FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND BUSINESS STUDIES Department of Humanities
The Controversy of Snape
A transactional reader response analysis of Severus Snape and why he divides readers of the Harry Potter book series
Emma Östberg
2020
Student Thesis, C Essay, 15 CR English Literature English (61-90)
Supervisor: Iulian Cananau Examiner: Marko Modiano
Abstract
How can a character from a children’s book become so divisive that he causes arguments amongst adults? This essay uses transactional reader response theory to explain the reason why the character Severus Snape from the Harry Potter book series by J.K. Rowling is so controversial. Applying notions from reader response theorists such as Rosenblatt and Iser together with earlier research on Snape will show how the reader’s opinion is affected by both the text itself and their own personal experience. A poll was created and posted on Facebook with over a thousand replies. This data is analysed and used to apply the theory on real examples. The conclusion of the essay is that Snape is both good and bad. He acts heroically but is also vindictive and petty. Snape is perhaps the most human of all Rowling’s characters and each reader recognises a little of themselves in him that they can relate to. Because of ongoing arguments regarding Snape readers have to constantly defend their opinion. As the opinion is re-evaluated it is also strengthened each time readers reconsider the story of Snape and, like Snape himself once asked Professor Quirrell to do, decide where their loyalties lie.
Keywords: Severus Snape, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Transactional Reader Response
Theory, Reader Response Criticism, Louise Rosenblatt, Wolfgang Iser
Acknowledgments
This essay came to life under rather special circumstances. It was written in the middle of a more or less worldwide Covid-19 quarantine during a warm and sunny spring that will not soon be forgotten by anyone.
I want to extend a huge thank you to my tutor Iulian Cananau for being there (at a virus safe distance of 1800 km or so) supporting me throughout the process. Thank you to my friends and family, especially my personal proof-reader Karin. You all probably know more about Snape and reader response theory by now than you ever expected to. Special thanks to the 1,068 enthusiastic Harry Potter readers who responded to my poll. You gave me an abundance of valuable input and I wish I could have used it all! Last but not least to my husband Jonas, who spent many hours entertaining our quarantined children so I could finish this: I could not have done it without you. Thank you.
“The first reading of some literary work is often, to the literary, an experience so momentous that only experiences of love, religion, or bereavement can furnish a standard of comparison. Their whole consciousness is changed. They have become what they were not before.” – C.S. Lewis
Emma Östberg
Prettingen, Luxemburg, June 2020
Table of Contents
Introduction ...... 1 The Divisive Character of Severus Snape ...... 1 Theory ...... 3 Reader Response Criticism ...... 3 The Constance School and Transactional Reader Response Theory ...... 4 Reading Styles ...... 5 Criticism ...... 7 Discussion ...... 7 Snape through J.K. Rowling ...... 7 Snape through Harry Potter ...... 10 “Always” ...... 15 Snape through the Reader ...... 18 Conclusion ...... 23 Works Cited ...... 26 Primary Literature ...... 26 Secondary Literature ...... 26 Appendices ...... 28 Appendix A: ...... 28 Appendix B: ...... 30
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Introduction
The Divisive Character of Severus Snape
Few characters in children’s literature leave readers as opinionated as Severus Snape.
He is arguably one of J.K. Rowling’s most controversial characters. Neither inherently good nor purely evil, Snape is perhaps both - or neither. Fans of the Harry Potter books tend to be of very different opinions as to where on the spectrum from good to evil Snape belongs. Some see him as a misunderstood hero whilst to others he is the devil incarnate. There are of course also those who can see both aspects of his personality. Regardless of what their opinion is, most readers seem to have a strong one. Snape is a hotly debated topic on fan forums, as discussed by Rebecca Ågren and Lina Holst. They state that “Det är en diskussion som ofta kräver av fansen att de ska välja sida och där valet anses medföra en bestämd subjektsposition. (It is a discussion which often demands that fans choose a side, where the choice results in a set position) (54)”. This means that once a side is chosen, all other characters and events are seen in the light of which ‘side’ the person is on. Ågren and Holst chose to call them ‘anti Snape’ and ‘Snape fans’ whilst those on the fence are called ‘neutral
Snape fans’ (p. 49). These terms will be the ones used henceforth.
It is important for the purpose of any discussion on Snape that all participants are aware of the true nature of his role. A scene takes place in the final book in the series, Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where Snape finally tells Harry about his background and the motives for his actions. The reader finds out that Snape was working for Dumbledore and has done so ever since the death of Harry’s parents. Until then readers of the book generally dislike Snape, seeing him as a villain. Many opinions were changed after the disclosure that he had secretly been working for Dumbledore for years, trying his best to protect Harry. In a poll conducted on Facebook the respondents’ rated Snape at an average of 3,46 on a scale of 1
2 to 10 when questioned how well they liked him before knowing the full story. The average score after everything was known went up to 6.11 (Appendix A). In the same poll the respondents were divided in their opinion on Snape, but more united in the strength of their conviction. Almost 40% placed themselves at an 8 or above on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the strongest possible. Only 8.3% felt that their feelings were no stronger than a 2 on the same scale (Appendix A).
Using transactional reader-response theory (TRRT), this essay will attempt to explain why the opinions on Severus Snape are so diverse. Although it will touch upon the subject, examining Snape himself as a character is not within the scope of this essay. The main focus will be on the books and the act of reading them. It will examine what parts of the text serve as a guidance and what parts do the opposite and hide the truth from the reader. Both of these invite reactions and can evoke certain responses, helping the reader form an opinion of the text. An analysis will be made on what makes readers react very differently to the same text.
In TRRT one of the fundamental beliefs is that the text guides the reader and therefore impacts on their reception. It is that viewpoint that will form the basis of the theoretical framework for the discussion of the readers’ response to Snape. There are some main events in the book usually on the agenda when debating Snape and his actions. These will be specified and analysed in the discussion section from a position where all plot twists are already known.
The readers’ response to Snape will be examined from four different perspectives, all using TRRT. Consideration will be paid to the text itself and the author’s intention. This will be done by analysing how the text affects the reader. In section two, the main protagonist
Harry Potter and his view on Snape is discussed. TRRT will show how the reader is influenced by Harry in forming their view on Snape. The big reveal is then discussed, examining the effect it has on the readers and their opinion on Snape. In the final part the
3 main focus lies on the readers themselves as every reader brings something to the text which affects their response. Empirical data will be referenced throughout to illustrate how and why readers react differently to Snape.
The primary resource is the Harry Potter book series containing the story of Snape.
The discussion will also refer to TRRT literature and the works of for example Louise
Rosenblatt and Wolfgang Iser as well as previous studies already made on Snape and the readers. Empirical data has been collected from 1,068 Harry Potter readers through an anonymous poll posted in three different Facebook groups on 8 April 2020. The data will be included in the analysis. Statistics are presented in Appendix A and sample responses in
Appendix B.
Theory
Reader Response Criticism
The notion of a text being dependent on its reader is not a new idea. It first developed in the
1930s as a direct objection to the formalist movement of New Criticism. The theory was then refined in the 1960s and 1970s, forming reader response criticism. Whereas New Critics believe that a text is a standalone object, separate from both author and reader, reader response theorists believe the opposite (Tyson, 170). Iser, who founded the Constance school of reception theory, for example favours the notion that all reading involves an interaction between the text and the reader, where “texts are actively constructed by individual readers through the phenomenology of the reading process” (Leitch, 1670).
There are several divisions within the field of reader response criticism. Tyson explains that they do nonetheless have two beliefs in common: “(1) that the role of the reader cannot be omitted from our understanding of literature and (2) that readers do not passively consume the meaning presented to them by an objective literary text; rather they actively
4 make the meaning they find in literature” (170). Where opinions diverge is in regards to exactly how large the reader’s role is. Affective stylists argue that there is no text without a reader (Tyson, p. 175). TRRT however, takes a different approach, placing itself on the other end of the response theory scale. Disciples of this theory believe that the text does exist as a form of blueprint to guide the reader through their experience. (Tyson, 173).
