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mary_j_59Title:Snape as a Pillar of the Universe? Who is Severus Snape, and what is his role in the "Harry Potter" stories?
Author:mary_j_59
Type: Essay
Category: Gen, I think?
Length: About 5,900 words
Main characters and/or pairings: Severus Snape, Harry Potter, Hagrid, Buckbeak, Hermione, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, Albus Dumbledore - and others
Warnings: This is an examination of Snape's role in the books when seen by the light of books by the Inklings. It includes religious (specifically medieval Catholic) imagery and religious ideas, so please avoid if you find these offensive.
Rating: G
Summary:In his novel "Descent into Hell", Charles Williams originates the idea of a "terrible good". Is it possible that Severus Snape exemplifies this concept?
Disclaimers and Notes: I'd like to thank my sister and aubrem, who read this for me and approved it. The essay follows the cut - it is also at the Snape the half-Blood prince fest.
Snape as a Pillar of the Universe?
Who is Severus Snape, and What is his Role in the "Harry Potter" Stories?
Several commentators online, most notably swythyv in the livejournal community and jodel from aol at the red hen website, have postulated that Severus Snape is perhaps the major figure - the hidden hero - of the Harry Potter stories. I agree - I see him as a warrior/guardian, who has always protected Harry and who will play a key role in the final defeat of Voldemort. But if he is a hero, why is he so petty and cruel? For he does seem to be. There are many examples of petty, malicious, or even downright vicious behavior from Snape in all the books, but the two most shocking bits of venom (other than the utterly horrifying climax to the Half-Blood Prince ) must surely be his treatment of Neville Longbottom and the ‘sectumsempra’ spell he invented as a young teenager. Can behaviors like these be reconciled with the idea of Snape as a hero, and, if so, how?
Sirius Black, of all people, gives us a clue when he is speaking with Harry about the loathsome Dolores Umbridge. He says: " . . .the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters." (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, First American Edition, p 302) Quite true, and it's after all fairly obvious that not all evil people need be Death Eaters. It might be convenient if all the evil people bore a mark that helped identify them, as the Death Eaters do, but in Rowling's universe, as in real life, evil is not always so easy to recognize. Umbridge works at the ministry, is loyal to the Minister, and clearly considers herself good; nevertheless, she is one of the worst villains in the books. If evil people can vary, that must surely be true of good ones, as well. Perhaps they, too, are not always easy to recongnize. And niceness may not be a pointer to goodness. Umbridge, after all, might seem nice to someone who didn't examine her closely or come into conflict with her. She surrounds herself with a false sweetness and sentimentality, but she is actually cruel - even sadistic - ambitious, and controlling. Granted that Umbridge's niceness is false, and that good people may well be nicer than they would be if they gave in to evil, there is nothing intrinsically nice about goodness, is there? (More on this later.) Perhaps being a nasty person doesn't preclude goodness, after all. There is yet another clue Rowling gives us that may help to explain why Professor Snape so abuses Harry, Neville, and Harry’s friend Hermione. It occurs in Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry has visited the village of Hogsmeade without permission, thus endangering himself. He has the Marauder’s map in his pocket, and attempts to lie to Professor Snape about where he has been and what he has done. "Snape's eyes were boring into Harry's. It was exactly like trying to stare down a hippogriff. Harry tried hard not to blink." (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, first American edition, p 283)
In the same book, in an early lesson in Care of Magical Creatures, Harry befriends the hippogriff Buckbeak. One of the first things apparent in this scene is that all the children - Harry included - find the creature alarming. Though beautiful in his own way, Buckbeak, like the other hippogriffs, is clearly very dangerous. Even when he has made some progress and Hagrid encourages him to pet the animal, Harry feels that a better reward would be to back away. (POA, page 116). Harry is right to be wary of Buckbeak and to treat him with respect; indeed, Hagrid insists that respect is the first step in dealing with these creatures. " 'Now, the firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud,' said Hagrid. 'Easily offended, hippogriffs are.' " (POA p 114) The first thing Harry must do in his encounter is to approach respectfully, but without fear, and make eye contact. Once he receives a signal from Buckbeak, Harry must demonstrate his respect by bowing - exposing the back of his neck to the predator - before Buckbeak will bow to him. At every step, he must follow Buckbeak's lead. Only after the creature has bowed may he approach it and touch it. If Professor Snape is like a hippogriff, how ought the children to approach him?
