University of Richmond

From the SelectedWorks of Scott .T Allison

2018

Deconstructing the Complex Heroism of M. Lawrence, University of Richmond

Available at: https://works.bepress.com/scott_allison/75/ 5

Turn to Page 364: Deconstructing the Complex Heroism of Severus Snape

M. Lawrence

On October 10th, 2016 at 11:49 p.m. -- a few ironic hours after I had determined that the next day I would finally sit down and write the introduction to this chapter -- my friend texted me. In rapid succes- sion, she sent three frantic messages:

“The amount I love is insane.”

“Like actually.”

“This is the series that got me through my childhood.”

88 Her wine-inspired words are not atypical of my age group. We love Harry Potter. Other groups read the books, saw the movies, maybe bought some memorabilia. But we grew up with the characters. We, the Millennials, forged a relationship with a franchise in a way that no other age group could conceive. Through sheer luck and serendipity, we were born at exactly the right time and Harry Potter was published at exactly the right time for all of us -- the readers and the char- acters -- to develop in real time with each other.

Our relationship is more than just identifying with a character in a book at a certain critical period of our lives, because our identification with Harry Potter lasted fourteen years. We identified with Harry and his friends at every period of our lives. Childhood, pre-teenage years, adolescence, emerging adulthood, and finally adulthood -- we were Harry, and Harry was us. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione were dealing with their first crushes, so were we. When they were trying to navigate the complex social structure of the preteen world, so were we. When they were desperately in need of a role model, when they were lost fifteen-year olds in need of a guidance figure, so were many of us. When they reached full emotional maturity and independence, we finally reached that point in our lives, too.

As a generation, we were born at a crossing point. We experienced the turn of the millennium. We were exposed to digital technology as children, but were not raised on it as our successors have been. We saw the rise of Facebook and also the fall. We love nostalgia but, as the first line of adults of the technology age, we are forced into being on the cutting edge. We are a completely unique generation, yet uniqueness is inherently interwoven with a certain “aloneness”. We are unable to identify with either the generation directly before us or the generation directly after us. The only people who we can truly relate to are other Millennials.

But this social isolation and in-between life, at times an impediment, has given us chance to experience what no other cohort in history has -- lives that develop concurrently because of a common denominator that is universally influential. It may seem small when compared to the sheer number of experiences a full life encompasses and compared to every phase that comes and goes in the cultural timeline of an entire generation. But we got Harry Potter. No one else did. Of the roughly 7,500 generations of human beings, that franchise belongs to us. It’s 89 completely, irrevocably, unconditionally ours. Harry is a Millennial and he and his world belong to us.

All of this is meant to say, to emphasize, how important the Harry Potter fran- chise is to my generation. My friend’s texts, declaring how Harry Potter got her through her (abusive) childhood, are a poor, pale, shadow of a portrait of how we have been influenced. Our paths were changed by seven books, eight movies, and a small cast of characters. And although Harry James Potter is the protagonist, the namesake, the character one would assume to influence those paths the most strongly, he is not. That honor goes to a hook-nosed, greasy- haired, batlike man with black eyes who bullied students and invented curses that lacerated faces, but held the ultimate redemption story.

The Harry Potter franchise as a whole has influenced us in a way no other -cul tural phenomenon has influenced anyone, but when examined, that greasy- haired man is the nucleus of that influence. Harry Potter changed us, but Severus Snape changed Harry Potter.

The Prince’s Tale

It took 1,084,170 words, 4,234 pages, 198 chapters, and 10 years for the Harry Potter septology to be released. And for ten years, 195 chapters, and 4,164 pages, readers were lead to believe that Severus Snape was the antagonist. Not the main villain perhaps -- that role going to or or Bartimaeus Crouch and so on -- but a constant, ever present, malevolent presence. In his earliest incarnations, Snape was almost a pantomime of a vil- lain as the (fittingly) acrimonious Potions Master who lived in the dungeons and swirled around in black cloaks. He bullied students (particularly the natu- rally shy and nervous ones), passively insulted fellow , happened to always have his nose in whatever suspicious activity was occurring at the time and, as a rule, reeked of cynical bitterness. However, as the series pro- gressed and the characters and the readers aged into adulthood, Snape began to emerge as a far more complex character.

This chapter will begin with an examination of Snape’s life, before moving on to an examination of his questionable heroism, or perhaps questionable

90 villainy. As we progress with this initial section, it is important to clarify one facet of the life of Severus Snape. After his initial and rather simple introduc- tion, Snape’s history was presented through non-linear flashbacks. During the study of his life history, events will be presented in the order they are revealed in the series, i.e. not chronologically. Such a non-linear narrative may be difficult to follow, complex to understand, but why should someone’s story be any less complex that the person it shaped?

