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deathtocapslock(I've been lurking in this community for a couple of days now, reading posts from way back and enjoying the discussion [and snark]. I know this topic has been done before numerous times, but I hope it's okay for me to offer my thoughts as well.)
It is over a decade later and I am still disenchanted with how Severus Snape was flattened as a character in DH by having everything connect to Lily. I rarely encounter fans of Snape on Tumblr who feel the same way, so I decided to post this here to find other people who can empathize.
From books 1-6, I found Snape to be a fascinating character. He was a mean teacher and a bitter man, but also (seemingly) on the side of the good guys with his own mysterious agenda. Despite his cruel nature, he was presented as capable of protecting and helping those whom he loathed or did not care for. He had a sense of right and wrong when it counted, even while remaining bitter. This unpleasant man left a group of prejudiced and dangerous criminals because even unpleasant people are capable of stepping away from evil. All of this made him an intriguing character full of potential, and I hoped that JKR wouldn’t waste that potential by making everything he’s done be for the Love of a Good Woman that Got Away.
But then she did, and I ended up disappointed. Snape’s character was demolished for me. No longer was he a complex man capable of both good and bad, but a man reduced to a static lovesick figure who never changed at all. Defecting from the Death Eaters, protecting innocents, working for the good guys, striving to win the war, risking his life… all for Lily. All for an ongoing obsession that made him look pitiful. He had no sliver of light or goodness of his own merit as a person; everything was for and about Lily.
It didn’t help matters that Lily was nothing more than a cardboard cutout of a character. She had no flaws. She was an angel that every (male) character was meant to adore. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Snape were all presented as men who made mistakes. But Lily? Everybody loves her because she’s always right and a symbol of Purity and Goodness for every man in the vicinity!
And you mean to tell me that Snape, a man known for holding grudges and festering in his vindictive anger, would continue to love a woman who chose his tormentor, popular and privileged Gryffindor bully James Potter, over him? Really? Another way Lily was presented as perfect and exceptional; even Snape couldn’t dislike or hate her. How convenient (and, in my opinion, out of character).
Snape, the lower-class, ugly, greasy, mean, miserable, and unhealthy mess of a man wasn’t allowed any redeeming qualities of his own volition. No, it all had to come back to Lily, the middle-class, beautiful, popular, kind, pleasant, and perfect mother and wife. Who needs character development, growth, and depth when you’ve got the “power” of Loving the Good Woman?
I never expected Snape to become a selfless and nice saint. Of course not. What I did expect and hope for was the lesson that "good" is not always pretty and pleasant, just as "evil" is not always ugly and mean. That bravery can be found in the unlikeliest and darkest of people; that even the people you hate can still be heroic and do the right thing. I thought that was the lesson readers (and Harry himself) had to learn through Snape, whether he survived the war or not.
But I was wrong. It wasn’t meant to be complex and profound. It all came down to Loving the Good Woman. Lily was the linchpin for everything. Instead of finding it interesting or meaningful, I found it insulting, trite, and boring. Snape went from being a character full of potential to another shallow example of a brooding, broken man following the whims of obsessive love as a stand-in for morality. I couldn’t agree with other Snape fans who liked his reasoning for turning ex-Death Eater, but I couldn’t stand with people who hated every aspect of his character either. I was torn (and still am).
My ideal ending for Snape would’ve been him surviving the war and walking away from everything. With no masters, no obligations, and no need for atonement, he would have the freedom to finally control his life. He would have to question his purpose in the new world. Death is the easy way out for a complicated messy character; it’s easy to honor Snape when he’s dead, but how to deal with him alive? How would Harry see Snape if Snape had survived and remained unpleasant as ever, despite his bravery and loyalty? What would have their final interaction been like?
But that would’ve been too difficult for JKR to deal with, so let’s kill Snape off in a lame way and let’s give him the power of Loving the Good Woman to wrap everything up quick and easy. How painfully lazy.