An interesting notion when it comes to reader response theory is put forward by
Leitch. He speculates that “prominent modes of criticism in the past could ignore the role of the reader since they tacitly assumed that there was one kind of reader (i.e., white, male and the recipient of a privileged education)” (1672). This certainly seems to be a real possibility as many later schools of criticism, including feminist criticism and postcolonialism, acknowledge the importance of the reader’s experience.
The Constance School and Transactional Reader Response Theory
TRRT is closely connected to Louise Rosenblatt who claims that text and reader are equally important in creating meaning. She can be accredited for many of the ideas on which the theory builds (Tyson, 173). Iser had views in many aspects closely resembling those of
TRRT. In fact, a lot of Rosenblatt’s theories derive from Iser’s teachings. The theoretical framework used in this essay will therefore largely be attributed to the theories of Iser and
Rosenblatt.
The Constance School and subsequently TRRT focus on the individual cognition of reading. This differs from the likes of Hans-Robert Jauss, who looks at reception theory from a larger historical and political perspective (Leitch, 1671) or Stanley Fish, who sees the reader as part of a community and therefore focuses on the dynamics there rather than directly between reader and text. Iser states that “central to the reading of every literary work is the interaction between its structure and its recipient” (Leitch, 1673). He then expands on these
5 thoughts and writes that “from this we may conclude that the literary work has two poles, which we might call the artistic and the aesthetic: the artistic pole is the author’s text and the aesthetic is the realization accomplished by the reader” (Leitch 1674). This is correlated by
Rosenblatt, who, on the topic of whether meanings in text are attributed to the author or to the reader, says that “The finding of meanings involves both the author’s text and what the reader brings to it” (Rosenblatt, 14).
TRRT favours the belief that there are cues in a text left for the reader to interpret.
Rosenblatt argues that the reader may not always be aware of these but that consciously or subconsciously the cues steer the reader towards a certain response to the text (77). “The actual context of the words is the sequence of experiences that the reader has had under the influence of the particular sequence of linguistic symbols in the preceding lines” (Rosenblatt,
84). This is not to say that the response is always the same just because the text and its cues stay the same. “What the reader brings to the text will affect what he makes of the verbal cues. Assumption of an aesthetic stance does not depend entirely on the cues offered by the text but depends also on the reader’s being prepared to act on them” (Rosenblatt, 83).
Rosenblatt’s argument is that depending on what the reader brings and how they read, it will affect their response to the text.
Reading Styles
It is fair to say that the same person can read a text in many different ways. There is reading for enjoyment versus reading as part of a curriculum where the reader is expected to formally evaluate the text after completion. Other examples of reasons for reading a text include proofreading, deconstruction or searching for a particular piece of information.
Rosenblatt categorises reading into two styles; efferent reading, based on the Latin efferre - to carry away, and aesthetic reading (24-25). Efferent reading is a style where the
6 reader expects to procure knowledge from the text to be used after the reading is completed.
Aesthetic reading on the other hand is where the reader’s main focus lies on the text itself and what it conveys. Rosenblatt states that “In aesthetic reading, the reader’s attention is centred directly on what he is living through during his relationship with that particular text (25)”.
To illustrate how different mindsets can affect the reader, note this excerpt from a newspaper article: “In spite of the importance of geological time in evolutionary biology misconceptions about historical events in the history of life on Earth are common” (Decker et al. 401). Read as such, it forms a sentence concerning evolutionary biology, written in the academic register. When the layout is changed and a title is added, it suddenly reads as a poem.
The Movement of Time
In spite of the Importance Of geological time In Evolutionary Biology
Misconceptions
About historical events In the history of Life On Earth
Are common.
The difference between the two examples is that the reader would usually take the first version at face value, without focusing on a deeper meaning. The second version however is designed to make the reader pause for thought. The exercise shows that the same text can give the reader two completely different messages based on the context in which it is presented.
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Rosenblatt sums it up by saying that “even a statement in the abstract language of a science can lose its neutrality” (74).
In order for a text to be a transaction with the reader, it has to be read aesthetically. It is only in this mode that readers immerse themselves in the text enough for their own experiences, values and memories to come into play (Tyson, 173). The point of this exercise will become clear when discussing what is actually written about Snape versus what the readers interpret from the text.
Criticism
As with every literary theory, there are those who are critical of the reader response theory. The main concern is generally that it lacks permanence and is too dependent on the reader. It makes everything relative and undeterminable when readers are free to interpret a text in any way they see fit (Leitch, 1672). They argue that it makes criticism superfluous as there is no wrong or right. Iser and Rosenblatt do not agree with this. They defend their theory and explain that although the text is interpreted by the reader, it is always there as a guide for the reader, providing checkpoints along the way (Leitch, 1672). This means that the reader cannot reasonably interpret a text in whichever way they fancy, at least not without deviating from the viewpoint of TRRT.
Discussion
Snape through J.K. Rowling
“Snape is all grey. You can’t make him a saint: he was vindictive & bullying. You can’t make him a devil: he died to save the wizarding world”
- @jk_rowling, Twitter, 27 November 2015
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As shown above, how the reader interprets a text is affected by their past experiences and knowledge. Even being in a certain frame of mind when reading can and often does affect the response. This in combination with the intentionally ambiguous writing by Rowling makes room for a fairly open interpretation of Snape. Although the reactions of the reader cannot and will not be attributed to the author, it is important to remember that the author at the time of writing the text has an intention with it. They usually already know the end when they write the beginning, in contrast to the reader who can only base their reactions on the parts of the story the author chooses to reveal in the text and the order in which they are written. For all readers of Harry Potter this means that they are subject to Rowling’s intentional hiding of the full story and therefore left to make their own assumptions and opinions.
Emma Gustavsson analyses the topic in a thesis where she explains how the complexity of Snape’s character in combination with the reader’s desire to know the end and figure out the structure leads to expectations from the reader (2-3). “As a reader, it is easy to expect Harry to defeat Voldemort, because he is the hero of the story, but because Snape behaves in such an arbitrary manner the expectations of the reader might not agree with what actually happens in the book” (Gustavsson, 3). Using the theories of Rosenblatt it is easy to see how Rowling cleverly uses the text to guide the readers. She allows them to think that
Snape is the villain all through the first book; that he is the one trying to steal the
Philosopher’s stone. One key part of the story is when Harry, hiding in a tree, listens to a conversation between Snape and Quirrell.
“’… d-don’t know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places Severus …’
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‘Oh I thought we’d keep this private’, said Snape, his voice icy. ‘Students
aren’t supposed to know about the Philosopher’s Stone, after all.’
Harry lent forward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.
‘Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid’s yet?’
‘B-b-but Severus, I –‘
‘You don’t want me as your enemy, Quirrell.’ said Snape, taking a step
towards him.
’I-I don’t know what you –‘
‘You know perfectly well what I mean.’
An owl hooted loudly and Harry nearly fell out of the tree. He steadied himself
in time to hear Snape say, ‘– your little bit of hocus pocus. I’m waiting.’
’B-but I d-d-don’t –‘
‘Very well,’ Snape cut in. ‘We’ll have another little chat soon, when you’ve
had time to think things over and decide where your loyalties lie.’ (Rowling,
Philosopher’s Stone, 244-245)
At the time of reading, Snape has throughout been portrayed as a villain. It is therefore not too strange to think that most readers would interpret Snape as the bad guy in this conversation and generally not finding the character especially likeable. However, when reading the excerpt out of context and using efferent reading it is not as clear, as Snape for obvious reasons never says clearly that he is after the stone. Add to that the knowledge that Snape was in fact trying to stop Quirrell from stealing the stone and the text takes a whole other meaning.
The reader now knows that “where your loyalties lie” refers to Snape trying to get Quirrell to commit to Dumbledore’s side.