The Potions Master

Snape’s original role was simply that of diversion. He was the mean teacher we were supposed to think was the bad guy, so that the Shyamalan revelation of the real bad guy’s identity would be that much more shocking. The issue with being a red herring, however, is that herrings don’t need a backstory. They have a purpose and they do not exist outside of that purpose. Snape did not have a life outside of being the Potions Master at School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

In the first two entries in the book series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling, 1997) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling, 1998), this delegation to “predictable tropic character" rang especially true. He was introduced to Harry during the opening ceremonies as a professor who glared at him with black eyes from the Teacher’s Table. The next interaction consisted of Snape drilling Harry -- recently introduced to the after eleven years of child abuse, terrified and out of his element -- about subjects which they, the first-years, had not yet been introduced. When Harry couldn’t answer, Snape began ridiculing him for his ignorance and laziness, asserting that Harry’s celebrity status made him arrogant, all in front of his classmates. Snape appeared to delight in bullying these children, choosing clear favorites, and distributing punishments to those he disliked as frequently as he could. He advocated instituting more severe punishment systems and specifically targeted Harry and his fellow Gryffindors.

As the series progressed, Snape slowly moved out of that trope, but only in the direction of “bitter coward”. His role in the third book, The Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling, 1999), was merely to be obsessed with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a reasonable, calm, and caring man named .

91 In his obsessive desire to defame Lupin, Snape came across Harry’s enchanted map, “The Marauders Map”, which showed the actions of every individual in the castle. Unable to get the map to behave itself, Snape demanded that it reveal its secrets. In response, words appeared on the surface:

“Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business."

"Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git."

"Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor."

"Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball.”

The words were a bit insulting and Snape was clearly angered by them, but coming from the creators of the map, The Marauders -- who are portrayed as positive, if a bit mischievous figures -- served only to reinforce that Snape was an undesirable and is undeserving of respect or admiration. Eventually Lupin, presumably as a result of Snape’s interfering, is revealed to be a werewolf and is removed from his position at the order of the school board. After Lupin’s departure, Dumbledore revealed to Harry that Snape and Lupin were school- mates -- along with James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew -- and that the bitterness and resentment toward Lupin came from an episode in which the foursome saved Snape’s life.

One book later, we witness the resurrection of Lord Voldemort and the unsur- prising revelation that Snape used to be one of Voldemort’s greatest and most outspoken supporters. We also see Dumbledore turn gravely to Snape and whisper, “You know what you have to do.”

[His] Worst Memory

The fifth book, The Order of the Phoenix (Rowling, 2003), immediately succeed- ing the rise of Voldemort, was a turning point in the readers’ views of Snape. At last he was given a role, a chance to publicly walk the line between hero and 92 villain. The titular Order of the Phoenix was a secret organization who fought Voldemort and his acolytes -- properly styled “Death Eaters” -- guerilla-style. The Order’s members were comprised of every single “good guy” to which we had been exposed thus far, including a cowardly thief and Professor Severus Snape. The readers liked and accepted this grubby, selfish, cowardly thief, but we never liked or accepted Snape’s membership to the Order. No one did, in fact -- readers or characters. All the other members of the Order -- from Ron’s kind mother to the reasonable, calm Professor Lupin, to Harry’s wildly impulsive godfather, Sirius -- distrusted Snape and openly declared their opposition to his presence. Dumbledore’s was the only voice who supported and protected Snape, assuring the others that Snape was trustworthy. And in the magical world, Dumbledore’s voice was the only one that mattered.

Snape, as a former , played the role of double-agent for the Order under Dumbledore’s orders, we were told. Yet, somehow the Order’s secret plans always seemed to be known, at least partially, by the Death Eaters. Crucial infor- mation about Harry especially always seemed to find its way into Voldemort’s inner circles. At this point, the readers weren’t questioning whether or not Snape was the mole; we were questioning whether Dumbledore’s goodness was making him blind to dark realities, whether he would ever realize that not everyone was deserving of faith and second-chances.

During the fifth entry of the series, there comes a degree of separation between Dumbledore and Harry; a separation Dumbledore attributes -- after an extended and confusing period of time -- to a vague connection between Harry and Voldemort that results in minor, one-ended telepathy… the real reason Voldemort was able to access to intelligence of the Order’s plans. Consequently, Harry must be separated from everyone else in the Order and kept ignorant of all plans. Leaving a struggling, lonely fifteen-year old on his own to deal with the fact that a Hitler-allegory had access to his mind, that he was the reason many of his loved ones were injured, and that his main guidance figure was estrang- ing himself, Dumbledore turned away from Harry with a parting demand that Harry take Occlumency lessons from Snape.