Harry has the first step right; he is not afraid of Professor Snape and is able to look him in the eye. However, he fails badly at the second step. He never shows Snape the slightest respect, and lies to him constantly. A failure to bow before a hippogriff results in an attack. It’s not surprising, then, that Snape attacks Harry.
Poor Neville fails at the first step, just as he seems to do with his hippogriff in the Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry notices that "Neville ran repeatedly backward from his (hippogriff), which didn't seem to want to bend its knees." (POA page 117). It is clear that the animal senses Neville's fear and therefore rebuffs him. Like the hippogriff, Professor Snape terrifies the boy, and Neville shows his fear. The result is disastrous; just like a hippogriff, the professor responds to fear with aggression, and he and Neville soon become trapped in a vicious circle.
As for Hermione, she genuinely respects the professor and is inclined to think positively of him, but she ignores these subtle signals altogether. Her response to him is rather like Draco Malfoy’s to Buckbeak; she is careless and rushes in without going through the necessary preliminaries. Of course, there is a major difference between Hermione and Draco in that Draco is truly arrogant in his approach to the hippogriff. Hermione, in her approach to the man, is not arrogant at all - but she is aggressive and heedless, which he interprets as arrogance. As a result, he lashes out at her, just as Buckbeak lashes out at Draco.
But can these three children be blamed for not knowing how to deal with such a touchy and difficult man? After all, Professor Snape is not actually a hippogriff, operating on instinct, but a rational human being. It does seem he should be able to overlook the children's ignorance and bend to meet them where they are. That he cannot manage to do so is a personal flaw. However, at least in Harry's case, he has some excuse. Professor Snape is quite perceptive, and it must be clear to him that the boy detests him. It is only human of him to dislike Harry in turn, though, as the adult in the relationship, and the person in a position of power, he has an obligation to combat his personal feelings and deal with the boy as fairly as possible. And perhaps, according to his grim lights, he does exactly that. Needless to say, Harry does not see it that way.
As far as Harry is concerned, Severus Snape is evil and a person to be hated from the moment he sees him. He has three grounds for thinking this way. First, there is the pain in his scar when Professor Snape looks at him. Second is the fact that Snape is head of Slytherin house, and Hagrid has told Harry that Lord Voldemort, along with many other dark wizards, was in Slytherin. Finally, Percy Weasley confirms the prejudice implanted by Hagrid and tells Harry that Snape is fascinated by the Dark Arts; since his parents were killed by Lord Voldemort, who is a Dark Arts practitioner, Harry is naturally repelled by this report. The result is that Harry is inclined to dislike Professor Snape before the man even opens his mouth. Granted, Professor Snape’s behavior in Harry's first Potions class does nothing to contradict the boy’s first impression of him - but what is Harry’s first impression of Buckbeak? Doesn’t he seem a frightening and dangerous animal? Yet, under Hagrid's tutelage, Harry is willing and able to give Buckbeak a chance and eventually comes to love the animal deeply. In marked contrast to the way he treats the animal, Harry never gives Snape a second chance nor the slightest modicum of respect. Clearly, Severus should also give Harry respect - but, if the professor is truly like a hippogriff, it is up to Harry to show respect first, and he does not do so.
As I said above, Harry comes to love Buckbeak even though he is a scary creature. This may also say something important about Professor Snape. There is, in some of the books by the Inklings, and in Diane Duane’s A Wizard Alone, a concept of "a terrible good". This is a goodness so fierce, so unrelenting, and so powerful that it is actually terrifying - indeed, almost inhuman. I think it is possible that, in her portrayal of Professor Snape, J.K.Rowling is attempting to picture this sort of goodness. As a reader, my first introduction to this concept was in the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. Although the idea is presented for the first time in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it is perhaps stated most clearly in The Silver Chair. Early in the book, when Jill watches her friend Eustace fall over a cliff as the result of her own showing off, she collapses into tears. When she comes to herself again, she realizes that there is a stream nearby - but it is guarded by a huge lion. This is the only stream on all that mountainside, and the child is desperate with thirst. She asks the lion if he has ever eaten girls, and this is his answer:
"I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
(The Silver Chair MacMillan 1965, 6th American Edition, p 17)
This is a terribly harsh response, but it is contrasted with the lion's gentleness and patience with Jill as he explains that he has saved Eustace and then sends her on her mission. It is a safe guess that every young reader, like Jill, comes to love the lion Aslan even though they understand there are times when it is right to be afraid of him.
Aslan, however, is a representation of Christ. One would expect his goodness to be awe-inspiring, and sometimes even frightening. Could the same type of goodness be seen in a character as flawed and human as Severus Snape?