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Rowling does not let the reader deviate too far from the truth or be mistaken for too long about who the real villain is in the first book. She reveals at the end of the book that
Quirrell was the one after the stone whilst Snape on several occasions tried to save Harry.
Here the text guides the reader towards the thought that maybe Snape isn’t such a bad guy after all. Snape fans have a point in arguing that Rowling actually wrote in the very first book that Snape is not a villain and that he is there to save Harry. It is worth noting however, that as shown in the poll results in Appendix A, a majority of the Snape fans were not actually fans until after learning about Snape’s full story. Many readers will have unwittingly at this stage or upon completion of the book series performed a reading action often talked about in TRRT.
They will have gone back to reread all or selected sections of the text after additional information has been revealed further along in the book. Tyson explains that “the text guides our self-corrective process as we read and will continue to do so after the reading is finished if we go back and reread portions, or the entire text, in order to develop or complete our interpretation (173).
Snape through Harry Potter
One explanation as to why most readers still believed Snape to be on the dark side until the full disclosure of his background despite plenty of evidence to the contrary is that all throughout the book series Snape is mainly seen through the eyes of Harry Potter. Rowling skilfully invites the reader to first form and then change their opinion on Snape. The reader’s first encounter with Snape is in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, where Harry describes “a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose and sallow skin” (Rowling, 138). It is also here that Harry’s scar starts hurting for the first time. Harry (and therefore also the reader) later finds out that this had nothing to do with Snape, it was Professor Quirrell acting on behalf of Voldemort. However, at that time Harry, Ron and Hermione all believed that
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Snape was the villain. The reader is lead to believe the same as there is, at the time, no evidence to not trust Harry’s judgement.
Had the Harry Potter books been read in an efferent mode it is likely that more readers would have spotted what is written in plain text several times throughout the book series about Snape. As most people tend to read in the aesthetic mode, readers “experience a personal relationship to the text that focuses our attention on the emotional subtleties of its language and encourages us to make judgements” (Tyson, 173). This partly explains why so many of the readers are anti Snape. They form a relationship with the main protagonist Harry, taking his side.
It is true that Snape does not treat Harry particularly well in between those moments of being there for him when it matters. He constantly puts Harry down and wants him to fail.
The tense relationship is brought to a head when Dumbledore orders Snape to teach Harry
Occlumency, the art of mind reading. Snape is hard on Harry, relentlessly invading his mind in order to get Harry to defend himself. Snape calls him “lazy and sloppy” even though Harry is trying his best (Rowling, Order of the Phoenix, 653). Harry keeps failing and getting frustrated with the whole situation. Then, in one of the tutoring sessions Snape has to leave the office and leaves Harry behind. As he is about to leave, Harry spots the Pensieve, a way of storing and revisiting old memories. He decides to have a look at what Snape has saved there.
He sees an old memory involving his parents and Snape before being caught in the act by
Snape, who has returned to the office. Snape is furious and shouts to Harry “Get out, get out, I don’t want to see you in this office ever again”, throwing a jar after him as he leaves
(Rowling, Order of the Phoenix, 715). This chapter was the first time the reader had something from Snape’s student years revealed to them and perhaps started to understand that his character had a lot more depth than it initially seemed. The situation is still read in the light of Snape treating Harry very badly at the private lessons, and it is doubtful that an
12 aesthetic reader would at this stage be impartial enough to completely discard their previous opinion of Snape. In the poll, none of the 528 respondents to the final question (sample of responses in Appendix B) mentioned this part as being the one that changed their mind on
Snape although several mentioned Snape being bullied as a factor behind their feelings. The aforementioned act of rereading a passage of a book after gaining more information is also touched upon by Gustavsson who, on the topic of Snape’s reveal, writes that “As a result, when one is finished with reading the whole series, one starts thinking backwards, essentially reading everything backwards and is finally able to make sense of Snape and his motives” (3).
A conclusion based on this can be made that most readers were more affected by the chapter after being provided with the full picture.
Harry is as most teenagers heavily influenced by the opinion of his friends. His two closest friends Ron and Hermione are both at first in agreement with Harry regarding Snape.
As the series progresses, their opinions change. Harry still dislikes Snape but is not so sure he is all bad anymore. Ron becomes more anti Snape, still convinced he is a true Death Eater and on Voldemort’s side. Hermione on the other hand becomes if not a Snape fan, at least a neutral Snape fan. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Ron tells Hermione that he suspects Snape of secretly ensuring that Harry does not learn Occlumency in order to help
Voldemort. The following conversation occurs:
”‘Shut up, Ron,’ said Hermione angrily. ‘How many times have you suspected
Snape, and when have you ever been right? Dumbledore trusts him, he works
for the Order, that ought to be enough.’
‘He used to be a Death Eater,’ said Ron stubbornly. ‘And we’ve never seen
proof that he really swapped sides.’
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‘Dumbledore trusts him,’ Hermione repeated. ‘And if we can’t trust
Dumbledore, we can’t trust anyone’” (Rowling, 611).
Hermione’s change of heart should not go unnoticed by the reader as it is so explicitly stated in the text, and is one of the many small pieces of information that the reader processes during the reading. It may seem insignificant, but, knowing that Hermione historically is the one who is the most knowledgeable and sensible, it gives pause for thought. This allows the readers to form their own opinion. They can choose to trust Hermione’s judgment or they can side with
Ron, still believing that Snape truly is bad.
Once Harry is fully aware of Snape’s situation he does a complete turnaround and, despite their earlier feuds, hails Snape as a hero. He even goes on to give his son the middle name Albus Severus, after Dumbledore and Snape. With this in mind, should the reader go back and reread the books, there are several passages where Harry seems to obtusely refuse to listen to those who try to convince him that Snape is on their side. In a conversation with
Professor Lupin Harry doesn’t want to hear Lupin out and also questions Dumbledore’s judgment.
“Harry to Lupin: ‘But,’ said Harry, ‘just say – just say Dumbledore’s wrong
about Snape – ‘
‘People have said it, many times. It comes down to whether or not you trust
Dumbledore’s judgment. I do, therefore, I trust Severus.’
‘But Dumbledore can make mistakes,’ argued Harry. ‘He says it himself. And
you’ –
He looked Lupin straight in the eye –
‘do you honestly like Snape?’
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‘I neither like nor dislike Severus,’ said Lupin” (Rowling, Half-Blood Prince,
394-395).
Harry’s judgment is clouded by his personal feelings toward Snape and a parallel can be drawn here to the reader, whose attachment to Harry may cause an unwarranted belief in taking Harry’s view as always being a neutral and correct one. Once readers have all the information on hand it is easier to not be affected too much by Harry’s feelings toward Snape, instead making their own mind up as to how they feel about him.
There are a few instances where Snape objectively treats Harry unfairly. These are not major instances but as they frequently occur they form a pattern of Snape’s general behaviour.
This is of course one of the reasons why Harry dislikes Snape enough to refuse to see any good sides. One example is from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire where Snape says “All this press attention seems to have inflated your already overlarge head, Potter. […] You might be labouring under the delusion that the entire wizarding world is impressed with you, […] but I don’t care how many times your picture appears in the papers. To me, Potter, you are nothing but a nasty little boy who considers rules to be beneath him” (Rowling, 561). These seemingly insignificant occurrences in the books serve as a repeated reminder to the reader that Snape is not a nice person in the way he treats Harry. As described by Tyson (173), here is the text at work acting as a blueprint and reining the readers in, ensuring that they are kept aware of Snape’s bad sides. Believing that Snape is bad is of course a fundamental part of the story. As readers form their own opinion and theories, Rowling had to ensure that Snape’s plot twist was not something easily foreseen. Harry’s view on Snape and the way Snape treats him is integral for the narrative regarding Snape being good or bad.
