  Sometimes you can 
forgive a friend for something that you wouldn't forgive of a 
stranger or an acquaintance.

Several have posted that they would have wanted Severus as a friend, 
but he might not choose them. I don't think so. Young Severus was 
desperate for friends. I think he would have responded to gestures of 
friendship, particularly where the interests were similar.

>Mike also wrote, and I moved the statement:
> If you wanted to be more than mates with Severus, umm, ... I don't 
„« want to know! ;-)

Potioncat:
LOL!  Severely Sigune and I both write fan-fiction. We used to laugh 
at some of the Snape-romance fics. The only thing most Romance!Snapes 
had in common with Canon!Snape was the name. So I set up a challenge 
to write a believable romance for Snape. She popped one out fairly 
quickly. Very good, and I'll recommend it to anyone who asks. But I 
never could write one. I could not work out what kind of romantic or 
domestic relationship Snape would be able to maintain. I came close 
once, but HBP came out and blew the plot out of the water. JKR said 
that a romance could have developed between Lily and Severus, and 
it's telling that their friendship lasted as long as it did. So there 
is something positive to Snape, not seen on the page. (When I 
typed 'developed' the first time, the spellcheck wanted to make 
it 'devoted'. Maybe that's the answer. He would be devoted.)

Yes, well. As I hurried about RL, not able to reply, I thought about 
Mike's post a lot. In fact the question spun around in my head to the 
music from Fiddler on the Roof. A FILK began to form. Of course, I 
didn't have time to writ a FILK. By the time I had time, the thread 
had started to wind down. It wouldn't be worth it to try to work out 
meter and verse now. But here's the rough version that grew in my 
head, to the tune of "Do you love me?" sung by Tevye and Golde, or 
rather 'Did you Like Snape' sung by Mike and Potioncat.