I have long speculated that JKR never wanted her major Slytherin characters to have any depth or redeeming qualities of their own because it would overshadow the heroic Gryffindors or send the "wrong" message. Slytherins are regulated to two roles: evil (e.g. Voldemort, the Death Eaters, Umbridge, etc.) or pitiful (e.g. Snape and the Malfoys). Snape couldn't make his own choices, have his own motivations, or live his life on his terms; it had to revolve around Lily to give him the worth he didn't "deserve" for being a Slytherin.
Anyways, if anyone has read this long overdue rant of mine, thank you for taking the time. I had to let it out after re-reading the series and experiencing great frustration all over again.
Edit: Fixed some mistakes and changed to a different layout. Forgive me, I'm rusty with LJ.
It is over a decade later and I am still disenchanted with how Severus Snape was flattened as a character in DH by having everything connect to Lily. I rarely encounter fans of Snape on Tumblr who feel the same way, so I decided to post this here to find other people who can empathize.
From books 1-6, I found Snape to be a fascinating character. He was a mean teacher and a bitter man, but also (seemingly) on the side of the good guys with his own mysterious agenda. Despite his cruel nature, he was presented as capable of protecting and helping those whom he loathed or did not care for. He had a sense of right and wrong when it counted, even while remaining bitter. This unpleasant man left a group of prejudiced and dangerous criminals because even unpleasant people are capable of stepping away from evil. All of this made him an intriguing character full of potential, and I hoped that JKR wouldn’t waste that potential by making everything he’s done be for the Love of a Good Woman that Got Away.
But then she did, and I ended up disappointed. Snape’s character was demolished for me. No longer was he a complex man capable of both good and bad, but a man reduced to a static lovesick figure who never changed at all. Defecting from the Death Eaters, protecting innocents, working for the good guys, striving to win the war, risking his life… all for Lily. All for an ongoing obsession that made him look pitiful. He had no sliver of light or goodness of his own merit as a person; everything was for and about Lily.
It didn’t help matters that Lily was nothing more than a cardboard cutout of a character. She had no flaws. She was an angel that every (male) character was meant to adore. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Snape were all presented as men who made mistakes. But Lily? Everybody loves her because she’s always right and a symbol of Purity and Goodness for every man in the vicinity!
And you mean to tell me that Snape, a man known for holding grudges and festering in his vindictive anger, would continue to love a woman who chose his tormentor, popular and privileged Gryffindor bully James Potter, over him? Really? Another way Lily was presented as perfect and exceptional; even Snape couldn’t dislike or hate her. How convenient (and, in my opinion, out of character).
Snape, the lower-class, ugly, greasy, mean, miserable, and unhealthy mess of a man wasn’t allowed any redeeming qualities of his own volition. No, it all had to come back to Lily, the middle-class, beautiful, popular, kind, pleasant, and perfect mother and wife. Who needs character development, growth, and depth when you’ve got the “power” of Loving the Good Woman?
I never expected Snape to become a selfless and nice saint. Of course not. What I did expect and hope for was the lesson that "good" is not always pretty and pleasant, just as "evil" is not always ugly and mean. That bravery can be found in the unlikeliest and darkest of people; that even the people you hate can still be heroic and do the right thing. I thought that was the lesson readers (and Harry himself) had to learn through Snape, whether he survived the war or not.
But I was wrong. It wasn’t meant to be complex and profound. It all came down to Loving the Good Woman. Lily was the linchpin for everything. Instead of finding it interesting or meaningful, I found it insulting, trite, and boring. Snape went from being a character full of potential to another shallow example of a brooding, broken man following the whims of obsessive love as a stand-in for morality. I couldn’t agree with other Snape fans who liked his reasoning for turning ex-Death Eater, but I couldn’t stand with people who hated every aspect of his character either. I was torn (and still am).
My ideal ending for Snape would’ve been him surviving the war and walking away from everything. With no masters, no obligations, and no need for atonement, he would have the freedom to finally control his life. He would have to question his purpose in the new world. Death is the easy way out for a complicated messy character; it’s easy to honor Snape when he’s dead, but how to deal with him alive? How would Harry see Snape if Snape had survived and remained unpleasant as ever, despite his bravery and loyalty? What would have their final interaction been like?
