And this, to me, is almost the opposite of the way I read Snape. Yes, his compass is, to begin with, seriously out-of-alignment and possibly missing some gears - he hasn't had much of anyone to calibrate it for him. But it's there, it's fixable, and it matters to him even early on *very much.* He's not angry at the Marauders' lack of punishment because he feels he is the only *real* person involved and so should have preference; he's crying out against what he perceives to be a fundamental *injustice* as well as against his own pain. The fact that he tries to hard to do the right thing, despite lacking *any* support, indicates to me that his moral status is of extreme importance to him. And I really can't see a true sociopath *ever* getting to to the point where his *immediate,* *emotional* reaction to being told Harry's been raised for the slaughter is so unerringly accurate and vehement as his is.
And it seems to me that this attitude is self-generated - since everyone in the WW is condemning him right off pretty much, there's nobody encouraging him to do this or telling him it might be a good idea. He cares because, somewhere deep inside of himself, he knows that good and evil *matter,* even if he isn't always sure of exactly what they mean in any given situation (and how many of us really know that all the time?) And his devotion to Lily also strikes me as entirely uncharacteristic of sociopaths - they simply do *not* show deep loyalty to other people in that manner; others are not real enough to them for that. Much less suddenly, without prompting, become willing to sacrifice their own all-important selves for the sake of others.
Perhaps we're just using the term differently. What you say about internalizing a moral code does make it seem to me that we might agree...I just would say that by 'moral code' I mean a set of to a degree culturally-specific guidelines (which we all have to learn anyway), to 'fix' or 'calibrate' his very real inner compass, not an internalizing of an abstract code that has no emotional resonance for him and that he can only follow through rationally applying it. But though, like Sirius, Sev may display a couple of personality traits on the list, I just really, really can't see him as a true sociopath.
Sorry for the length. Like I say above, we agree on other things far more than we disagree here. And you make very good arguments about the problems with Rowling's work, so kudos to you for that. (Please don't take this as an attack in any way; it's not meant to be.)
Part II
And it seems to me that this attitude is self-generated - since everyone in the WW is condemning him right off pretty much, there's nobody encouraging him to do this or telling him it might be a good idea. He cares because, somewhere deep inside of himself, he knows that good and evil *matter,* even if he isn't always sure of exactly what they mean in any given situation (and how many of us really know that all the time?) And his devotion to Lily also strikes me as entirely uncharacteristic of sociopaths - they simply do *not* show deep loyalty to other people in that manner; others are not real enough to them for that. Much less suddenly, without prompting, become willing to sacrifice their own all-important selves for the sake of others.
Perhaps we're just using the term differently. What you say about internalizing a moral code does make it seem to me that we might agree...I just would say that by 'moral code' I mean a set of to a degree culturally-specific guidelines (which we all have to learn anyway), to 'fix' or 'calibrate' his very real inner compass, not an internalizing of an abstract code that has no emotional resonance for him and that he can only follow through rationally applying it. But though, like Sirius, Sev may display a couple of personality traits on the list, I just really, really can't see him as a true sociopath.
Sorry for the length. Like I say above, we agree on other things far more than we disagree here. And you make very good arguments about the problems with Rowling's work, so kudos to you for that. (Please don't take this as an attack in any way; it's not meant to be.)