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Severus Snape - 1985

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Why do we love Snape, or the character who was unkindly written

Claire Jordan in one of her Quora essays said that she’s been in fandom for decades and has never seen a character so loved as Snape. I concur. Excluding some recent trends that purposefully misinterpret Snape by projecting onto him a set of stereotypes he was never supposed to embody, Snape remains one of the most loved characters in the Harry Potter universe. Every poll on Harry Potter’s favourite characters confirm that Snape is always on the top 3, sometimes reaching first place.

This is not some “bad boy syndrome”. There are two main reasons for readers to have latched onto Snape so furiously, for Snape to have been so ardently discussed and defended after HBP – and these feelings only intensified after the 7th book. The reasons, I would posit, are:

1.      Snape is a character that the narrative portrays as ambiguous.

2.      Despite this, the narrative is often, objectively, unfair to Snape especially in favour of other characters.

Let’s address the first point. Snape is ambiguous because he has to be. There are two big plot-twists in Harry Potter: Harry is a horcrux and Snape’s loyalties. These two end up closely connected because it is through the knowledge of Snape’s loyalties that Harry discovers he must die to kill the part of Voldemort that is inside him. Snape is therefore largely written as a suspect in a murder mystery. Several commentators have argued that the structure of a Harry Potter book resembles a crime novel, and I agree. Snape has to appear guilty, but the books have to give enough clues to the reader as to his true loyalties. Independently of authorial intent, this is what makes Snape so compelling. Because:

a.      Snape is cruel to his students but he constantly protects them (Harry, Draco, Katie Bell, Luna and Hermione, Neville and Ginny).

b.      Snape is described as ugly but his use of language is the most sophisticated of the series to the point it becomes sensual. Just consider his first speech in class about the beauty of potions and how they “ensnare the senses” and “bewitch the mind”.

c.      Snape is mean and petty but these characteristics are often accompanied by sarcasm and irony which make some of his most awful comments quite funny, such as him telling Crabbe not to suffocate Neville because he would have to mention it in a reference letter if ever Crabbe applied to a job. There is also a lot of incongruent humour in play with Snape. For example, him reading about Harry’s love life is hilarious because Snape and teenage drama are two irreconcilable dimensions.

d.      Snape is cruel and bullying but the narrative offers several reasons for this. While Dumbledore’s past is revealed mostly through conversation, Snape’s past is slowly revealed in images which make it much more vivid. Snape getting a glimpse of a werewolf at the end of a tunnel. Snape’s father yelling at his cowering mother. Snape upside down and petrified by Sirius and James. Petunia calling him “an awful boy”. More than any other character, Snape is rooted in a social context that brings with it inescapable references: poverty, domestic abuse, neglect, bullying.

e.      Snape is often ridiculed (by Neville’s Boggart and by the map) but he is also given the title of “Prince”, a character with whom Harry sympathizes. He is also one of the characters who carries a sword, and whose love is presented as “the best part” of him. These are characteristics that ennoble Snape.

f.       Snape is dismissive of people’s feelings but he is also the character who is defending children because of their mothers. Lily because of his guilt, and Narcissa whom he allows to trap him in an unbreakable vow to protect her son.  

g.      Snape is taken as evil but the character whom the narrator uses as a morality mouthpiece – Hermione – often defends him.

h.      Snape kills a man but the narrative is quick to add that his soul would likely remain intact as it would be an act of mercy, arranged between the victim and the perpetrator as Harry reinforces. Harry goes as far saying that Snape “finished him” instead of using the verb kill or murder. Furthermore, we know remorse is something that mends the soul and Snape’s whole arc is about guilt and remorse – immortalized in the scene where Snape weeps at 13 Grimmauld Palace.

i.       Snape is apparently a murderer but the narrative goes to some lengths to show that just like Harry Snape has a thing for saving people. “Lately, only those I could not save” and him risking his cover to save Lupin.

j.       Snape’s trauma is often discredited but the narrative allows part of his tragedy to come at the expense of the hero’s father whom Harry spent years admiring. A relevant part of James’s goodness is sacrificed in favour of Snape’s own character construction.

k.      Snape’s trauma in relation to having been bullied is more often discredited by the narrative, although Fudge’s comment “the man is quite unbalanced” and the comparison established between James and Sirius’s use of Levicorpus and the Death Eaters using it on a muggle woman shows that it is something to be taken serious, although never acknowledged.

This last point leads me to my second assertion that the narrative is fundamentally unfair and cruel to Snape. For two main reasons:

a.      Snape’s trauma in relation to the Mauraders is discredited by everyone that counts, namely, Lily and Dumbledore. Only Harry comes closer to understand its dimensions. We can argue as to why this is, and as to whether there was authorial intent or it is simply that JKR didn’t realise how it would sound. Lily nearly smiles when Snape is being bullied which puts in question Lily’s character as well as her friendship with Snape. Both in Snape’s Worst Memory and in the conversation about the prank, she also fails to show concern that her friend was being bullied by the boy she liked.

b.      The second instance of unfairness is more serious because it is far more insidious. A careful reading of text will tell us that Snape was set up for death by Dumbledore. That Dumbledore planted the Elder Wand on Snape while thinking its power had died with him and while knowing that Voldemort would eventually reach conclusions about the Elder Wand and wish to possess it, thus killing its current owner. Not only Dumbledore never tells Snape, but he plans it beforehand. This is why he “admits” to Harry that the intention was to let Snape have the wand. Harry understands exactly what this means, and in the Final Battle tells Voldemort that Dumbledore intended the power of the wand to die with him.

