I think the vast majority of us would feel the same way about him if JKR had never uttered a word about what she thought she was doing.
True! But the dissonance I am talking about is right there in the text! It is in the text itself where we *see* how brave, loyal and loving Severus is; it is in the text itself where he is mocked, demeaned, described as "ugly" "greasy" "malicious" and so on - all in Harry's viewpoint. And we *do not* actually see Harry's viewpoint change. As I've said so often, there is no clear redemption for Severus and no real resolution to the conflict between him and Harry.
So - as I said before, we love Severus because we identify with him and/or admire him. But we (I, at least) find it impossible to let go because of this dissonance. His story is never resolved. That's how it strikes me, anyway.
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True! But the dissonance I am talking about is right there in the text! It is in the text itself where we *see* how brave, loyal and loving Severus is; it is in the text itself where he is mocked, demeaned, described as "ugly" "greasy" "malicious" and so on - all in Harry's viewpoint. And we *do not* actually see Harry's viewpoint change. As I've said so often, there is no clear redemption for Severus and no real resolution to the conflict between him and Harry.
So - as I said before, we love Severus because we identify with him and/or admire him. But we (I, at least) find it impossible to let go because of this dissonance. His story is never resolved. That's how it strikes me, anyway.