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“Always”
Being such a pivotal moment, it is prudent to look specifically at the scene where the reader finally finds out all about Snape and the reason for his actions. This is also the first time the information about Snape is willingly provided by himself. There is the aforementioned passage where Harry manages to see Snape’s memories in the Pensieve but they were not willingly provided. These memories therefore hold huge gravity for many readers as they can finally begin to understand Snape. The smoke and mirrors disappear and any knowledge the reader has previously had of Snape is turned on its head when seen in its new context. The disclosure of his story begins with a dying Snape giving Harry a portion of his memories to look at. One of these memories is a conversation between Dumbledore and
Snape, where the former talks about Harry having to sacrifice himself to defeat Voldemort.
Snape objects to Dumbledore’s plan.
“’But this is touching, Severus,’ said Dumbledore seriously. ‘Have you grown
to care for the boy, after all?’
‘For him?’ shouted Snape. ‘Expecto Patronum!’
From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe: she landed on the office floor,
bounded once across the office and soared out of the window. Dumbledore
watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape,
and his eyes were full of tears.
‘After all this time?’
‘Always,’ said Snape.” (Rowling, Deathly Hallows, 753)
This is how Harry together with the reader discovers that the reasoning for all of
Snape’s actions are based on his undying love for Lily, Harry’s mother. The simple
16 word ‘always’ has come to in many ways symbolise Snape as a person. Rosenblatt says that “so interwoven are the aesthetic responses to a text, that when the response to one word is changed, it may affect the organization or structure of the whole work” (p.
76). She goes on to describe the text as a mesh curtain, where the words are the strands of the curtain. When these strands are pulled in different directions, the reader sees different parts of the story through the mesh (Rosenblatt, 76). After Snape’s declaration of love, the curtain opens to reveal a whole new side of the story for the reader to interpret.
These shared memories are what makes Harry change his mind about Snape and goes from calling him a coward (Rowling, Half-Blood Prince, 712) to declaring him “probably the bravest man I ever knew (Rowling, Deathly Hallows, 830). For the reader, it turns out it is not as straight-forward. For the duration of almost 4,500 pages they have developed a relationship with the world of Harry Potter and its inhabitants.
There have been actions, reactions and opinions that are proving to be difficult to shift for some, whilst for others finding out about Snape’s story completely changed their viewpoint. As discussed earlier, many Snape fans were not fans from the start but became so upon re-evaluating their opinions after uncovering his full story. Changing their minds suggests that the Snape fans read into this something that they feel vindicates Snape and turns him into a good guy. It also therefore implies that the anti
Snape do not feel that his eternal love for Lily justifies his actions towards Harry and others for the past 18 years or so.
One of the anti-Snape respondents in the poll explained that their feelings on
Snape actually worsened after reading about his background, saying about Snape that
“He had a crush on Lily and refused to leave her alone even after she asked him too
[sic]. He refused to stop working for Voldemort even though his only real goal,
17 except for power, was to oppress people specifically like Lily. He refused to act until she personally was threatened, and then only acted to try to save her and her alone” (Answer 4, Appendix B). There are several more responses that seem to agree that loving one person doesn’t make all the bad actions in the past go away.
One respondent who appears to be a neutral Snape fan says “I think he’s the most interesting character in the book series, since his overall actions are heroic (spying for the Order, dedicating himself to saving Harry’s life after Lily dies, his motivation being of a such an [sic] everlasting and pure love etc.) which ought to make him a heroic and even a romantic figure. But it doesn’t, since his everyday actions are so petty and spiteful. […] If someone was that verbally abusive to children in real life you’d call the police, but since it’s fiction you allow more nastiness” (Answer 6, Appendix B). This is an interesting comment as the reader recognises that liking a fictional character may not mean that they would like them in real life. Iser argues that “it is only by leaving behind the familiar world of his own experience that the reader can truly participate in the adventure the literary text offers him” (Tompkins, 57). Readers differentiate fiction from real life and can therefore favour a fictional character when immersed in a story regardless of how they would feel for a real person behaving in the same way. Separation between fiction and reality is one explanation why so many readers like Snape despite his objective malice towards Harry and others. Another respondent also alludes to this in saying that Snape is their favourite character in the Harry Potter books “because he is the most unique, complex and ambiguous person to inhabit Rowling’s world of magic, not in spite of his many flaws but because of them” (Answer 3, Appendix
B). Perhaps unwittingly the respondent here specifies that Snape is part of a
18 different world, meaning that his actions are seen in the context of the fictional world of magic.
The separation of fiction and reality does not mean that the readers leave their own experiences and opinions completely behind when reading the books. It is one of the basic principles of TRRT that readers bring a lot of themselves into the reading of a text. On the topic of readers changing their minds about a text,
Rosenblatt writes that “the change, of course, occurs in the attitude of the reader, in what dimension of his response to the text becomes central to him” (36). One example is given by a respondent who was bullied as a child, therefore becoming more compassionate towards Snape when it was revealed that he was bullied at school. In finding this out, the central importance to the respondent was no longer
Snape’s behaviour as an adult. The bullying became a more important factor and changed the respondent’s mind on Snape (Answer 8, Appendix B).
To summarise why Snape telling his story changed so many readers’ minds, one respondent eloquently writes that Snape at first “chose the darkness because that’s where he came from, but he then got the chance to make another choice out of love, and that’s the choice he stuck with until the end” (Answer 11, Appendix B).
Snape through the Reader
As shown above, an aesthetic reader has several factors that affects their judgment of
Snape. There is what is actually written in the text, what Rowling has deliberately left out only to add later, Harry’s personal feelings toward Snape, the opinions of those around him and of course the emotional way in which Harry and the readers find out about Snape’s true self. This section will analyse the readers’ reactions to the above further and try to explain how readers can feel so differently when presented with the same text and the same plot twist.
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It is not only towards Harry that Snape acts harshly. His close friends also get their fair share of Snape’s anger aimed at them. He manages to affect Neville Longbottom to the point where Neville’s boggart takes the form of Snape (Rowling, Prisoner of Azkaban, 147-150).
This is an important argument for some of those who remained anti Snape even after his full story was told. It can be argued that Snape was undercover and could not reveal his true intentions to Harry and his friends. It is also somewhat understandable that he dislikes Harry given that he is a constant reminder to what Snape wanted but could not have. However, those anti Snape do not believe that this justifies his cruelty towards Harry and it especially does not justify him being vicious and a bully to other students. Plenty of replies in the poll mentioned this, with one respondent saying “I understand his tragic childhood and life. With his big love 1. Dumping him and then being in a relationship with his enemy. 2. Dying. But like you were 15? Why bully Neville?” (Answer 12, Appendix B). Several of the replies show that a lot of thought has been put into the matter of Snape’s behaviour towards his students, like one comment from someone anti-Snape arguing that Snape got hurt because Lily did not want to be more than friends and subsequently makes innocent children suffer, rendering him unsuitable for teaching. (Answer 16, Appendix B). The respondent goes on to say about Snape that “I know why he were at Hogwarts, being close to Dumbledore, the double game etc. But nothing can ever justify abusing children” (Answer 16, Appendix B).
This shows that they have taken Snape’s motives and background into consideration and still came to that conclusion. Many of the readers would have been students themselves the first time they read the Harry Potter book series. Rosenblatt explains that “Each reader […] feels his way toward a vital principle of coherence for his own inner responses to these particular words in this particular order” (50). An example of Rosenblatt’s theory is when a student reads a text about a bad teacher it perhaps becomes a personal matter, and they do not feel that Snape is justified in his behaviour despite knowing the whole story.