But that would’ve been too difficult for JKR to deal with, so let’s kill Snape off in a lame way and let’s give him the power of Loving the Good Woman to wrap everything up quick and easy. How painfully lazy.
I have long speculated that JKR never wanted her major Slytherin characters to have any depth or redeeming qualities of their own because it would overshadow the heroic Gryffindors or send the "wrong" message. Slytherins are regulated to two roles: evil (e.g. Voldemort, the Death Eaters, Umbridge, etc.) or pitiful (e.g. Snape and the Malfoys). Snape couldn't make his own choices, have his own motivations, or live his life on his terms; it had to revolve around Lily to give him the worth he didn't "deserve" for being a Slytherin.
Anyways, if anyone has read this long overdue rant of mine, thank you for taking the time. I had to let it out after re-reading the series and experiencing great frustration all over again.
Edit: Fixed some mistakes and changed to a different layout. Forgive me, I'm rusty with LJ.
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Date: 2019-01-09 10:15 pm (UTC)He is just never allowed to be given the benefit of the doubt. He went alone to the Shrieking Shack? Oh, it wasn't to rescue the Trio, it was just to go after Sirius and Remus. He hated James? It's just because he was jealous and he should get over his childhood grudge. He made an Unbreakable Vow? It wasn't for Draco's sake, it was part of Dumbledore's master plan. He tightly gripped a chair when he heard that a student had been taken to the Chamber of Secrets? He...actually, I don't know what the fan explanation for that one is.
/staring into Lily's eyes/
To think that when JKR mentioned that Lily's eyes would play a role in DH, fans were imagining all these theories. Nope, it's just that Harry's eyes are the same color as hers. That's it.
/Pensieve, which allowed Harry to eventually forgive Snape without, ya know, dealing with him/
Harry and Snape were simply never allowed to have a civil conversation with each other. In PS/SS, Harry doesn't ask Snape about what happened; he hears all of the answers from Dumbledore, so that's it, as far as he's concerned. He doesn't apologize to Snape or thank him for trying to save his life. They both tacitly agree to keep acting like they hate each other. And every time that Harry feels less than dislike for Snape, it's when he doesn't know who he is or when Snape doesn't look like the man he hates. They were never allowed to just TALK. They either scream at each other or Snape sneers while Harry fumes.
/JKR wrote Snape to be deeply spiteful and vindictive to everyone BUT Lily/
The entire chapter of "The Prince's Tale" read like a fanfic to me. From the cutesy nicknames that Lily gives Petunia and Snape to Snape's characterization, it just didn't seem to fit.
I remember reading a comment from someone about how they'd written fanfics prior to DH that featured the Death Eaters and their reasons for joining Voldemort. In these fanfics, one of Snape's motivations for desertion was his love for his wife (an OC created by the author), who was in Azkaban after Voldemort had framed her. The fanfic author wryly noted that the people who bashed the OC were the same people who loved Snape/Lily when DH came out.
People on the Internet have mocked Snape x Female Character fanfics for years, but at least in those fanfics, those female characters, you know, LIKE Snape? They actually want to be his girlfriend/wife, instead of his judge and prosecutor? I don't see how Snape being in love with someone who doesn't care about him is supposed to be better than a story where he's with a character who does, no matter how badly that story may be written. If Snape had to fall for someone who did nothing but tell him how awful he was, there were plenty of candidates other than Lily.
/Snape is not allowed to be angry and hurt that his close friend is canoodling with his tormentors?/
He's not even allowed to be angry that Remus almost killed him in werewolf form (and that his 'best friend' doesn't care that he could've died). Nobody in the series cares about Snape's feelings.
