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

[julie]

No: HPFGUIDX 187557


> 
> Montavilla47:
> 
> Well, I guess we're just going over old ground, because I don't 
> find it that big a deal that Snape didn't specifically ask Dumbledore
> to protect James and Harry.  Nor do I think it that big a deal 
> that he didn't care enough about them to ask.  
> 
> Look, if Little Timmy goes up to Superman and says, "Oh,
> Superman!  Please stop that runaway train, my dog Skipper is
> on board," we don't fault him because he neglected to ask
> Superman to save the four thousand human passengers 
> who are also on board.  They are implied.  
> 
> As far as Timmy's concerned, if Superman swooped in and 
> got Skipper, leaving the others to their deaths, that would be 
> fine.  But we all know that Superman isn't going to go that, 
> he's going to go fix the bridge and save everyone.
> 
> Likewise, although Snape is only asking about the person
> he cares about, there isn't any way for Dumbledore to save
> Lily without saving Harry as well--although it's possible he 
> might leave James out in the open for Voldemort to pick off.
> 
> Of course, that's my feeling on the subject.  It's pretty
> obvious that we're meant to share Dumbledore's disgust
> about Snape's indifference to James and Harry.  And, 
> considering Dumbledore's indifference to the hundreds
> or thousands that might have died while Harry enjoyed 
> a blythe childhood at Hogwarts, that's pretty ironic.
> 

Julie:
In the scenes between Dumbledore and YoungAdult!Snape in
DH, I was never bothered by Snape's lack of concern for
James and Harry, for exactly the reason you outline above.
It is implied in Snape's request that Dumbledore will save
Harry and James--the entire family--even though Snape 
doesn't ask specifically and really doesn't care. The fact
that he doesn't care also makes sense to me, as Snape is a
willing DE, so it's reasonable that his change of heart in
general wil take place over a period of time, rather than as
some sudden epiphany.

What bothered me was Dumbledore's response. In every other 
confrontation with anyone acting on the "bad" side--Draco,
Voldemort/Tom, Lucius, Fudge, Umbridge, the Dursleys, etc--
Dumbledore delivers his condemnations in soft-spoken tones, 
using gentle admonishments to make his points and attempt
to alter behavior or attitudes. Except for with Snape here,
where he expresses extreme disgust rather than using his
typical method (for instance, Snape: "You must save Lily!!"
Dumbledore: "And I assume it will be all right with you if
I include her husband and son under my protection? Or shall
I abandon the family she loves to your master's amusement?"
Snape, sputtering: "I didn't--I--yes, yes, save them all!")

I agree that Dumbledore's open disgust was intended for the
readers to share, though I think JKR could have achieved the
same while leaving Dumbledore in character. It's not like
we missed anything about Umbridge's or Tom's or the Dursleys'
characters because Dumbledore didn't directly and loudly
announce his disgust.  

Julie, still not sure why JKR had Dumbledore treat Snape so
differently than he did anyone else in the books.