This is so insidious – and cruel – that it is never openly acknowledged. Dumbledore betrays Snape, showing an impressive disregard for his life – far more than he showed for Harry’s because he knew Harry had a good chance of survival. But Snape is never given the satisfaction of having this acknowledged in the text. Snape yearned for Dumbledore’s affection but not only Dumbledore denied him that, he also denied him the truth of what he really wanted of him. Snape is betrayed by both his masters at the end. But we are never explicitly told this. This happens because the narrative is unwilling to portray Dumbledore in a truly badly light. His apparent sorrow (“poor Severus”) and his “admission” of guilt are not enough to show him remorseful because the narrative cannot bring itself to say: “I set Snape to die by planting the wand on him so Voldemort would come to possess a useless weapon”. This would change the readers’ view of Dumbledore, especially after Prince’s Tale. Remark on how cruel it is: Snape had to agree to kill Dumbledore in “good faith” so the power of the wand died with him, but all the while Dumbledore knows that Snape would get a target on his back and die from it. Dumbledore manipulates Snape into – possibly – ripping his soul and tricks Snape into his own demise. Snape thought Dumbledore was raising Harry as a pig for slaughter, but he is wrong. It is him whom Dumbledore is raising to die. The fact that this is never openly stated, and is purposefully obfuscated by the language, is somewhat cowardly. Dumbledore barely apologises, he barely recognizes it. If he did, the readers would be horrified. As with Lily, Snape is again sacrificed in favour of apparently “better” characters whom the narrative wants the readers to like more.

However, the flaw in the plan is that…readers aren’t stupid. I caught on to this when I was a teenager, and it has only intensified as I grew older.

Even at the end, Snape understands from the moment Voldemort mentions the wand that he is going to die. JKR said in a tweet that Snape could’ve saved himself, presumably by setting Voldemort straight, and so his silence ensured Harry’s victory. It is a possible interpretation. More possible still is that Snape accepted death after giving Harry his memories. The fact that he stops trying to staunch the bleeding once Harry appears shows it. His “look at me” is the request of a man who knows he’s going to die and just wants to do so by looking at the eyes of the woman he loves. In this sense, following Dumbledore’s words that “there are things far worse than death” and that for an organized mind death is “the next big adventure”, Snape showed far more courage than both Dumbledore and Voldemort who on several occasions tried to fight the inevitability of death.

It is true the narrative offers some vindication for Snape. Harry tells Tom Riddle of Snape’s true loyalties. Riddle is not allowed to die before knowing that Snape had betrayed him and colluded with Dumbledore, all because of a power Riddle doesn’t understand – love. Harry also names the son with his – and his mother’s – green eyes Severus. Finally, Harry tells him that Snape was probably the bravest man he knew.

But still, Snape is not kindly written. There is an underlying cruelty in how Snape is treated throughout the books. Because he is so profoundly unloved, because he is barely shown kindness and because no one ever takes responsibility for what happened to him, the readers feel compelled to do so. That, I think, explains why Snape is so widely loved, and why people are so ready to defend him in unprecedented ways.

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It baffles and infuriates me that Hogwarts students don’t take Latin or Greek. Accio? Literally “I summon.” Lumos? Fucking “light.” Expelliarmus? Expel weapon!! Ooooh I wonder what Levicorpus does– you Dumb Ass Bastard. You ILLITERATE. It’s called Levicorpus, it lifts someone’s body, it LEVIES your goddamn CORPUS-

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Once there was a young man, who like you, sat in this very hall, walked this castle’s corridors, slept under its roofs. He seemed to all the world a student like any other. His name: Tom Riddle.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2009 | dir. David Yates

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Happy Alan Rickman day!!! Go on Google to see their tribute!

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“To what do I owe this… intrusion?”

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snapril week 5 prompt: night of the witches

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“It was I who invented them — I, the Half-Blood Prince!”

(Raffle prize for @snapientia)

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Tired and thinking.

Drawn in 2021, Edited 2022

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Digital painting of Severus Snape

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Severus Snape AU

As requested by alot of lovely people on twitter a quick sketch of Snape with a beard and a man bun ayeye 

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snapetober 2022 - hidden injury

—

“is he dead?”

“for merlin’s sake…draco! you mustn’t touch him! he might be cursed!”

“professor!”

“first diggory, then potter, and now professor snape—!”

“parkinson, stop crying this instant, you’ll bring the bloody baron round!”