In Diane Duane's A Wizard Alone, the wizard of the title is a small boy called Darryl, who is autistic. In Duane's universe, as they reach adolescence and come into their powers, young wizards must face an ordeal in which they battle the Lone Power -Lucifer, the angel who fell out of pride and released death and entropy onto the world. Darryl's ordeal has gone wrong, so the young teenagers Nita and Kit are sent after him to see if they can help. What they find is that Darryl has deliberately trapped the Lone Power in a single combat from which neither party can escape. Darryl's goal is to keep the Lone one trapped so that he cannot do harm elsewhere. Nita, on seeing this, comments that Darryl's goodness is so powerful it is scary. In fact, the boy is a saint - one of the pillars that holds up the universe.
Another literary example of a "terrible good" occurs in Descent into Hell by Charles Williams. The young heroine, Pauline Anstruther, has been haunted since her childhood by a dreadful, almost soul-destroying, fear. At the climax of the story she comes face to face with her ancestor, John Struther, who was one of the Marian martyrs. The man must face a terrible death, and he is nearly insane with dread. Here is what happens:
...her own voice said: "Give it to me, John Struther." (Pauline is asking him to give her his fear.) He heard it, in his cell and chains, as the first dawn of his day of martyrdom broke beyond the prison. It spoke and sprang in his drained heart; and drove the riotous blood again through his veins: "Give it to me, give it to me, John Struther."
(Descent into Hell, Eerdmans paperback edition, 1949, page 170)
At this moment, Pauline herself represents the "terrible good." She seems like an angel in a vision, and she willingly, even joyfully, accepts the horror and fear that are driving Struther mad and rendering him unable to do what he must. Pauline (like Harry when he conjures the Patronus at the end of POA) knows that she can bear the fear without being greatly harmed by it, because she has borne it already. What she offers her ancestor John Struther is her own brokenness. It is her weakness, pain and humanity that she accepts, and they - her human flaws, and human pain - are what enable her to do the good she must do for Struther.
As for Darryl, the little boy, during his battle, has retreated further and further into his autism. This is causing his parents great pain; they are desperately worried about him, and, on some level, Darryl knows this. He willingly accepts his disability and the terrible isolation it brings as the price he must pay in order to do the good he has in mind. The child loves his parents; he would like to be able to reach out to them, but it matters more to him that they be kept safe from the Lone Power. For Darryl too, it is his weakness - his autism - that actually enables him to do good.
Perhaps Severus Snape - certainly a flawed human being - has the kind of fierce integrity these other characters exemplify. In that case, he might actually be using, and even intensifying, his own failings in order to do good. Jodel hints at this in her essay "The Potions Master". She says,
If they want to see a Death Eater, he will SHOW them a Death Eater.
And see how well they like it.
Every day of the week for seven years those kids are getting an up close and personal demonstration of just what a Death Eater is, with ALL the pettiness, spite, partiality, injustice, treachery, contempt and cruelty on full display. (http://www.redhen- publications.com/PotionsMaster.html)
Since it is widely known that Snape was a Death Eater, his sheer unpleasantness might well turn off children who are of two minds about the organization. Snape may thus be making use of his flaws and previous sins in order to do good - to turn young people away from the mistakes he has made.
But the "terrible good" Williams refers to in Descent into Hell is even more extreme than this. It is not just that an individual's human failings are precisely what enable her to do good; it is also that this individual asks - even demands - that another person suffer for the sake of good. In Pauline's case, her ancestor is about to be burned alive. She offers him no escape, for (whether his theology is right or wrong) his integrity as a person has led him to that prison - as is also true of a Jesuit martyr who suffers and dies, like Struther, some years later. These men cannot recant; they must live and die with integrity. So, Pauline demands that John Struther face the flames, but offers him the courage to do so. This is why she appears to him as a "terrible good".
In the same way, Darryl, in his battle with the Lone Power, not only accepts a worsening of his autism and an increase in his isolation, he also imposes that isolation on the parents who love him. He cannot do otherwise, for to deliberately give in to the evil he is fighting, in order to reunite with his parents, would not only allow evil to be victorious, it would also diminish him as a person. If Darryl is to conquer his autism and reach out to his parents, he must do it in his own way, at his own time. It may grieve him that they are also suffering as his condition worsens, but he will not take the easy way out.