Occlumency is a very difficult and delicate magical skill that essentially consists of protecting one’s mind against another individual -- called a “Legilimens” -- who possesses the ability to force themselves into the many complex layers of others’ minds and memories. Such a forced entry, a violation of nature, is 93 extremely invasive and uncomfortable for anyone on the receiving end of the Legilimens attack (hence the need for the protective shield of Occlumency). Lessons consisted of Snape, a talented Legilimens, randomly and without warning “invading” Harry’s mind, forcing himself into Harry’s most private and painful memories. After each distressing invasion, Snape would viciously insult Harry’s inability to prevent these invasions. Under the guise of teach- ing Potter this subject, Snape moved from a snide to Dumbledore’s previ- ous positivity and support for Potter, to a full-blown, truly malicious figure as he verbally, emotionally, and quite literally, mentally tortured Potter. After months of having Snape force himself into his mind, Harry exploded. Finally spurred on when Snape calls Harry’s father -- whom we were told was heavily involved in the fight against Voldemort’s rise to power and was killed trying to prevent Voldemort from murdering Harry and his mother -- a coward, the student turned the attack back on the teacher. He entered Snape’s mind and was able to view a 23-year old memory. And with this memory, for the first time, we are able to glimpse Snape as a person who ever existed outside of Potter’s narrative.

Rewinding the clock, we see a fifteen-year old Severus finishing his Hogwarts final exams. He slinks out of the test hall, low-key and proud of his work, to walk in the sun and prepare for the next round of tests. As he is sitting on the ground reading, we see James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin -- revealed to be the self-proclaimed Marauders -- approach Snape (It is clear that their ill treatment of Snape extended far beyond the enchanted map that insulted him in The Prisoner of Azkaban [1999]). They grab his book and throw it in the mud, while very publicly and auspiciously verbally abusing and degrading “Snivellus”. The bullying culminates when James hexes Snape -- Levicorpus! -- so he is held upside down in midair, his clothes falling over his head, struggling clumsily and frantically to get to the ground as James swings him through the air. His nose begins to bleed and his eyes turn wild. A crowd begins to gather to watch the humiliation. It is well beyond the point of cruelty. At last, a savior, a girl, runs across the grounds, yelling at James to stop. Snape, furious, humiliated, a tortured animal, yells at her, saying that he could take care of himself, that he didn't need help from a “filthy mudblood”.

In wizarding culture, the term “mudblood” is beyond offensive. It is a hateful, derogatory term for a witch or wizard who was born to (non-magical)

94 parents. To bring it into the modern (real) world, the term is equivalent to most racial/sexual slurs, but carries the weight of the “n-word”. It is truly the most insulting thing you can say to a muggle-born. And it was commandeered into almost exclusive use by Death Eaters, people who can be seen as nothing but villains of the most evil and extreme sorts.

After Snape’s outburst, the girl, Lily Evans -- who would eventually go on to adopt the name “Potter” and give birth to a son who would have eyes were the exact same shape, color, and size of her own and be called Harry -- oolly replies, “Fine. I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus.” The memory ends with James and his friends resuming their cruel teasing, while Snape hangs limply. When the memory is over and Harry and Snape are back in the present, Snape turns Harry out of the classroom, spittle flying, eyes rolling, a rabid dog. Although this flashback -- revealing the pro- fessor to be a wounded victim of intense school bullying, seemingly targeting Harry because he is a doppelgänger of James, a reminder of the endured pain -- garnered Snape sympathy from several of the characters and the majority of the readers, the effects weren't felt long.

The Unbreakable Vow

In the opening chapter, entitled “Spinner’s End”, of the sixth book, The Half- Blood Prince (Rowling, 2005), we see a woman, illuminated only by moonlight, cross over heather swept hills to a small house. The house is grey, minimal, and orderly -- poor, but perfectly kept. Narcissa Malfoy, the wife of one of the highest ranking Death Eaters, knocks on the door and falls to her knees clutching the occupant’s robes when the door is opened. Narcissa confides in Snape that Voldemort has asked her son Draco, Harry’s main school rival, to kill Dumbledore when the school year resumes. A sixteen year-old who has not even graduated yet, Draco has no chance of killing Dumbledore (widely considered to be the most powerful wizard to have ever existed) and in all prob- ability will die in the attempt. If Draco does not succeed in killing Dumbledore, Voldemort will kill Draco in turn.

There is no escape for Narcissa’s son. She begs Snape to aid and guide Draco and, if Draco’s assassination attempts failed, kill Dumbledore himself. It is the only way to ensure Draco lives. Coolly and with no emotions -- neither joy nor regret -- Snape makes an unbreakable vow to facilitate Draco’s assassination 95 attempts and then kill Dumbledore himself if, and when, Draco fails. If Snape breaks any part of this Unbreakable Vow, he will die. From here on out, it is Dumbledore’s life or Snape’s.

