Snape's Psychology: WAS: More thoughts on the Elder Wand subplot - Owner?

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 187518

> zanooda:
> Oh, Alla, I never expected you to agree with me :-). Actually, I 
> don't think anyone will :-). That's not why I wrote my post, see.
>  It was just something that was bugging me for a long time and I
> was tempted to write about it many times, but I never did, because 
> it doesn't change much, you know? I mean, this way or another Snape
> didn't care what happens to James and Harry, right? But the list is 
> quiet at the moment, so I thought I could finally get it off my 
> chest and forget about it :-).

Jen: I understand what you're saying zanooda.  Snape never actually makes his request in his own words, something I never noticed until you brought it up.  He's distraught, responding to Dumbledore's assumptions. DD implies Snape only wants to save Lily, and Snape appears to agree with DD's wording, but he's also obsessing about Lily's safety and barely paying attention to Dumbledore imo.  To paraphrase, Snape is saying, 'I want Lily to live' rather than 'I want James and Harry to die.'  

That's the perfect moment for Snape to start ranting about James, denouncing him for not be able to protect Lily, ranting about how James and his good-for-nothing son deserve to die.  He doesn't do that though.  His only focus is Lily and James/Harry are an afterthought, an unusual moment given the Snape/James dynamic up to that point.


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at ...> wrote:
> That brings up another question though: why did Dumbledore
> phrase it that way, in *exchange* for Harry?? Snape already
> said Voldemort intended to hunt down all three of the Potters.
> There's no 'exchanging' Lily for Harry if all three are meant
> to die.


zanooda:
Maybe "in exchange for the son" means something like "in exchange for the information about the son" here? Meaning that LV agreed to spare Lily as a thanks for Snape's information about the prophecy baby? If it wasn't Snape who brought this information to LV, he wouldn't dare to ask for a favor, I guess ... :-).

Jen: That sounds plausible.  It rubs me the wrong way that LV would grant Snape a favor after getting the information he needed from Snape; it doesn't fit Voldemort's psychological profile -  too altruistic.  The proof is in the story though, when he asks Lily to step aside.  I suppose Snape going to Dumbledore proves his master's altruistic moments are unreliable at best.