“he’s breathing, isn’t he? oh circe, oh merlin, mordred, and morgana…”

“it must be some sort of hidden injury…i saw him stumbling on the way back from the forest.…”

“you don’t think it’s—mummy wrote me yesterday that…you know…it was tonight.”

“you mean…”

“but why would the Dark Lord want to hurt him? he’s one of us! it doesn’t make sense!”

“pansy, you great bloody cow, keep your voice down!”

“but he…if the Dark Lord came back like potter said…and i know my parents had written about…well. something hinting at it. why would he…why would he hurt professor snape? what about…what about our parents?”

“…”

“…you lot, shut it. i’m trying to listen to professor snape’s breathing.”

“it’s the cruciatus, i’m sure of it. see how he’s shaking?”

“there’s no cure for the cruciatus!”

“i know, nott, shut up. listen, we’ll bring him to his office to lie down properly, and wexler and i will keep an eye on him until the breakfast bell. if it gets worse, i’ll send for pomfrey.”

“leggy, you couldn’t!”

“she’s a slytherin! of all people she’d be the most help, and she can keep our secrets far better than the old coot of a headmaster…here, malfoy, give the professor some room, will you? wipe his face…good man.”

“i could have sent for the elves at the manor…to help…but…”

“no, if the Dark Lord did this…it’s not safe. just make sure the professor’s warm. we’ll move him in a bit.”

“leggy, you really think…do you think…”

“shut it. never breathe a word of it outside of this room, any of you, you hear? for now, we will watch and listen. if the Dark Lord is back, and is responsible for this…one thing’s for sure…we take care of our own, understand? within hogwarts.”

“including professor snape.”

“especially professor snape.”

“enough now, leggy. zabini, shuffle over here and give us a hand. steady the professor while i levitate him. malfoy, scoot over. who was the swot that keeps breaking the wards on the professor’s office?”

“i did. just yesterday. it was pretty difficult that time. the professor was pleased, i think.”

“walk ahead of us and get it ready. mind your wand movements, hear?”

“i’m not a bloody first year, wexler. i heard you spent a month in the infirmary when you first tried to break the wards.”

“better you than me. now get a move on. i don’t want to use too much magic on the professor while he’s still…unwell.”

“malf—you aren’t coming to stay up with us. you’re a bloody fourth year. the professor will have our heads!”

“i don’t care, i’m coming. he’s my godfather. he wouldn’t dare fail me in potions for this.”

“no but he’ll give you detention for skipping curfew intentionally. you lot should have been in bed hours ago.”

“just walk, leggy, so we can set the professor down and let him rest. he can yell at me when he wakes…and i hope it’ll be soon.”

“on your own head be it— oh, merlin. greengrass you did not just melt his office door.”

“we’ll you did tell me to get it open.”

“the rest of you lot get back to bed before i assign you all detention with trelawney and hagrid. we’ll let you know how the professor is later. and none of you better be late for breakfast because of this or i’m assigning you all additional latin translations.”

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not with a bang, but with a whimper.

—

snapetober 2022 - reconciliation

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Narcissa was rather dissatisfied with her letter to Lucius Malfoy.  She didn’t want dear Lucius to think of her as a callous and careless girl, but she didn’t want to alarm him unduly.  Severus would recover, Madam Pomfrey had assured them that his skin, at least, would regrow without scarring.  For his part, Severus was in an almost manic good mood (although that might have been due to being a little too high on pain potions…).

‘Do not fret, Severus merely burnt his face off in the name of thrift’, was a bit too perfunctory.

She knew, vaguely, that thrift was supposedly commendable.  At least, it was commendable in those who couldn’t afford anything better, like the current Weasley generation.  One mustn’t be a miser like dear old Muriel Prewett, after all.  She felt slightly guilty in finding Severus’ dedication to thrift as alarming rather than admirable.

“So, you see, Lily, I have finally SOLVED the problem of unwanted facial hair! Even after my skin regrows, I shall never have to purchase a razor again and the time I save, that would otherwise be wasted by Sisyphean shaving, shall accumulate rapidly and be put to intellectual pursuits instead!”

Madam Pomfrey really must’ve prescribed something too powerful.

Lily, who did not take kindly to anyone hurting her best friend (up to and very much including said best friend) took a deep breath and Narcissa realized her correspondences would need to wait for a quieter moment.

From @sxvxrxssnape‘s 2022 Snapetober Prompt List (here), Day 9 prompt: “Burn”.

Lily’s hair was the most fun and the bandages on Sev’s face were the most annoying thing to draw on this one!

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What about my soul?

Snapetober2022 :Anxiety and Neglect

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A character for every sign, based on the canon birthdate of the Harry Potter's characters. 6/6

Other sagittarius are Bill and Charlie Weasley (the fire signs are absolutely full of Weasley kids) but Hagrid is more import in the story.

The only tauros well known are Horace Slughorn and Pomona Sprout. Which I didn't like at first but I have to admit that I'm pretty happy with how the Taurus turned out.

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My last serie: zodiac signs on Harry Potter.

A character for every sign, based on the canon birthdate. 1/6

First one: Leo and Aries (with a mistake, because I wrote half in Italian xD)