Fast forward five hundred pages and we see Dumbledore, Snape, Draco, and Harry together on top of the highest tower in Hogwarts. Death Eaters have invaded the castle and have already killed several people. Harry is hidden under an invisibility cloak, but Dumbledore, ancient, wandless, and weak after drink- ing a cursed potion, is perched on the edge of the wall of the tower. Draco points his wand at him, but is unable to bring himself to utter the Killing Curse. We hear the invading Death Eaters climbing the tower -- time is running out. Snape picks up his wand and points it at the old man, frail and weary, sitting on the edge of a castle tower, unable to stand. Dumbledore, blue eyes full of tears, he looks at the man he always defended, always had faith in, always trusted, and says two words -- “Severus… please…”

In the sixth book, Dumbledore’s character arc brings him from a godlike source of perfect morality to a flawed aging man, making him that much more easy to adore; and Snape’s murder of him seem that much more traitorous and evil. It is impossible to convey to the individual who didn't grow up on Harry Potter books (i.e. anyone who isn't a Millennial), how truly despicable that murder was, how much we loathed Snape after that. Dumbledore was our god. He was our savior, our aspiration, our reminder that goodness and hope and love would always win. and he, the epitome of all of these traits, lost. Snape killed him, betraying the only man who ever had faith in him as a good person. No amount of school bullying was enough to justify this. No one, not a single reader, not a single character, held onto any hope that Snape was anything but a truly, sin- cerely, undeniably bad person. A villain. Evil. A selfish coward. A traitor.

Exactly one year later, the seventh book has Lord Voldemort killing Snape (not far from where Snape killed Dumbledore), with Snape still firmly sitting in his role as villainous murderer who tormented the weak. Harry secretly witnesses the murder and, after following Snape’s final instructions -- “look at me” -- takes the bottle of silvery memories that Snape that shoves into his hands with his last breath. Harry, broken and driven by pure grief after witnessing dozens of people sacrifice themselves for him, breaks into the headmaster’s office and approaches the Pensieve, bottle of memories in hand.

96 A Pensieve is a magical object -- a shallow stone or metal basin -- used to review and relive memories. It is filled with a silvery substance that is either gas made liquid or liquid made gas, but in actuality is the memories of people who have siphoned their recollections into it. The Pensieve is enchanted to recreate memories so that they become reliveable, taking every detail stored in the sub- conscious and accurately recreating them, so that either the owner or another individual is able to enter the memories and move around within them. Harry -- filled with icy painful grief, but cheeks hot with tears -- desiring to escape the pain of his life, desperate to live anyone else’s life, anyone else’s, practically falls into Snape’s memories; no memory of Snape’s could be any worse than what he was feeling. This is where Severus Snape’s life starts. This is where we learn his Story.

Spinner’s End

The first memory shows Snape as a child, a young boy who had more than an air of neglect about him; the lack of love and protection surrounded him like a thick black layer of smoke, choking him, turning his eyes black. Small Snape is hiding behind a bush watching two girls play on the playground. One, who has red hair and green eyes, is clearly magical -- sweet, innocent, and beautiful -- hold- ing flowers in her hand and making them wiggle their petals. Her sister is not magical, shrieking at her sister to stop it, but staring longingly at the enchanted flower. Snape does not bother with the muggle girl, his eyes, hungry, are fixed on the girl with red hair. Unable to bear it anymore, the poor, dirty, bruised boy leaps from behind the bushes and confronts them. He tells the green-eyed girl that she was a witch, that she had loads of power, that he’d been watching them for a long time. The sister accuses him of spying, but he retaliates that he would never spy on her, she was just a dirty muggle. Unaware of what the word means, but sure it is not kind, the sister runs off crying. Torn between curiosity and love, Lily Evans finally decides to run after her crying sister. Snape is left behind, alone and bitterly disappointed.

Lily

The next memory shows Lily and Snape laying on the grass together, still chil- dren. She is holding a twig, dreamily twirling it around, picturing sparks flying 97 out of the end of her imaginary wand. He is staring at her. We see them discuss his parents -- “Are they still fighting? Doesn’t your dad like magic?” “He doesn't like anything much… Can we talk about something else?” We see her ask him light questions -- “Sev?” he smiles when she says his name, “Tell me about the dementors again.” “Well they’re big and black and they guard Azkaban, the wizard prison.” “Will I get sent to Azkaban?” “What? No they wouldn’t send you there, you’re too…”. We see her ask him heavy ques- tions -- “Sev? Does it make any difference that my parents are ?” And we see him lie, “…No. It doesn't make any difference.”

