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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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no subject
Date: 2019-01-20 12:05 am (UTC)I read somewhere that JKR wrote the epilogue and kept it a secret for over a decade before she finished the series. If that's true, I can see how she would try to keep her characters as static as possible to fit the exact ending she had planned.
The reveal of Dumbledore being morally dubious was an interesting facet of his character, but you are correct in saying that it doesn't matter because he's still positioned as being the good and kind mentor figure whom Harry (and the reader) should listen to.
While I agree with wanting Harry to put aside his pride and acknowledge that he needs help, one other thing I wanted the most from Harry was for him to stand on his own feet and make decisions without idolizing an authoritative or parental figure in his life. As a young boy, it's understandable he would see Dumbledore and his parents as infallible, but his journey to adulthood should've involved him questioning the people he saw as foolproof in their virtues. Instead, he walks off to his death obediently, has the spirits of his parents giving him encouragement (which I found creepy rather than comforting, but that's just me), and peacefully interacts with Dumbledore in the "limbo" area of King's Cross.
The idolization of these figures in Harry's life keeps him child-like, in my opinion. Even in the epilogue, he names his children after the dead. James Sirius, Lily, Albus Severus.... It should be a nice sentiment, but it falls flat for me. And while I understand that naming his child after Dumbledore and Snape was a way of honoring and forgiving them, I think it would've made more sense to honor them some other way. Maybe a funeral or mourning scene where Harry could speak in recognition? I think that would've been more mature and appropriate.
And I think presenting the Golden Trio as hardened rather than damaged is unsurprising. It's rare for heroic main characters to be shown experiencing the negative symptoms of trauma or abuse. Harry can grow up with the terrible Dursleys, go through near death experiences, fight in a war, see his friends tortured and killed, cast Unforgivables, and walk off to his death and be perfectly fine (with the occasional mood swing or reckless behavior). Harry should've been emotionally and mentally run-down and hurting, but heroes are only allowed to be good survivors - the kind that rarely show long-lasting pain or negative effects on their psyche.
I am with you on killing off difficult characters being a cop-out. I feel like she took the easy way by killing Snape, and Lupin too.
Snape being dead made things ridiculously easy for Harry and JKR herself. No need to figure out how to integrate this messy, complicated, remarkably flawed, and problematic man into the overall story and ending; just have him standing there, waiting to die. It made no sense to me why Voldemort would sic Nagini instead of using his trademark AK to take down Snape, nor did it make sense how Snape didn't have a back-up plan to get the necessary info to Harry. If Harry hadn't been conveniently around the corner, he wouldn't have gotten the memories from Snape and known the truth.
And poor Lupin and Tonks. Tonks had to be killed off by association. I know it was JKR's way of showing the senselessness of war, but I'm sorry, I find that excuse boring. Yes, boring. Everyone already knows war brings senseless deaths. Children know this. Adults know this. None of the deaths were shocking to me because they all happened to either peripheral or easily disposable characters. The Golden Trio are safe from the senselessness of war.
Lastly, I'm with you on how JKR could've added more to Snape's motivations. Resenting Lily but regretting his role in her death, disliking the horrors of the Death Eaters, disliking being a pawn to two masters, wanting to end the war not only for the sake of others but for his own sake and finally being free to live his own life - so many possibilities for Snape's character to be deepened. But nah, let's have it all be about Lily and his never-ending devotion to her. Nothing else matters.
no subject
Date: 2019-01-21 09:10 pm (UTC)I think what's missing for me is catharsis. Harry starts out damaged, and a lot of his behavior is consistent with that--but he's still in the same or worse state when the main narrative ends. I don't expect him to have resolved all his emotional issues while fighting Voldemort, but some narrative acknowledgement, some beginnings of healing or at least a sign that it's possible, would be nice. Instead it just stops when the plot runs out.
If she wanted to show the pointlessness of war, and thought killing Arthur would be too distracting in OotP, why not kill Arthur and Molly along with Fred in DH? (Or one at a time throughout the book, even.) Then Lupin and Tonks could live to struggle on instead of being conveniently tidied away, and we could still get some tragic supporting character deaths. Harry trying to comfort Ron would be more meaningful than wondering if he can get a sandwich, too. And instead of killing off Charity Burbage at the beginning, someone whose name we've never heard before, what about someone we know?
At least we have the handy excuse for Snape that he only had time to give Harry the memories with one simple motivation Harry could understand. He could have had others. It's not like he'd sit and have heart-to-hearts about it all with Dumbledore, either. But it would have been nice to get more hints in the books. Things we'd only notice in hindsight, at least.
no subject
Date: 2019-01-22 09:25 am (UTC)I think that's one of the reasons why I dislike the epilogue (besides the overly cloying nature of it). It's an opportune way of JKR relying on telling rather than showing us. She tells us that "all was well" rather than showing the aftermath of the war. She tells us that Harry has forgiven Snape without showing us the process he went through to get there. She tells us that Harry is content without showing us how he healed after the hardships he went through.
I understand JKR can't spend hundreds of pages displaying every little detail or introspective moment in Harry's life - I get that. Nonetheless, it would've been nice to have maybe once small chapter showing the efforts to rebuild and reconstruct and what it means for Harry and others.
If she wanted to show the pointlessness of war, and thought killing Arthur would be too distracting in OotP, why not kill Arthur and Molly along with Fred in DH? (Or one at a time throughout the book, even.)
It's interesting how the only Weasley she was capable of killing off was the "spare" twin (as cold as that sounds). I think it's because the Weasley family is effectively Harry's family at the end and his key to a happy ending. Killing off too many of them or the parental figures would've been too much for Harry to deal with (along with Ron, of course). Lupin and Tonks were easier to dispatch and put aside. Their deaths were treated as almost an afterthought.
And speaking of Molly, she could've died trying to protect Ginny in the duel against Bellatrix. To this day, I still don't understand how a housewife was able to take down a dangerous and skilled witch. I'm guessing it was JKR's way of showing Bellatrix's hubris in her sadistic glee of the fight while further celebrating the power of motherhood and love. Can't have the bad guys be competent or skilled, I suppose....
I may be imagining this, but didn't JKR admit one time that she considered killing one of the Golden Trio, specifically Ron? I wonder how that would've gone. I like Ron, but I would've been more shocked if she actually went all the way with her "senseless" deaths and knocked off someone who wasn't easily disposable to Harry and/or the narrative.
At least we have the handy excuse for Snape that he only had time to give Harry the memories with one simple motivation Harry could understand. He could have had others.
Yes, he couldn't have shown Harry everything in his life. It at least gives us a chance to fill in the blanks and try to expand his existence beyond Lily.
It's so painful though; I remember reading fanfics and speculation back in the day and people had all sorts of backstories for Snape and his decision to part with the Death Eaters, work for Dumbledore and gain his trust.... I don't think I'll ever stop being bitter over JKR choosing to make everything about Lily. If anything, my bitterness has grown. Guess I can't let go just as Snape couldn't :p