/the men were allowed to have flaws and a personality in the first place. Lily was given neither/
She was, just not flaws and a personality that I think JKR intended. We're supposed to see her as a strong woman who bravely stood up to that loser Snape who was already in awe of her, bravely talked back to her soulmate without actually doing anything to help the situation, and bravely threw herself in front of her baby without trying to do anything else to stop Voldemort.
/That's all Lily represents/
And when you think about what happened to Ginny, it's almost like her characterization in HBP was foreshadowing, because, in the same way, Ginny is the perfect girlfriend to Harry. She's a pretty and fiery redhead who's quick to put that loser Ron in his place, but stays out of battle when her soulmate tells her to. She righteously attacks the people that Harry dislikes, but she's not a part of the Trio and doesn't go with them on their adventures. And when Harry finds out that she was just using her ex-boyfriends to make him jealous, he thinks it's fine. No doubt James thought the same thing about Lily's rejection of Snape.
no subject
Date: 2019-01-09 11:37 pm (UTC)Well, uh, let's see: Ginny has red hair, and Lily ALSO had red hair, so once he found out the taken student was redheaded Ginny, he really was thinking about, um, Lily being hurt and didn't give a damn that a student was in danger of dying. Uh-huh. Let's go with that. =P
"Nope, it's just that Harry's eyes are the same color as hers. That's it."
Lily and Harry are the only people in the Wizarding World with green eyes apparently. I'm surprised JKR didn't take it a step further and had Snape weep every time he was forced to look at his house colors. "Is that Slytherin student wearing green? Oh no, better be reminded of LILY'S EYES!" (Okay, now I'm being silly, but that's the mood I'm in.)
"Harry and Snape were simply never allowed to have a civil conversation with each other."
Yeah, I found it weird how JKR made the decision to "reset" their interaction back to hostile even after providing Harry with information that Snape wasn't downright evil. Not only after PS/SS, but OoTP too. I thought Harry learning that his dad and the Marauders were less than kind to Snape would be the light bulb moment for Harry to start considering that maybe there's more to Snape than meets the eye. It kind of happened...until Sirius died and then it was back to blaming Snape for everything.
I didn't expect the two of them to have a heart-to-heart session in the middle of school. That would've been too much for either of them, especially for a distrustful and bitter man like Snape. Too much bad blood for that to work. But, as I said before, I did expect a confrontation in DH and was let down when JKR chose to wrap things up between them in a convenient manner: kill Snape, have Harry see the memories, show Snape was working for DD, and...that's it. No conflict, no difficult choices, no closure. It would've been more profound to me if Harry forgave (or at least learned to understand) Snape while the man was still breathing, but oh well.
"People on the Internet have mocked Snape x Female Character fanfics for years, but at least in those fanfics, those female characters, you know, LIKE Snape?"
I'm sure the average fanfic writer would do a better job of convincing me of Snape/OC than JKR did with Snape/Lily. And having Lily call Snape "Sev" was very fanfic-y. The whole concept of poor unattractive geeky boy in love with middle-class pretty popular girl is cheesier than most fanfics I've read.
"She was, just not flaws and a personality that I think JKR intended."
I agree. Readers can interpret Lily having flaws through her behavior in the text, but that wasn't JKR's overall intention. And I never quite got what set Lily apart from other mothers who choose to die for their children. It's something any decent parent would do for their child.
As for Ginny: I was never a fan of Harry/Ginny. I understood the appeal of Ron/Hermione, and at least the two of them got 7 books of build-up, but H/G? Ginny went from being an ordinary little sister to a hot, popular, and feisty Quidditch player with minimal page time. Harry barely acknowledged her existence aside from rescuing her in CoS and conversing with her in OoTP, but by HBP, the chest monster took over and Ginny was his ultimate soul mate.
I do think that JKR wanted Harry/Ginny to be James/Lily Version 2.0. So Ginny had to be made "worthy" of Harry by becoming a fiery, sassy, and athletic witch. Well, sassy enough to be cool but not cool enough to tag along with the Golden Trio and be as important as them. She was regulated to Harry's love interest as Lily was James'.