Already it is made clear that pure, sweet Lily is the only bit of love in that child’s life. She is refuge from alcoholic, abusive, and warring parents. She is a muggle-born, a mudblood, something he had been raised to view as infe- rior and dirty… but she is a special exception to little Sev. Lily is lovely and sweet and kind and warm and his. She is the only source of goodness in his dirty, black, poisonous, miserable, cold, hard life.

The Marauders

The next memory is of Snape and Lily boarding the Hogwarts express, eleven years old now, but still best friends. Lily is crying, sad to leave her family, but Snape is ecstatic. He tries to comfort her, but it is clear that he cannot wait to leave, to be with Lily, away from his previous life, and inside the walls of Hogwarts Castle. They cannot find an empty train carriage so they join one with two other boys already inside. The first occupant has messy, jet black hair. If Snape was surrounded by a thick smoke cloud of neglect, this boy was wrapped in a too-thick blanket of cherished parental attention. James was everything Snape was not -- already good looking, overly self-assured, and clearly loved by a great number of people.

The second occupant was also a boy with black hair, but his face was more aristocratic, a bit more lean and wild, and clearly came from ancient money -- Sirius. Snape, trying to cheer up Lily, encourages her, saying she’s better off in Slytherin. James interrupts, insisting that he’d rather leave than be sorted into Slytherin and that he was headed to Gryffindor, where dwell the brave of heart, like his dad. Snape snorts, sure, Gryffindor, “if you’d rather be brawny then brainy”. Sirius asks Snape where he’d rather be, considering 98 he’s neither; and with that jibe, the taunting and a life-long loathing begin. As Lily leads Snape out of the carriage, away from her future husband and his best man, James and Sirius continue insulting Snape about his appearance, cheerfully, mockingly waving goodbye to “Snivellus”. At the sorting ceremony, Lily, James, and Sirius are all sorted into Gryffindor. Snape’s face is heartbroken as Lily is separated from him for the first time.

The next memory of note is several years later with Snape and Lily in a heated argument about Snape’s friends -- more than just the typical teenage delinquents, but those who would go on be supporters of the most powerful dark wizard of all time. It becomes clear though, that the source of Snape’s anger isn't Lily’s disdain towards his friends, but James Potter’s attention to Lily. He cannot articulate his dislike, muttering a bunch of half-finished insults, before agonizingly blurting out, “He fancies you. James Potter fancies you.” Lily looks at him, replies that she didn’t need his help to understand that James was “an arrogant toerag” and then continues to reprimand Snape about his friends. With that insult, Snape changes, his step lightens, his thin shoulders relax.

The next memory we have already discussed: We see Snape leave his exams, be tortured by James, Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew, see Lily come to her best friend’s protection, and then hear Snape say the unforgivable word…mudblood. That night, on his knees, he begs her to forgive him, crying, saying he didn’t mean it; but she refuses.

“You call everyone else of my birth that. Why should I be any different?”

That was the end of their friendship. With two sharp, hurtful, evil syllables, Snape cut the white flower, the only good and kind and clean and pure thing he ever had.

“Born to those who have thrice defied him…”

Continuing Harry’s journey through Snape’s memories into young adulthood, we see Snape’s pain when Lily, once the source of gentleness and innocence and goodness in his life, falls in love with -- and eventually marries -- the person who bullied and demeaned Snape for seven years. This painful, slow-burning anguish, is quickly outmatched by the experience of finding out that his master, 99 Lord Voldemort, plans on murdering James, one year old Harry, and most importantly, Lily. In an instance of cruel irony, it is Snape himself who deliv- ers the message of a prophecy to Voldemort, the message that a child born in late July to parents who had thrice defied Voldemort would have “the power to vanquish the Dark Lord.” Too late, realizing that the prophecy referred to Lily and her family, we see Snape coming to Dumbledore, begging him to protect Lily and her family from Voldemort, saying he would do anything to protect them, if it meant protecting her. All of these efforts fail.

The next memory shows Snape on the ground after Lily’s death, animal- istic in grief and pain. Dumbledore talks to Snape, “Her son lives. He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remember the shape and color of Lily Evans’s eyes, I am sure?” With this final twist of the knife, Dumbledore is able to convince Snape to protect Harry, to make sure Lily’s death was not in vain. Snape agrees, but only on the grounds that no one would know -- no one would know of his love for Lily or that he was protecting the child of the man he hated. We see several instances of Snape throughout the years always following Dumbledore’s orders, always working for Harry’s good. Every damning quote, every incriminating act, was all placed into context, revealed in their full truth. Snape trying to reveal Lupin’s status as werewolf? No, Snape was actually the one brewing the Wolfsbane potion that would keep him tame and aware when in his wolf form. Snape talking to another former Death Eater about Voldemort’s return? No, Snape was trying to worm information out of him for the Order’s Use. Snape using a curse to lacerate Ron’s brother? No, Snape was using the curse to try and protect Lupin from a Death Eater’s curse, but aimed incorrectly.

