I'm not very convinced we can determine Rowling's intent in writing Snape from her interviews. They seem open to interpretation nearly as much as Snape's character is in the books, lol.
"And yet, she makes it clear in the adjectives she uses about him, in the torments and humiliations she puts him through, and in Harry's viewpoint, that she doesn't want him to be seen as a hero."
To me personally it seems evident that she certainly did not want Snape to be seen as a hero in the first 6 7/8ths of her series (in fact, by 7, we were not supposed to think he was even on the 'good side' at all, IMO. I think she did hope to spring a big surprise on her readers with "The Prince's Tale", and succeeded with a segment of her readership, though I personally have not met a single instance of such in Real Life). What her intent was in the final bits is less clear to me. To me personally, all the stuff she puts Snape through is what MAKES him a hero. Whether she does or does not think in those terms, I can't tell. I can see her interviews as saying he is, and isn't, on alternate days.
Snape is not unique in choosing to resist Voldemort, he is not unique in dying. He seems to be unique in that he got absolutely nothing at all out of it, ever, that I can see, except more misery.
Snape seems to have had some attachment to three main people in his life: Lily, Albus, and Harry (whether by virtue of his relationship to Lily, or other reasons, I will not digress into here...). Lily died despite his best efforts. And in the course of his efforts to atone for his own role in that death, Snape was required to kill Albus and send Harry to his death. Yet even believing this would be the way it would all end, he persevered, dping his best to protect people who despised him as a traitor and made shampoo jokes about him. Ouch.
I'm afraid, for me, everyone else pales by comparison. :D
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Date: 2008-03-29 07:09 pm (UTC)I'm not very convinced we can determine Rowling's intent in writing Snape from her interviews. They seem open to interpretation nearly as much as Snape's character is in the books, lol.
"And yet, she makes it clear in the adjectives she uses about him, in the torments and humiliations she puts him through, and in Harry's viewpoint, that she doesn't want him to be seen as a hero."
To me personally it seems evident that she certainly did not want Snape to be seen as a hero in the first 6 7/8ths of her series (in fact, by 7, we were not supposed to think he was even on the 'good side' at all, IMO. I think she did hope to spring a big surprise on her readers with "The Prince's Tale", and succeeded with a segment of her readership, though I personally have not met a single instance of such in Real Life). What her intent was in the final bits is less clear to me. To me personally, all the stuff she puts Snape through is what MAKES him a hero. Whether she does or does not think in those terms, I can't tell. I can see her interviews as saying he is, and isn't, on alternate days.
Snape is not unique in choosing to resist Voldemort, he is not unique in dying. He seems to be unique in that he got absolutely nothing at all out of it, ever, that I can see, except more misery.
Snape seems to have had some attachment to three main people in his life: Lily, Albus, and Harry (whether by virtue of his relationship to Lily, or other reasons, I will not digress into here...). Lily died despite his best efforts. And in the course of his efforts to atone for his own role in that death, Snape was required to kill Albus and send Harry to his death. Yet even believing this would be the way it would all end, he persevered, dping his best to protect people who despised him as a traitor and made shampoo jokes about him. Ouch.
I'm afraid, for me, everyone else pales by comparison. :D