Well - thanks for all this. I am very tired (preparing for a Harry Potter party, actually), and won't be able to respond in detail, but a couple of things jumped out at me.
First, you say, We never had any evidence of Snape not just caring for smb in principle, but empathizing with this smb's feelings hear and now. Actually, I think that's incorrect. We have very clear evidence that Snape empathizes with someone; that someone is Narcissa. This is one of the times when Snape and Harry are described in the same words. Harry reacts to Lupin's grief at the end of the book in *exactly* the same way Severus does to Narcissa's despair. We know what Harry is feeling - he is clearly empathizing with Lupin, but doesn't know quite what to do or how to express his sympathy. There is a strong implication that Severus feels the same way toward Narcissa.
Second, you really cannot compare Minerva's confrontation with Harry in OOTP with Severus's confrontation with Draco in HBP. Draco is a Death Eater in training! He's being taught Occlumency by Bellatrix, who hates Snape. If Severus puts one foot wrong here, Draco will go haring off to Bella and betray his teacher to his aunt. All the same, Severus is *not* as rude, unfeeling, and unaware here as you suggest. We do not hear the beginning of the conversation, but Severus is remarkably patient throughout most of it, continually offers his help, and is continually rudely rebuffed. There are layers on layers here which do not exist in the conversation with Minerva. The situations are so different that I'm not at all sure you can compare them.
One last thing: We do not know Eileen Prince was in Slytherin. She may have been, and Severus may have been fond of her, but we do not find out. We don't even know, really, that she was a pure-blood. That's just a fanon assumption. What we do know for a fact, from canon, is that James and Sirius bullied young Severus quite mercilessly.
Oh, and Hagrid's moral sense? I love Hagrid, but he is no exemplar. He is glaringly racist toward Muggles, is cruel to both Dudley and Draco, is careless of his students' safety, and is prejudiced against the Slytherins and against foreigners generally. That Harry gets a lot of his attitudes from him, initially, is not entirely a good thing. At least, I don't think it is!
James - we know almost nothing about him, and what little we do know, I don't particularly like. But then, at this point, after having thought about the books for quite awhile, I don't really like any of the marauders. I can understand why others do, however.
I'll stop now! Much longer than I intended it to be. )
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Date: 2007-06-20 03:43 am (UTC)First, you say, We never had any evidence of Snape not just caring for smb in principle, but empathizing with this smb's feelings hear and now. Actually, I think that's incorrect. We have very clear evidence that Snape empathizes with someone; that someone is Narcissa. This is one of the times when Snape and Harry are described in the same words. Harry reacts to Lupin's grief at the end of the book in *exactly* the same way Severus does to Narcissa's despair. We know what Harry is feeling - he is clearly empathizing with Lupin, but doesn't know quite what to do or how to express his sympathy. There is a strong implication that Severus feels the same way toward Narcissa.
Second, you really cannot compare Minerva's confrontation with Harry in OOTP with Severus's confrontation with Draco in HBP. Draco is a Death Eater in training! He's being taught Occlumency by Bellatrix, who hates Snape. If Severus puts one foot wrong here, Draco will go haring off to Bella and betray his teacher to his aunt. All the same, Severus is *not* as rude, unfeeling, and unaware here as you suggest. We do not hear the beginning of the conversation, but Severus is remarkably patient throughout most of it, continually offers his help, and is continually rudely rebuffed. There are layers on layers here which do not exist in the conversation with Minerva. The situations are so different that I'm not at all sure you can compare them.
One last thing: We do not know Eileen Prince was in Slytherin. She may have been, and Severus may have been fond of her, but we do not find out. We don't even know, really, that she was a pure-blood. That's just a fanon assumption.
What we do know for a fact, from canon, is that James and Sirius bullied young Severus quite mercilessly.
Oh, and Hagrid's moral sense? I love Hagrid, but he is no exemplar. He is glaringly racist toward Muggles, is cruel to both Dudley and Draco, is careless of his students' safety, and is prejudiced against the Slytherins and against foreigners generally. That Harry gets a lot of his attitudes from him, initially, is not entirely a good thing. At least, I don't think it is!
James - we know almost nothing about him, and what little we do know, I don't particularly like. But then, at this point, after having thought about the books for quite awhile, I don't really like any of the marauders. I can understand why others do, however.
I'll stop now! Much longer than I intended it to be. )