If Severus Snape fits the same pattern, we should expect to see him making use of his human flaws and weaknesses in a battle or confrontation in which another person, or persons, must also accept pain, harm or injury for the sake of the greater good. The people involved should be acting in a way that is essential to them - that preserves their integrity in the face of evil. Is there such a moment in the Harry Potter books? There is - and it is Dumbledore's murder on the "lightning-struck tower".
It is hard to accept that this murder may exemplify a "terrible good", or any kind of good at all. After all (and this is the sticking point for me), Pauline may ask her ancestor to retain his integrity by accepting his martyrdom, but she herself does him no harm. She does not judge him, condemn him and lead him to the fire. Severus Snape, on the other hand, really does kill Albus Dumbledore. How can such a betrayal possibly be good? What does seem clear is that the Headmaster's death is the lesser of two evils (the second evil being Harry's capture and death, which might well have happened had Dumbledore and Snape not both protected him.) It is also clear that only Snape's failings, which he must embrace at this moment, enable him to go through with the murder. Because he has been a Death Eater, he is able to perform an unforgivable curse. By acting as he does, he saves Draco Malfoy from having to perform the "Avada Kedavra", quite possibly saves his life, and also - in the flight from the tower - saves Harry. Finally, it is clear to me that Albus Dumbledore willingly sacrifices himself for the sake of the two boys, particularly for Harry. (see note below) Whether the killing of Dumbledore is a '"terrible good" is something we cannot yet determine, however. We do not yet know the end of the story, nor, do we know all the facts surrounding this death. But there are some hints in the text that this may be what Rowling is aiming at.
For one thing, Snape is definitely offering his weaknesses. Even before the murder, he is generally disliked by most of his colleagues and students, and hated by some of them. They trust him, generally, only because Dumbledore trusts him. His role as a spy isolates him further, and he seems entirely without confidants. At the end of the book, he is not just disliked, but actively hated, by all his former colleagues, and there is no guarantee Voldemort will be pleased with him. He accepts this purgatory, apparently willingly, in order to survive so that he can continue to protect Harry.
Also, as hard as it is to believe in Snape's goodness after the conclusion of Half-Blood Prince, if we pay careful attention to the symbols associated with this character, it becomes clear that he may indeed be good - and not only good, but a hero of the same type as Pauline and Darryl, exhibiting the terrible, uncompromising goodness of which Aslan speaks to Jill. We see the first clue that this may be so in the comparison of Snape to the hippogriff Buckbeak.
The hippogriff is closely akin to another mythical animal, the griffin. Elissa at mugglenet makes a brief, but fascinating argument that Severus Snape's Patronus may actually be a griffin, rather than the commonly mentioned bat. (http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-elissa.shtml) She points out that bats and images of flying are frequently mentioned where Snape is concerned, but that some of his features - his hooked nose, for example, - are not at all batlike. Rather, the large nose and the long, clawlike fingers are reminiscent of a predatory bird like the eagle. There is also Snape's prowling walk - again, like a predator's - , his apparent fearlessness, and, the color yellow - Snape's sallow (or yellowish) skin, yellow fingers and yellowish teeth are frequently highlighted throughout the series. Gold, or yellow, is often associated with lions, specifically the Gryffindor lion in these books. The griffin is a beast with a lion's body and an eagle's head and wings. And it is, of course, a predator, and extremely powerful. The same is true of the hippogriff to which Snape is directly compared. Both animals are traditional medieval symbols of Christ because they are native to both the air and the earth. Thus, they exemplify Christ's dual nature - both God and man.
I imagine most readers of The Half Blood Prince were both impressed and surprised at Severus Snape's skill as a healer. He was the person who saved Katie Bell, who gave the information Harry used to save Ron Weasely, who healed Draco Malfoy, and who, initially, saved the seriously injured Headmaster. When I read the scene with Draco in the bathroom, I was strongly reminded of Aragorn healing Frodo at Weathertop - and Aragorn, the king who is to return and bring healing to his people, is a figure of Christ. John Granger, too, noticed this similarity and pointed out that Christ is the Divine Physician and healer of the world. (http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/home.php?page=docs/BaptismIntoDeath)
Professor Granger also pointed out a symbol I had missed - Snape's nickname, the half-blood prince. He says,
Is Snape a Christ symbol?
Well, yes, he is.
Most obviously in his name, The Half Blood Prince. You don’t have to be very clever to see in that name “a double-natured King.” As all of Rowling’s book titles are cryptonyms for Christ, this is an easy leap.