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The replies to the poll show that the readers have often gone beyond the stage of going back to reread a text after new information is provided, which is often mentioned in
TRRT as a vital part of the reading process. They have most likely read the books several times and put some real thought into their feelings about Snape. There were a few examples where the readers said that the way Snape’s story is told made them change their mind about Snape more than once. They describe going from disliking Snape to feeling an understanding towards his character and liking him. They then find themselves after further reflection and revisiting the books that they not like Snape after all. One respondent provides a possible explanation for the change of heart and writes “I have gone from loving him for what he’s been through to hating him for abusing Harry the way he did. […] I think my opinion changed when I grew up myself, realizing that grown ups cannot act like that towards children” (Answer 14, Appendix B). The respondent’s answer suggests that even after a full disclosure of Snape’s story is made and the books are finished, the reader’s opinion of Snape is still subject to change. One explanation is that as the reader gains new personal experiences, their values and priorities change and therefore also their perception of Snape. The reader in Answer 14 has gone from being of the opinion that a bad childhood and unrequited love was justification enough for Snape’s actions to feeling that there is no justification for behaving badly towards children. It is not unreasonable to see the younger reader as a romantic, perhaps a teenager in love, whilst the older reader now has children of their own and would not want them to be treated badly due to the teacher holding grudges.
Readers are often unaware of the internal creative process that takes place whilst reading (Rosenblatt, 52). For Harry Potter readers the initial opinion on Snape, shaped whilst reading the books, is mostly formed unconsciously. If the reader then goes on to actively consider Snape and his story this may well change their opinion again. What the
21 unconscious mind found acceptable, a more aware consideration might find unacceptable and vice versa. Once readers distance themselves from the reading process, the realisation that Snape is part of a fictional world with its own morals and traditions occurs. Some of the comments mentioned in relation to Snape’s behaviour towards Neville that other teachers weren’t exactly up to par with real life modern western standards either. The respondent in Answer 2 writes that “McGonagall made a student sleep outside in the corridor in the midst of an alleged murderer having gained access to the castle. Hagrid gave a muggle child a pig’s tail because the child’s father had said something that upset him. But Neville’s boggart? Yes, Severus was Neville’s boggart. But McGonagall was
Hermione’s” (Appendix B). So as much as Snape might seem very harsh, once readers consider the apparent differences in school and teaching rules, they seem able to look past
Snape’s teaching methods and general behaviour towards the students.
As shown in Appendix A, most Snape fans became so only after knowing about the real motive for Snape’s actions. However, there were still 8.8% of the readers who rated
Snape as an eight or higher even before this. As the main argument so far has been that the readers understood Snape after knowing his background and how it cast a new light on his behaviour, it is noteworthy that almost 10% of readers did not need the backstory to like
Snape. In order to understand what makes readers like a character which is mostly still seen as a villain, Iser describes ‘gaps’ in the text that are there for the reader to complete.
Leitch describes Iser’s theories, writing that “the reader constantly modifies her or his viewpoint, connecting new segments of text and filling in the ‘gaps’ of what the text does not mention” (1672). This means that there is room for readers to read the same text but take away different meanings as the gaps are filled with the readers’ own thoughts and experience. Snape’s complexity contributes to this; he is never described as purely bad.
Harry of course seems to think he is, but Rowling always makes sure that the text also tells
22 the reader that Snape is not a villain. Even before knowing the truth about Snape’s motives, the readers are aware that for example Lupin, McGonagall, Hagrid and
Dumbledore all trust Snape. An explanation might therefore be that the readers who sympathise with Snape at an early stage are those that do not take Harry’s view on the world for granted, but instead respond more to the text itself. From one teacher’s point of view, Snape is somewhat of a hero despite his teaching methods. The teacher calls Snape their “biggest role model” (Answer 17, Appendix B) and explains that the reason for this is how Snape looks after the less well liked children instead of only seeing those easy to like,
Harry for example. Instead he takes Draco Malfoy under his wings and this is something the respondent also aspires to do. This again shows that the personal experiences brought by the reader greatly affect their view on the text.
Another reason why Snape is so divisive is that he at times is perhaps the most human of all characters. No one in real life is purely good or purely evil, even if this is often a preferred view. One respondent touches upon this and argues that some people simply do not want to sympathise with Snape as that would acknowledge that they could recognize a little of themselves in him. “Snape is human and that is why I think he splits us so, because some don’t like to see this part of us and some doesn’t see it that way. I find him fascinating and even before the reveal I liked him” (Answer 15, Appendix B).
As the readers have such varied opinions, discussions often occur where the Snape fans and those anti Snape get into a debate. The need to defend their viewpoint could contribute to the strength of their opinion regarding Snape. Having to discuss the opinion that Hermione is a good and likeable character does not often take place as she is not a controversial character; the readers do not need to find arguments defending their stance.
On the topic of Snape every reason for his behaviour has been discussed repeatedly, meaning that the readers have evaluated and re-evaluated their opinion several times.
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Ågren and Holst write that there are plenty of arguments online where the debate gets rather heated and the participants (mostly Snape fans) resort to name-calling and bad language (49-51). They say that the discussion itself is not a bad thing but that “Problemet som vi ser det är att samtalen lätt blir infekterade och att det sker en stark polarisering fans emellan, beroende på vilken “sida” vi väljer att ta. (The problem as we see it is that the conversations get easily infected and that there is a strong polarisation between the fans, depending on which ’side’ we choose to take)” (54).
This suggests readers have divisive opinions based on their own experiences and how they interpret the text, as supported by the philosophies of TRRT. The strength of these opinions comes from having considered all sides more than once, often including at least one change of mind, and also from having to defend them in discussions.
Conclusion
“The world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters.”
- Sirius Black to Harry Potter (Rowling, Order of the Phoenix, p. 336)
In Severus Snape, J.K. Rowling has created a very human character. Some good and some bad, his complexity invites the reader to choose which part of him they see. These choices are sometimes conscious but just as often unconscious as it is not always obvious to the reader that they are forming an opinion. “Such responses may be momentary, peripheral, almost woven into the texture of what is felt to be the work itself. Or the reaction may at times take more conscious form” (Rosenblatt, 49). At first the reader is unaware of Snape’s complexity and he is portrayed as a villain. As the book series progresses and the reader finds out more and more about Snape, there are also other reflections to be made. Whilst at first
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Harry’s opinion is taken as canon, the reader later on has to take into consideration that Snape is trusted by some of the main characters and he also saves Harry’s life more than once.
There are two main sides when it comes to the arguments regarding Snape. There are those who like Snape and believe he is a good person despite his bad sides. They feel that although the character has flaws, he ultimately does an incredibly difficult job for the good side, all based on his love. They see him being bullied in his childhood as a reason for his later actions. The other side of the argument is that Snape is a bad person who performs some good actions but mainly out of selfish reasons. They do not feel that his background justifies his behaviour as an adult. This can be explained by the gaps described by Iser, that each reader reads between the lines, the interpretation being dependent on their own experiences.
By completing parts of the story themselves, readers can have vastly different impressions of the same text. One reader sees Snape’s love for Lily as him having “a crush on Lily and refused to leave her alone even after she asked him to. […] Lily did not want him, and told him so. Him not backing off but rather inserting himself into her life and the life of her child without her consent is not romantic, nor does it have anything to do with the actual person Lily. Only with his image of her [sic]” (Answer 4, Appendix B). Another reader writes that “in order to live with his actions that led up to her death, he dedicates his life to protect her son, whom he hates, and destroy Voldemort. When he dies, he doesn't die for
Harry but for Lily. He gives up everything that is Him for his love to Lily” (Answer 7,
Appendix B). These two readers have read the same text but their own personal opinions cause different views on Snape. Another part of the explanation is that the reader takes away from the text what they bring into it. Someone who is bullied may see this as a more forgiving reason than someone who has never experienced bullying.
The life and story of Severus Snape is memorable and complicated. Readers are prone to change their mind not once but several times throughout reading the books, as they get to
25 know more about Snape. This causes a more conscious reaction to Snape, which is one explanation why readers feel so strongly about him. Disputes with those of a different opinion causes the reader to really consider their stance and find the reason for their belief. So is it possible that both Snape fans and those anti Snape are correct in their arguments and conclusions as to whether he is a good or bad character? Those in favour of TRRT would say yes. The facts are there in the text of what Snape was like as a child and what he did as an adult. What differs is what each reader brings to the text. A romantic person who was bullied as a child may feel that Snape’s later actions and his love for Lily forgives all his bad sides, whilst a more pragmatic person would argue that although his later deeds were good, he is still a bad person and having a bad childhood is not an excuse for his actions as an adult.
