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

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 187425

> Montavilla47:
> I'll agree that he thought he was superior to both muggles and 
> muggle-born.  But that doesn't mean he hates them.  That's 
> because I'm drawing a line between contempt and hate.  But I 
> don't want to insist on that line.  If you choose to put contempt 
> and hatred in the same basket, then it's hate.  I just don't see
> those two things as exact equivalents.

Magpie:
FWIW, I don't consider them equivalents either. I get the impression that Snape joined the DEs more for the feeling of power and belonging and all that that it offered rather than the chance to punish muggles or muggleborns. His contempt made it easy to accept that side of it, but I doubt it was the big appeal. 

Snape might have had some personal anger surrounding Muggles or Muggleborns due to his father, but I don't remember any canon that pointed to that being a big motivation for him. He seemed far more motivated by Lily than anything to do with his parents or his background. I mean, I think blood was something he was aware of just the way he was aware of himself as a Wizard and so superior to Petunia and bonded to Lily, but it wasn't his central conflict.

-m