(http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/home.php?page=docs/railings)
Finally, in the famous interview with Emerson and Melissa, J.K. Rowling said that Slytherin house represents water. Water stands for birth, new life, healing, renewal, baptism, and the Holy Spirit. These are by no means negative images, and tend to confirm the view that Severus Snape actually is a Christ symbol, just as Professor Granger has asserted.
However, there is no doubt that Snape as a Christ figure is a shocking concept. When we think of Christ, those of us who are Christians, whatever our creed, surely think of redemption, forgiveness, and, most of all, self-sacrificing love. On the surface, Severus Snape does not seem to exemplify any of those traits. Or does he?
One thing we should remember is that everyone is called to imitate Christ in his or her own way - and that the way they do so is unique to them. Darryl is a good example. On the surface he is quite unprepossessing; small and skinny for his age, and, due to his crippling autism, unable to interact normally with other children or look them in the eye. All the same, he is a hero; indeed, a saint. For her part, Pauline is not conventionally beautiful, is living alone with her dying grandmother, and does not give many hints as to what is going on inside her. Still, she is ultimately capable of great imagination, compassion and courage. From these literary examples, we can see that a person who is living his life with great integrity, and doing his best to love, may nevertheless seem far from saintly on the surface.
Perhaps it is integrity and love that are key here. In order to be a saint, and to live up to the Christ imagery by which he is surrounded, Severus Snape needs to be the person he uniquely is, and to love in the way that is possible only for him - no one else. So, who or what is Severus Snape? And how does such a person best exhibit love?
I believe that Elissa's guess is right, and that Snape is, at the core, a griffin. In addition to being a symbol of Christ, a griffin is a powerful predator, a fighter, and a guardian of treasure. It is quite easy to see Snape this way. Over and over we have heard about his looming over students, his prowling walk, and his fascination with the Dark Arts - and therefore with fighting them. Look again at the scene of the teenage Snape Harry witnesses in the pensieve:
His hair was lank and greasy and was flopping onto the table; his hooked nose barely half an inch from the surface of the parchment as he scribbled. . . . His hand was flying across the parchment; he had written at least a foot more than his closest neighbors, and yet his writing was miniscule and cramped. (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, first American Edition, p, 641)
There are many adjectives - besides the ones Rowling uses ("pallid" "stringy" and "greasy") - one could apply to such a boy. We are obviously supposed to think that he is an ambitious swot out to get the top grade in the subject. This impression is confirmed when he sits down in the shade outside and starts reviewing the examination paper - something Hermione, who is definitely an ambitious swot, does constantly. But "ambitious", "competitive" and "nerdy" are not the only adjectives that come to mind. One could also call young Severus passionate, focused, intense, perhaps even obsessed. There is something a little scary about his extreme concentration on this subject - and the subject is defense. He is intensely interested in knowing how to fight.
And, when we finally see Severus Snape teach a class in Defense against the Dark Arts, this impression is confirmed. Harry is repelled by Snape's opening speech, but Hermione is not; she comments that Snape sounds like Harry ( HBP, page 180). And it is notable that Snape instantly begins to teach the sixth years something they truly need to know, and which would have been a great aid to those who were present at the battle in the ministry in OOTP - nonverbal spells. He seems very sincere in his desire that his students learn - witness his conversation with Draco Malfoy at Christmastime: "If your friends Crabbe and Goyle intend to pass their Defense against the Dark Arts O.W.L. this time around, they will need to work a little harder than they are doing. . . (HBP page 324) In this conversation, he is trying to pump Draco, but the concerned (and irritated) Defense teacher comes through almost in spite of himself.
Finally, we witness the running battle between Snape and Harry during the flight of the prince. We know Harry is extraordinarily talented at defense; we have seen him battle Death Eaters, teach other students and, at the climax of Goblet of Fire, fight Voldemort to a standstill. But he cannot touch Snape. The man hardly seems to expend any effort in rebuffing the boy's attacks. Whatever else he may be, this man is a fighter. And - again - for the most part, we see him defend. He may be fascinated with the Dark Arts; I would guess he is more interested in combatting them.
In his essence, then, Severus Snape is a warrior. Thus far he fits the image of the griffin very well. But is he also a guardian? I believe he is; I think that, from at least the time Harry entered Hogwarts, and possibly before, Snape has been guarding him. There are many scenes throughout the books that, seen one way, would seem to show hostility toward Harry, but, seen another, show great concern for his safety. The scene from POA which I cited above is just one such; a few others are the Shrieking Shack scene in POA, the rescue at the end of GOF, the early occlumency lessons in OOTP; the warning of the order in OOTP, and his intercepting of Tonks's Patronus and fetching of Harry in HBP. This is a short list, and I am sure readers can come up with many more examples.
