[HPforGrownups] Re: Cedric, Snape and carma was re: Chapter Discussion: Prisoner of Azkaban

[Margaret Fenney]

No: HPFGUIDX 190594

> > Pippin:
> > Snape never complains about having been rescued. His beef was not that
> James had saved him but that James was being given credit for it as a hero.
> From Snape's point of view it would be as if Draco > had pulled Harry from
> the flames (rather than vice versa), and everyone praised Draco while
> overlooking the fact that Draco and his friends had ambushed Harry and
> started the fire.
>
> >Nikkalmati:
> > Life debts are puzzling things. We are never given any hint that Snape
> ows a lift debt to James


Margie:
Doesn't Dumbledore say explicitly that Snape owes a life debt to James when
he first mentions James saving Snape?  I don't have the book handy but
that's how I remember it.

I agree with Pippin that Snape's greatest objection was that James was given
credit for it as though he did it for a noble reason when, to Snape, his
motivations were 100% selfish.

As to Snape, I would like to make an observation that hasn't been mentioned
before in this thread.  I don't think that there is any conflict between the
way that Snape treated Harry on a day-to-day basis and his protection of
Harry.  I don't think that Snape hated Harry (although he certainly didn't
like him) and I don't think he saw his treatment of Harry as being abusive
or harassing.  If you asked Snape about it, I think he would say that he was
doing it for the boys own good because he was pampered and over-praised and
spoiled by other people so he needed to have his head deflated some in order
to have a more realistic view of himself.  Snape was a born Geek of all
geeks in a world that didn't value geekiness or oily hair and he never
really understood or stopping resenting the fact that his strengths were not
what was valued in the WW and were not what made you popular or got you the
girl.   That whole scenario made up the glasses through which Snape saw
everything, including Harry.

I don't agree with Snape and certainly see his treatment of Harry as abusive
but I don't think he saw it that way himself at all.

I also have to say that I think the idea that Sirius was trying to kill
Snape when he told him about the Shrieking Shack is a major stretch.  Sirius
was being a typical teenager, except even more so because of his personality
- impulsive, given to strong emotion in the moment, giving no thought to
consequences - when he told that to Snape.  If Sirius had thought it through
to an end consequence - Snape's death - even momentarily, he would have also
grasped the consequences to his friends and I don't believe he hated Snape
more than he cared about his friends.  Snape and Sirius detested each other
but I honestly don't think that either of them had it in them to kill
someone who wasn't trying to kill them or someone dear to them.

The whole Sirius - Snape - James thing was a teenage event involving
immature boys.  As such I think the use of words like "evil" for the boys
themselves is extreme, as it would be if applied to the teenage Dumbledore.
Heaven knows I would hate to be judged by what I did or was capable of doing
when I was a teenager!   Misguided, emotional, unseeing, immature,
impulsive, and more I would agree with but evil?

JMO,

Margie