Whichever side Harry was on, Snape was always helping, the silent hero hidden in the shadows. When Voldemort returns, we see Snape acting as a quadruple-agent, living a life both as Voldemort’s and Dumbledore’s right- hand man, while simultaneously being despised by everyone on either side. Not a single person trusted him, except for the two voices that mattered most. In the beginning of The Half-Blood Prince (Rowling, 2005), we also see, and this is the true turning point, an already dying Dumbledore -- a Dumbledore who had no more than a few months left alive -- ask Snape to kill him; that way poor Draco wouldn’t have to live with the pain of having

100 committed a murder. “Please, Severus. Do not maim this boy’s soul.” “What about my soul?” “Ah, you alone Severus will know whether you are saving an old man from an undignified death.”

Always

The last memory involves a charm called a “patronus”. A patronus is rather dif- ficult to define, but is generally understood to be kind of positive force, a pro- jection of hope and happiness, and a reflection of the inner self. Each patronus is entirely individual and manifests as a silvery, mist-like animal. Patronuses are deeply personal and reflective of who the caster truly is, what they truly feel, and what they truly care about. Fifteen years after Harry’s mother and father died protecting him, Dumbledore reveals to Snape that Harry must die if Voldemort is to be defeated. Emotionless -- wasn’t the whole point to keep Harry alive, not raise him like a pig for slaughter? -- Snape casts a patronus. It manifests as a doe, the representation of a girl with green eyes that he had met 31 years prior. Dumbledore, tears in his eyes, turns to Snape, asking him, “After all this time?” to which Snape replies, “Always”.

Turns Out He’s Actually the Good Guy… Right? A Formula

The same pattern is woven through each book. Snape is bad, Snape is good, Snape’s a total git, Snape saved Harry. It truly was almost formulaic for the first five books, yet we were never able to let each seemingly heroic act convince us that the Snape actually was good. Why? One could argue that it is because of our limited view of who heroes are. We could never accept Snape as a “good guy” because he just doesn’t fit our idea of a “good guy”. Allison and Goethals (2011) identified what they labeled as “The Great Eight Traits”, eight ingredients that can be combined to form a heroic character: Intelligent, Strong, Reliable, Resilient, Caring, Charismatic, Selfless, and Inspiring. It is unusual for a hero to possess all eight, but the majority of heroes possess multiple traits. Which traits from which category Snape possesses depends on which books you are examining him through, how much you know of him outside of Harry Potter’s narrative.

101 In the first five books, it would be difficult to claim that Snape wasn't intel- ligent or charismatic (albeit a subtle and cold kind of charisma), with his status of professor and ability to hold a classroom rapt with his soft voice, talking about bottling fame and brewing glory. We did not know enough about him to determine whether he was resilient or reliable yet, but strength, caring, self- less, and inspiring? Those were traits he absolutely, undoubtedly, decidedly did not possess. He bullied children, especially nervous ones, and physically was thin and sallow, so neither moral nor physical “strength” could apply to him. His cold demeanor and eyes are the exact opposite of caring kindness. He was clearly selfish, punishing students who pointed out any mistakes he had made, and the only thing he ever inspired in students was a sense of superiority (or inferiority) when he picked favorites (or least-favorites).

After the traitorous murder of Dumbledore, “resiliency” and “reliability” belonged to Snape less than “huggable” did. However, after the Prince’s Tale, after the revelation of Snape’s history, our understanding of which traits Snape possessed underwent a complete revamp. With fresh eyes, it is effortless to see that all eight traits apply to him to varying degrees. Intelligence and charisma were never under question. Strong? He spent seventeen years standing up to every villain Harry encountered, purposely and willingly placed himself into the most dangerous role possible, and most of all, with the taking of that role, knowingly cut himself off from all other people. That is internal strength, or as Kramer (2017) would label it, existential courage. Snape had the courage, the strength to make the decision to protect Harry, act as double-agent, and exile himself to a world of dislike and distrust -- even from the Death Eaters he had previously called friends. His mind was also strong enough to use occlumency against the greatest Legilimens (Voldemort) to have ever existed. The most powerful dark wizard in history would regularly invade and defile Snape’s mind, and he was strong enough to not only protect his memories, but deft enough to make sure Voldemort was unaware any memories were being hidden. No matter how much everyone in the wizarding world disliked and distrusted him, Snape never failed in his mission to protect Harry.