As a character in the Harry Potter book series, Snape adds an extra dimension to the story. Most other characters fall into one of the ‘good’ or ‘bad’ categories. Snape, however, fits in both, or neither. Without him, the books would be less multifaceted and it could be argued that they would be less interesting. One respondent to the poll comments that “The life and character of Severus Snape moved me to the core, both emotionally and intellectually”
(Answer 3, Appendix B) and this is a major part of his contribution to the books. Snape’s presence and ambiguity rounds the narrative and completes the story, showing the reader that there are other characters than only heroes and villains. To summarise, Snape is complex and controversial. He does many good things but also many bad. Readers are still arguing over which ‘side’ is right and the debate is likely to continue as long as people keep reading the books and, using their own experience, bringing the story of Severus Snape to life once more.
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Works Cited
Primary Literature
Rowling, J.K.
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London, 2004
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London, 2004
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London, 2004
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London, 2004
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London, 2004
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London, 2006
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London, 2008
Secondary Literature
Decker, Todd et al. “The Treatment of Geological Time and the History of Life on Earth in
High School Biology Textbooks.” The American Biology Teacher, Vol. 69 No 7, September
2007; (pp. 401-5), doi.org/10.2307/4452191. Accessed 7 June 2020.
Gustafsson, Emma. Severus Snape, The Complexity and Unconventional Heroism of Severus
Snape in the Harry Potter Books. 2016. Karlstads Universitet, Bachelor’s Dissertation. urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-41253
Leitch, Vincent B et al., editors. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. W. W.
Norton & Company, Inc, New York, 2001. urn:asin:0393974294.
Lewis, C.S. An Experiment in Criticism. Cambridge University Press, London,1961. www.fadedpage.com/books/20140725/html.php
Rosenblatt, Louise M. The Reader, the Text, the Poem: The Transactional Theory of the
Literary Work. Vol. Pbk. ed,, Southern Illinois University Press, 1994. EBSCOhost,
27 search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=nlebk&AN=11607&lang
=sv&site=eds-live.
Tompkins, Jane. Reader-Response Criticism: From Formalism to Post-Structuralism. John
Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1981. urn:oclc:record:1036821571
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide, Second Edition. Routledge, New
York, 2006. archive.org/details/criticaltheoryto0000tyso/mode/2up
Ågren, Rebecca and Holst, Lina. ”It’s not a phase, Mom!!!” Om identitetsskapande inom fankultur. 2019. Göteborgs Universitetsbibliotek, Bachelor’s Dissertation. hdl.handle.net/2077/60293
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Appendices
Appendix A:
Results from an anonymous poll created by the author of this essay and posted in three
Facebook groups on 8 April 2020. Poll closed after circa 24 hours and 1,068 responses.
Questions:
1. What is your opinion of Severus Snape? 1: Hate and 10: Love
2. What was your opinion of Severus Snape Prior to the big revelation of his background and motives? 1: Hate and 10: Love
3. How would you classify Severus Snape? 1: Villain and 10: Hero
4. How strong are your feelings on Severus Snape? 1: Not Strong at All, and 10: Very Strong
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Appendix B:
A sample of the 528 responses received on question 5 in the same poll as Appendix A. This was an optional question if the respondent felt they had something to add. The answers are numbered 1-17 here for ease of use but were not the first 17 received in the poll. Not all 17 answers are referred to in the essay but are nonetheless included here for reference to show the range of replies and options. All answers are unedited and in the respondents’ own words.
Question 5: Please describe what it is about Severus Snape that makes you love or hate him
(or somewhere between:
Answer 1: LOVE. The fact that he had a such a hard childhood and then losing his first love to the man that bullied him for years and jet he decides to do the right thing is the main factor for my admiration. On the other side he is being unnecessary cruel to Harry but in my opinion the books give Harry’s perspective so we can’t be sure it’s accurate. Over all
Snape is the ultimate hero against all odds!
Answer 2: To me, Severus Snape is one of the most complex characters in the books. J.K. said herself that Severus is more of an anti-hero once, but honestly, Harry would most likely be dead without his interference. Of course, a hero meaning someone who does heroic acts and with a noble disposition. And this is where it gets interesting to me -
Severus had every reason just to go “lol fuck no” when faced with the fact that he would have to help Harry Potter. But he didn’t, he felt enough loyalty towards the only person we ever see engage in any sort of friendship with him. A lot of people seem to put a focus on the fact that Severus was in love with Lily, but I can’t say I find that very interesting at all.
To me, I see a lost, broken, and lonely child that finds one person he cares about that
31 shows him any resemble of human decency. And when he oversteps, he apologizes and respects Lily’s decision. My perspective is that based on the loyalty Severus shows Lily for the rest of his life might be evidence that he never before or after created any meaningful friendships. The follow-up question to this is: why didn’t he? I read him as a highly traumatized and stressed out person, bound by loyalty to several fractions and the pressure of being a double agent. Letting down one’s guard in such a situation would be suicide. I find him interesting because I could see him being very reserved but yearning so badly for a wholesome human interaction. It’s theorized that J.K. uses British class imagery in her books that make little sense to non-U.K. citizens. From a U.K. class perspective, it’s evident that Severus most likely suffered both verbal and physical abuse while growing up impoverished. He was also clearly bullied and suffered clear abuse from his peers. (See: being tricked into facing a transformed werewolf, only to be saved by someone that later says he abuses Severus because of the mere fact that “he exists.” He’s not allowed to talk about the injustice, and his abusers freely spread a different version of the story. Here I’d like to add that Severus owes his abuser nothing because no victim owes their abuser anything. I’d also like to add that I think the whole argument, “but Harry turned out fine!” is entirely unfair because there’s no way to compare traumas. Also, it adds guilt to trauma survivors who still possess permanent negatively perceived character traits due to abuse.
No trauma victim is the same, and their process towards healing differs from individual to individual. #giveseverusthetherapyhedeserved) And that adds to his complexity, I think. He grows up in an impoverished muggle setting and then somehow ends up around pure-blood wizards and witches. Did they offer him something he couldn’t gain himself? Was it a belonging? Money? Both? Was he ever fully aware of what the Deatheaters did, or was he recruited for his potions skills? Was it his only way out from being the forever outsider that comes with being from a low social-economic class - AND adding to that, half-blood
32 in a pure blood-crazed Slytherin? People on the edge of society joining hate groups are by no means a fictional thing, and it’s possible to think that might be one of the reasons he went down that road. But what I find genuinely fascinated about Severus Snape is that he joined a wizard hate group, but as soon as he realized his only true friend in the world was threatened (he had no idea about who the prophecy would target when he delivered it to
Dumbledore) he—A MERE TWENTY-YEAR-OLD— went up to Voldemort like “uhm hi could you... just... not kill all of them?” I know there’s a discussion about the selfishness some people find in him not asking him to save the entire Potter family, but I think that is a gross overestimate over how much a 20-year-old could ask from one of the most powerful and dangerous wizards of all time. So what does he do when Voldemort refuses? He goes to the single-handed most powerful wizard in modern time, that is on the opposite side of the war, and asks for the same thing. His loyalty towards friendship and love is stronger than his own safety because despite Dumbledore’s generally kind demeanor - we have no idea how he was in the first war. But in all intents and purposes, meeting up with the leader of the enemy side in the middle of an ongoing war is a dangerous mission. But Severus does, and he agrees with everything Dumbledore throws at him. Just as long as he saves
Lily. And here I’d like to point out that while some people want to paint Severus’ love as obsessive, he clearly asks Dumbledore to protect Lily Potter, not Lily _Evans_ - showing a clear understanding and even acceptance of Lily’s path in life. Severus goes on and becomes the youngest Head of House at Hogwarts, at 21 years old. Imagine, the students he taught actually remembered him as being a student. How devastating for the professional image would that be when trying to take on a teacher role? I honestly live for
Severus’ first years as a teacher, the struggles he must’ve faced. And how the rest of the staff must’ve looked at him as the baby of the group. Did they help him out? Or did they avoid him, due to the rumors of him being a Deatheater? And finally, the ever hot-topic as
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Severus as a teacher. Was he a good teacher, by modern standards (and Swedish standards)? No. Did he manage to teach his students? Yes. Umbridge comments on how advanced the class is, and furthermore, Neville passes his O.W.L. Is Severus’ teaching methods controversial? Yes, by today’s standards. But historically, the mean teacher approach was not uncommon. Does any of this justify his behavior? No, definitely not. But in comparison with the entire academic wasteland that is Hogwarts and knowledge of real- life educational history, Severus is put in perspective. And I wholeheartedly believe that the rest of the teachers should be equally accused of their problematic behavior in the same degree as Severus Snape. McGonagall made a student sleep outside in the corridor in the midst of an alleged murderer having gained access to the castle. Hagrid gave a muggle child a pig’s tail because the child’s father had said something that upset him. But
Neville’s boggart? Yes, Severus was Neville’s boggart. But McGonagall was Hermione’s.
