Snape's Backsid-- er, BacksLide

[Judy]

<looks up, peers around eagerly>
Snape, Snape?  Did I hear someone say Snape?

Kelley wrote:
> Just idly curious, to the folks for whom Snape is their biggest 
> interest -- lately, due to both comments JKR's made on her site and 
> in chats, I'm coming more to the idea that he's going to turn 
> out ESE after all (hm, or maybe he'll just backslide a bit).  No 
> idea how many people already feel this way, but if he does turn out 
> to be a bad guy after all, how would that affect your affinity for
> him?

Hmmm.... if Snape turns out to be ESE, I will just have to sadly 
conclude that JKR failed to understand him.  (How's that for 
subverting the canon?) 

I'm not sure that JKR's comments mean that Snape is ESE.  I do think 
she intended him to be an unlikable person -- bitter, vindictive, and 
so forth -- and that she's perplexed by his many fans. She doesn't 
understand that we want to *save* him!  Snape clearly just needs my --
 er, I mean, *some* good woman's love.  (BTW, I'm not attracted to 
Alan Rickman, although he is a good actor. Too old to play Snape, 
though, I'd say.) 

In JKR's recent question-and-answer session, she was really dismayed 
about all the women who are attracted to Snape, Draco, and Lucius.  
She seemed genuninely worried that these women are attracted to cruel 
men in real life.  I think that's probably not often the case.  
Certainly, that's not the case in my life. (I do remember a very 
funny question, I think in was on OTC, where a guy asked, "What are 
the real-life partners like of all these women that adore Snape?"  My 
husband has nothing in common with Snape except intelligence.)

The thing is, one can interpret a fictional character as one pleases. 
The amount of information in the books about Lucius, Draco, or even 
Snape is miniscule compared to the information one would quickly 
acquire when dating an actual human. So, one can believe that Draco 
really was trying to save Hermione at the Quidditch World Cup, or 
that Snape only torments Neville in order to put on a good front for 
the DE's children, etc. When JKR provides incontrovertible evidence 
that a particular character is evil, then that character gets few 
fans -- I haven't come across many Voldemort fans, for example.  

If I ever get organized and actually *write* all these psychology 
books that are floating around in my head, I may someday write a book 
about sexual motivation.  Maybe I can have a chapter about 
Snapefans!  (I'd definitely want to speculate on why so many women 
are into Male/Male ships.) 

-- Judy