As for reliability, no matter who was pressuring him to do what under which punishment or for what reward, Snape would reliably act in Harry’s best interest, and if Dumbledore ever came to him with a request -- be it keep- ing a secret or actually killing Dumbledore -- Snape could be trusted to fulfill that request, albeit often with a certain degree of bitterness. Resilience was 102 a lifelong trait. He had abusive, warring parents and yet managed to take care of himself at a young age. A gang of four of the most popular boys at school viciously bullied, mocked, taunted, and physically harassed him for seven years, and yet he never gave in, showed weakness, or let his grades or ambition drop. When Dumbledore convinced him to keep Harry alive, he did so, despite the fact that everyone he was trying to help not only did not recognize his sacrifices, but actively and vocally scorned him. No matter the enduring hate, the active threats and insults, the lack of companionship and faith, Snape fought through, resilient to the negativity for the sake of the job.

The trait of caring hardly needs discussion. Snape’s care was directed at one and only one source -- a weakness when examining the trait’s presence -- but he continued to pour out that love, even sixteen years after Lily’s death. He killed for Lily, he risked his life for Lily, and eventually he died for Lily. That was an all- consuming, enduring, pure love. He did not care for the world, but he cared for her. The willingness to sacrifice oneself, as Snape was for Lily (and consequently Harry, James, and Dumbledore) is the epitome of selflessness. Lastly, we turn our attention to “inspiring”. One of Snape’s requests before he agreed to help Dumbledore keep Harry safe, was that no one would know of his deeds. During his entire life, he was not an inspiring man. Admirable to some of the younger Death Eaters, perhaps, but not inspiring; however, like so many great men, he finally found recognition in death. After we learned of his story, he became an inspiration to Harry (who would eventually name a son after him) and to read- ers worldwide. He inspired us, the readers, the Millennials, to love and fight on, regardless of what the world thought or how it treated us.

If he so easily fulfilled all great eight traits, why then is it difficult to consider Snape a hero? And why should anyone consider him a controversial hero? The answer is once again found in Allison and Goethals (2011). Yes, Snape easily filled all the great eight, but he also filled another set of eight traits -- “The Evil Eight Traits” also identified by Allison and Goethals (2011). The evil eight are: Smart, Resilient, Violent, Greedy, Mentally Ill, Immoral, Egotistical, and Vengeful. Snape eventually fit the hero template entirely, but he also fit the vil- lain template immediately. Unlike the variability of the great eight whose appli- cability depended on which book you were examining Snape through, the evil eight remained relatively consistent throughout the entire series.

103 As the Head of Slytherin house -- known for their cunning and ambition -- as well as his position of professor, “smart” is made apparent from the begin- ning. As mentioned in the above discussion of the great eight, we were not able to apply the trait of resilience to Snape until the last few chapters of the last book when we learn Snape’s story; but when we do apply resilience to him, it is to the utmost. Although he did seem to be prone to obsession, there is no indication that Snape was ever in anything but excellent mental health, so “mental illness” cannot be an attributed trait. “Greedy” is easily applied to Severus Snape. He was greedy for Lily, he was greedy for recogni- tion, he was greedy for revenge. When Snape was young, everything he did was with the covetous intent to keep his love close to him. He wanted Lily's love and her affection, and despised anyone who also wanted her love and affection. In school, he wanted to be recognized for his brilliance. As a young adult, he was greedy for the wizarding world to know his name and to rise in Voldemort’s ranks; but above fame, he was greedy for revenge against those he felt wronged him. Thus, greed and vengeance are inextricably entwined.

Bitter was often the word chosen to describe Snape -- his temperament, his eyes, his mouth -- and that bitterness was what kept him hungry for, and obsessed with, getting revenge on those who had wronged him. Much of this bitterness stemmed from treatment he felt was undeserved, magnified by an inflated sense of superiority, fulfilling the “egotistical” trait. Snape styled him- self as “The Half-Blood Prince”, partially a reference to his blood status and mother’s maiden name, but also as a subtle self-praise. He regarded himself as considerably more clever, talented, and brave than his peers, and often appeared to view traits such as emotional sensitivity, warmth, and kindness with disdain, seeing them as wasteful or weak.

Addressing immorality, Snape belonged to a group that quite literally tortured and killed muggles, muggle-born witches and wizards, and anyone who asso- ciated with muggles or muggle-borns, often for fun. He viewed a huge major- ity of the population as less than human and willingly served a master who tore his soul apart in a quest to achieve immortality. Even after he changed allegiances and became more accepting of different blood statuses, Snape still swooped around the dungeons insulting and bullying students, staff, and guests to the castle alike. He did have an internal code, however -- he disliked those who abused their position of power or did not fulfill the responsibilities

104 those positions entailed, was unwaveringly loyal, had a strong sense of duty to others, had the ability to recognize and pay homage to what is truly good and beautiful, and firmly emphasized the importance of hard work. Walker (2017) introduces the concept of two kinds of moral heroes. The first is the Aristotelian traditional hero, who possesses the full array of moral characteristics which are all interdependent. The second is the dispositional moral hero; this hero pos- sesses a single, general-purpose moral principle or virtue. Under the Aristotelian concept, Snape is startlingly immoral. However, under the dispositionalist lens, it is possible to view Snape and his sense of duty and love, as a moral hero of sorts. Not a blatant example of morality of course, but partially moral.