There’s a lot of discussions online about what kind of fear the boggart actually represents.
Because sure, Neville was allegedly more afraid of Severus than of the Deatheaters that tortured his parents. But then again, Harry was more afraid of dementors than Voldemort that actually killed his. Maybe the boggarts are truly representing an embodiment of what we fear the most. And that could be failure for both Hermione and Neville. But no one is ever giving McGonnagall shit for that. Was Severus mean to his students? Yes. But it doesn’t discredit the enormous role he played in taking down Voldemort. TL;DR: Severus
Snape is by far my most favorite character due to the complexity he displays. He suffered and never fully overcame it, but showed great intelligence and bravery along the road. P.S.
Severus never gives a single point to ANYONE during seven books. PS2. Severus is the only character that canonically sneezes. PS3. He died before knowing Voldemort would be defeated, never knowing if everything he did was in vain or not. Or if Dumbledore
34 successfully raised Harry for slaughter. And I think that is among the saddest things in the entire book series.
Answer 3: “People want to be loved; failing that admired; failing that feared; failing that hated and despised. They want to evoke some sort of sentiment. The soul shudders before oblivion and seeks connection at any price.” The quote is from Hjalmar Söderberg's Doctor
Glas and it came to me when thinking about the divisive Severus Snape, who is my all time favourite character of the Harry Potter series. Why? Because he is the most unique, complex and ambiguous person to inhabit Rowling's world of magic, not in spite of his many flaws but because of them. He is of course a man with positive traits and talents as well. Loyal, brave and a skilled wizard, with (although he tries to surpress it) the capacity to genuinely care about others (like in CoS when he is shocked to learn that Ginny has been kidnapped or when Dumbledore reveals that Harry had been raised to die, "like a pig for slaughter" in DH). The greatest strength of the characterisation of Snape and his storyline, however, lays in their unapologetic nature. The reveal in DH moved me to tears as it showed both the best and the worst of him without sugarcoating. With that said, I didn't read it as him selfishly lusting for Lily as many have, but how he tried to deal with the trauma of losing his best friend, both through justified rejection and then her death. A central part of the story is his own responsibility for this, which is what makes him so appealing as a character. The way I see it Snape was ultimately his own worst enemy and his actions led to to the tragedy which shaped his life and sealed his fate. He was the one who let anger, pride and prejudice get in the way of love (in a broader sense as Lily's love for him was shown as platonic) and grew up to be man who kept his better qualities hidden behind smirks (at best) and cruel acts (at worst). The price for his atonement was the suffocation of his better self, the person who Lily loved as a friend. It was the price he had
35 to pay to keep Harry safe. Within the story Snape isn't loved, and while he is admired by the pupils of his own house a majority of the school fear or despise him. Still, the potions master himself seemingly revels in this mix of feelings evoked by him. Not a very sympathetic trait, but that makes him more realistic and serves as a reminder of why he became a death eater in the first place. As a reader I am simultaneously moved, intrigued, dismayed and surprised by him – and the many facetts of his personality and character arc makes him equal to other literary icons such as Hugo's Frollo and Javert, Dickens' Fagin,
Jane Austen's Mr Darcy (sans the happy ending) and the previously mentioned Dr. Glas.
Just like above mentioned the character of Snape goes beyond the binary good or evil.
Readers may hate him or love him, one can't deny that he makes us feel strongly in one way or another. Personally I love him as a complex, tragic figure who once earned Lily's friendship but also deserved much of the hate Harry (and others) felt for him because of how vicious he could be. The life and character of Severus Snape moved me to the core, both emotionally and intellectually. What more can you ask for?
Answer 4: It's not so much hate that I recognise that he is not at all a good person in the books. The "big revelation" only drives the point further since it adds on a level of misogyny that he previously hadn't shown. Snape was a bully all his life, which is one thing when you're a child, but quite another when you are an adult person bullying the children in your care to the point where you are their worst nightmare (Neville whose parents were tortured to insanity) or they feel compelled to have a magical version of plastic surgery (Hermione). He had a crush on Lily and refused to leave her alone even after she asked him too. He refused to stop working for Voldemort even though his only real goal, except for power, was to oppress people specifically like Lily. He refused to act until she personally was threatened, and then only acted to try to save her and her alone.
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That failing he swore to protect her child even though I can see barely any evidence of that in the books except for a few moments here and there. The times he put Harry in danger far outrank the times he "saved" him. Not to mention how absolutely horrid he treated an already severely traumatised child simply because he did not like the child's father. On that note Harry is repeatedly described as looking exactly like his father (except for the eyes) but just imagine how Snape would have acted had the reverse been true; Harry being born a girl looking exactly like Lily. In no way had he acted the same around Harry - how is that the mark of a good man? Furthermore, the by now iconic "always" that is used on everything from wedding bands to tattoos is not a sign of actual love. It is a sign of not being able to respect a "no". Lily did not want him, and told him so. Him not backing off but rather inserting himself into her life and the life of her child without her consent is not romantic, nor does it have anything to do with the actual person Lily. Only with his image of her. It's also very close to incel ideology, especially taken together with the fact that he wanted Voldemort to "save her'' for him. Wanting a fascist leader to murder a womans husband and child so you can "have" her is not, nor will it ever be, a sign of either bravery or true love. Snape is a fictional character and it doesn't really matter whether I hate him or not, hate is also not a very constructive emotion (see above), however the way many people defend him gives me serious pause. While he is fictional, his displays of toxic masculinity and abuse are not and legitimizing them and even romanticizing them is dangerous since it can have real life consequences. I'm sorry if my answer is longer than you hoped for, it does seem to have gotten a bit away from me.. Wishing you luck!
Answer 5: Snape is an incel. He treats children horribly because he indirectly caused the murder of the woman he “loved”. Snape was obsessed with Lily and couldn’t fathom how she sought out a stable and loving person to settle down with. His vengeance led to that
37 both James and Lily were murdered. He dabbled in the dark arts because he was power hungry coming from a family where he didn’t experience love or stability. Instead of seeking help and guidance to overcome the insecurities and hate he carried through his years as a boy he tormented his fellow students and shunned the only true friend he had
(lily). Snape was totally fine with Harry and James being murdered but asked Voldemort to spare Lily because he “loved” her. His so called love for her led to a downward spiral of hate, torture and murder with his fellow death eaters. The only redeeming part of snape’s story is that Dumbledore was able to use him to finish off Voldemort once and for all.
Snape’s story is particularly dangerous for girls to read. It’s the story of a tormented man who hasn’t experienced love which excuses his actions even though he has never tried to better himself. Only the love of a woman can save him and her choices don’t matter. It doesn’t even matter if she’s alive at the end of the story. Because the tormented man has no fault in his actions, he feels no guilt. And when he realizes that his actions has led to the murder of the one person he loved he seeks redemption to feel better, to rid himself of guilt, because he can’t fathom the thought that his actions has consequences. That’s why we need to stop loving snape. He is the worst character in the Harry Potter books (yes worse than Umbridge)
Answer 6: I think he's the most interesting character in the book series, since his overall actions are heroic (spying for the Order, dedicating himself to saving Harry's life after Lily dies, his motivation being of a such an everlasting and pure love etc.) which ought to make him a heroic and even a romantic figure. But it doesn't, since his everyday actions are so petty and spiteful. I think he's more complex than the other "good guys", and this is what makes him a great hero in the series, or rather an antihero. But even before the reveal that he was a double spy for the Order I loved him as a character. He's one of the funniest
38 characters to read about, because even though he's cruel, he's cruel in a witty and sarcastic way. If someone was that verbally abusive to children in real life you'd call the police, but since it's fiction you allow more nastiness. As I kid reading the Half-Blood Prince I remember hoping that Dumbledore's death was fake, engaging in lots of conspiracy theories online until the final installment was released, just because I didn't want Snape to be evil for real, just the fun lowkey evil teacher he'd always been. Even though all my theories were wrong, I was so happy when he was revealed to be acting on Dumbledore's orders all along.
Answer 7: Prior the revelation I saw Snape as a villain, simply because I couldn't understand what made him treat Harry so badly. But the more the story unravles, his relationship with James for instance, the more sympathy I got with him. After the revelation everything changed, of course. But I love him more for his complexity than for his heroism. Calling him a hero is too simple, I think. Can we even do that, aren't his motifs too egocentric for being a hero? His only motivation was his love for Lily - whose death he felt responsible for - and not because he wanted 'good' to conquer 'evil' (had Lily not died he might have stayed with Voldemort for all we know). But in order to live with his actions that led up to her death, he dedicates his life to protect her son, whom he hates, and destroy Voldemort. When he dies, he doesn't die for Harry but for Lily. He gives up everything that is Him for his love to Lily. It's all about this one person, and I'm not sure that suffice for calling him a hero. But his dedication, and the tension between love and hate that he is in is what makes me respect and love Snape. It's an amazingly tragic love story and a fascinating character that opens up to questions of heroism, right and wrong...
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Answer 8: I view him as someone who was raised with a specific mindset, wasn’t met with much kindness except from Lily, continued getting bullied at school by the popular kids.
It’s understandable that he would turn to people who would accept him, even if they’re despicable people. He changed and put his life on the line for good. We “see” the rest of his bullies also seemingly change (the ones that are still alive) and fight for the good side, but it’s never resolved if they ever apologized for years of bullying. Their transgressions seems to be easily forgotten by their fans, however. As I was bullied through most of my school years, and know what that does to you, your self worth and self confidence, I feel more compassion for Snape. He’s also described as ugly, with greasy hair and I’m pretty sure that’d be a part of his hard exterior to seem uncaring and unconcerned with other people’s opinion of him.
Answer 9: Im not loving or hating him, but I have much compassion for him. He has struggled through life on so many leves, being born into an unloving family, growing up in a world where he gets bullied for being different, getting into the "wrong crowd".. and then his one and only light in life dies while he believed he had tried to protect her (he told
Dumbledore). And, he continues on living through his hell of being a double agent, living through is traumatic upbringing and the regret of his decisions. I mean, yes, he is very very mean to a lot of people, but I somehow can see beyond that. He is a broken soul, and how many broken souls are not criminals? He is fighting in the shadow for the better good, while fighting his own demons. And also, his job as being a double agent is EXTREME.
Imagine the stress he has inside. Of always being on his toes. Man, he deserves some appreciation.
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Answer 10: I hate him more now because people see him as a hero whilst ignoring the fact he abused children because his best friend Lily (whom he called a racial slur) didn't want to shag him. He is a prime example of a toxic man, but somehow his shitty childhood compensates for joining the wizard neo nazis. Sure, he fought against them at the end, but not because he thought they were evil, but because Voldy killed his love interest. Had
Voldy gone for Nevile instead of Harry when he found out about the prophecy, Snape would still have been one of his most loyal servants.
Answer 11: The best thing about Snape is his loyalty. He chose the darkness because that's where he came from, but he then got the chance to make another choice out of love, and that's the choice he stuck with until the end. He had to do difficult things, such as killing
Dumbledore and staying close to Voldemord, and also at all times stick with his role. He put himself in danger, which lead to his death, so that he could keep Harry safe and win the battle against the evil.
Answer 12: I understand that he helped the order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore and maybe the whole wizarding world (at least in Europe) a lot. BUT he was a big bully. I understand his tragic childhood and life. With his big love 1. Dumping him and then being in a relationship with his enemy. 2. Dying. But like you were 15? Why bully Neville?
Answer 13: I don’t care about the whole reveal and the always thing. The fact is he abused and scared children because of some stupid feud from his school days. Everything good he ever did was for selfish reasons, not for the greater good. He was NOT a good guy. But not necessarily evil either. But he was not redeemed in my book. Loving one person doesnt justify everything else.
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Answer 14: I have gone from loving him for what he's been through to hating him for abusing Harry the way he did. Being heartbroken and left by the love of your life is no one else's fault, so as a grown up, he should've acted better towards Harry. If not with love, then with neutrality. I think my opinion changed when I grew up myself, realizing that grown ups cannot act like that towards children.
Answer 15: Because he's not a black or white character, I don't like characters that are either good or bad since that's not how human nature works, we're not, we're on a gliding grayscale and we're not binary or just one thing. I like that he's both a mean and shitty person but also someone who wants to do the right thing though perhaps for the wrong reasons (the love of someone who is dead who never loved him back), but who am I to say that is a bad reason. We all got weird and shitty reasons to do things, either that hurt or is good for us or something in between. Snape is human and that is why I think he splits us so, because some don't like to see this part of us and some doesn't see it that way. I find him fascinating and even before the reveal I liked him, warts and all. I always find it curious when someone tries to paint a character in all too black because then I wonder what's beneath the surface. Same thing with crime novels, if someone is painted out as the killer I'm sure as hell certain they're actually innocent and start looking for someone who seem way more innocent than they should be. Sorry for the wall of text but apparently I had a lot of say in the matter. Best of luck!
Answer 16: I appreciate his complexity as a character, and he is well written. However, he is a grown man that bullies children. The fact that he was Neville's biggest fear? Can't look past that. Furthermore, really douchy to take out all of his aggression on Harry because
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Harry's mother didn't choose Snape as a love interest. In today's internet terms, I'd say that
Snape got butthurt for being "friendzoned" and took it out on innocent children. He should never ever been allowed to teach. I know why he were at Hogwarts, being close to
Dumbledore, the double game etc. But nothing can ever justify abusing children.
Answer 17: Jag tycker det är fint att han tar ställning för en elev som det är svårt att tycka om. Alla gillar Harry, han är lätt att gilla med sitt förflutna. Draco behöver definitivt massor av kärlek och positiv förstärkning, och det får han av Snape. Jag är lärare och ser ideligen hur vissa elever är enklare att tycka om för de flesta, men jag ser också alla små
Draco-ungar som är svåra att tycka om men som är väl värda arbetet med att bygga upp en relation till. Snape är min största lärarförebild.
(I feel it is a nice thing that he defends a student who is hard to like. Everyone likes Harry, he is easy to like with his past. Draco definitely needs a lot of love and positive reinforcement, and Snape gives this to him. I am a teacher and often see how some students are more likeable to most people, but I also see all the small Draco children who are hard to like but are well worth building a relation to. Snape is my biggest teaching role model.)