In terms of violence, we have another complex case. It is clear that Snape enjoyed punishing students, but only by taking way privileges, issuing detentions or extra assignments, verbally berating them in front of peers, and so on. He turned his nose up at inflicting physical pain or damage and at those who appeared to enjoy violence. We never actively see Snape injure anyone (except in one accidental instance), however, we also know him to be the inventor of an incredibly vicious, bloody curse that slashes, lacerates, tears open whoever it is aimed at and very nearly always ends in death. There is never any indication that Snape used it more than once, but he had the imagination and desire to create such a spell nonetheless. Do you need to physically harm something or someone in order to be considered violent? Or is having a violent mind -- and large enough amounts of self-restraint to control that mind -- enough?

It seems that by the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Rowling, 2007), Snape both perfectly fits the role of hero and villain. The difference we must note however, is how he fits each of the two sets of traits. The Great Eight Traits, Snape earns through his actions, his grand mission to protect Harry for the sake of love. The Evil Eight, on the other hand, are a part of him; they are nat- ural and come easily. Readers and characters can determine that those evil eight belong to him from the very first moment we meet him staring at Harry with cold black eyes. Villainy is Snape’s right; heroism he has to earn. The pattern, the formula of Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master, and Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts throughout the 1,084,170 words, 4,234 pages, 198 chapters, and 10 years of the Harry Potter septology can be summed up as such: Snape as a person versus Snape as an actor.

105 The Impact of the Doe

If you google the word “Always”, six of the top suggested searches have to do with Harry Potter. I personally know three people (Millennials, of course) who have tattoos of the word “Always”, and someday I intend to join their ranks. Always is not just a word to my generation. It is an incompatible symbol of both simple purity and complexity -- a picture of pure love, but also one that details how complex love is, how complex people are. We are obsessed with that word, with everything that Snape was able to convey with two syllables. I have tried to establish that Millennials are in-between people. We aren’t black and white. We’re gray and complicated and in a separate world than everyone else.

That’s why we need Harry and Snape. We need figures who are complex, multi-faceted, and often contradictory, defying all attempts to categorize them… and that is the most important lesson we can learn from Snape; not that morally complicated people can (or can’t) be heroes, but rather that some- one can do good without being good, that doing the right thing doesn't require to you have the right motives, that having the right motive does not excuse the wrong act and, in short, that there are too many nuances in the world to attempt to categorize anything -- including the people who live in it.

Regardless of whether Snape is a hero or villain, the real-world effects of his story have been excruciatingly positive. Studies show Harry Potter readers have been shown to be less racist, homophobic, and xenophobic than non- Harry Potter readers (Vezzali et al., 2014). They also tend to be more politi- cally active, less authoritarian, and less likely to support the use of deadly force (Gierzynski & Eddy, 2013). Contrary to the popular notion of lazy, stupid Millennials, American millennials read more than any generation previously, with the effect largest among those who read Harry Potter as children (Zickhur & Rainie, 2014). Because of that patronus, the doe, the revelation that people have stories you don’t know about, that everyone deserves some faith, stud- ies show that we as an entire generation are kinder and more accepting than those previous to us.

Of course, it must be noted that the open-mindedness of Harry Potter readers cannot be solely attributed to Snape and his story, but is compounded upon by

106 a wide cast of characters including: Kingsley Shacklebolt, “We’re all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.”; Dobby the House Elf, “Dobby has no master… Dobby is a free elf.”; ,“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”; Harry Potter, “Every great wizard in history has started out as nothing more than what we are now, students. If they can do it, why not us?”; and, of course, J.K. Rowling herself, “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”

Summary and Conclusion

This is the life of Severus Snape: an abused child who loved a girl, grew up to be responsible for the girl’s death, promised to save the girl’s child, abused the child for years, and then died for the child. Within Deathly Hallows' lingering, closing chapters we -- both readers and characters --come to understand that Severus Snape lived his life as a tortured double-agent, constantly flickering between good and bad, and all in the name of an unrequited, undying, and extraordinarily painful love. He lived a constant battle between internal dark- ness and a love that drew him to the light. He was a moth flickering between the light and heat of a candle and the easiness of the darkness, a villain trying to do good. So which is it? Hero or villain? Or perhaps, like Millennials, some- thing that defies categorization?

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” -- Albus Dumbledore

References

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