But Severus Snape seems to truly despise Harry Potter, quite as much as the boy despises him. Then why does he expend time and effort in protecting him, if, indeed, that is what he is doing? One possible answer is that Albus Dumbledore has asked him to. And Severus Snape obeys Albus Dumbledore. Even when he is ordered to guard a boy he dislikes and considers dangerous; even when he is (possibly) asked to kill a friend and mentor rather than let that boy come to harm, Severus Snape obeys. As I said in an earlier paper, (see notes below) obedience of this sort is a form of love. It is, furthermore, precisely the sort of love a warrior would be most likely to give and to understand.
Thus, it is possible to see Snape's actions in HBP as motivated by his personal integrity and his love for Albus Dumbledore. If this is true, his killing of Dumbledore in order to save Harry is, indeed, a terrible good.
Where Severus Snape is concerned, Harry has typically been wrong in his judgements. At the end of HBP, he says the last and greatest of his protectors is gone. Again, he is wrong. Dumbledore may - or may not - have been the greatest of Harry's protectors, but he was not the last.
Severus Snape is still alive.
Notes and sources:
1. A note on "sectumsempra". We are led to believe that young Snape invented this spell in order to get back at the bullying marauders. But what if that, too, is a piece of misdirection? It would make this essay far too long and meandering to go into detail about what that spell may really indicate - in any case, Jodel from aol said it first. Please see her essay "out on a limb" and look particularly at the first section, which she calls the Martian canals. I think she is right. Here is the url:
http://www.redhen-publications.com/Limb.html
2. It is Charles Williams who actually names the concept of a "terrible good" which his book explores. He is the oddest of the Inklings, and the hardest to read; his most fun and accessible book is probably War in Heaven, which concerns a battle for the Holy Grail between the forces of good and evil in and around 1930s London. Both my sister and I think Rowling may have read this book, for Grimmauld place is reminiscent of the vanishing apothecary shop in which the forces of evil meet in Williams' book.
3. Dumbledore's murder is very ambiguous. It is not at all clear when or how the Headmaster died, or even if he is truly dead (I believe he is). Therefore, it is not clear that Snape killed him. Nevertheless, in casting the AK at Dumbledore, Severus Snape did a terrible thing, something that clearly cost him a great deal. He does seem to offer his own weakness here - but, as I said above, we don't yet know enough about this scene to state beyond a shadow of a doubt that it represents a terrible good. There are strong indications that it does, but we will not know for sure until Rowling publishes the final book in the series.
4. Snape as a healer, and Dumbledore's willing sacrifice to save the two boys: I explored both the 'sectumsempra' scene and Dumbledore's sacrifice at greater length in an earlier paper, "Severus Snape and the Great Mysteries: Love, Forgiveness and Redemption in Harry Potter. " Here are the relevant quotes:
A. Snape as healer:
This is a side of Snape we have never seen before, and it shocked me because of the comparison it brought to mind. Here is a scene from another book:
He sat down on the ground, and taking the dagger-hilt laid it on his knees, and he sang
over it a slow song in a strange tongue. Then setting it aside, he turned to Frodo and in
a soft tone spoke words the others could not catch. (The Fellowship of the Ring, Folio
society second edition, p 233.)
This scene, of course, is Aragon starting to heal Frodo after he has been stabbed by the Witch-King's Morgul blade. J.K. Rowling says she has never finished The Lord of the Rings, and, at first glance, it is hard to imagine characters more different than the noble, heroic and patient Aragorn and the irascible, introverted and self-protective Snape. If there is no direct influence, both authors must have been calling on the same model. In Aragorn's case, the model is Christ, the Great Physician. And, on his website, John Granger states that the model Rowling is surely using in this scene is the Great Physician (http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/home.php?page=docs/BaptismIntoDeath) . I believe Mr. Granger is right, for the mingled blood and water on the bathroom floor, which Rowling describes as looking like red flowers, clearly presage a crucifixion. I also believe the foreshadowed crucifixion is Snape's, and that it begins in the climactic scene on the lightning-struck tower. "Severus Snape and the Great Mysteries", page 10
B. The sacrifice on the tower:
. . .when Snape came to the top of the tower, I think Dumbledore did send him an unspoken message. It was certainly not "please don't kill me," as Harry thinks - Dumbledore has said many times in the course of this terrible evening that his life is nowhere near so valuable as Harry's, and he would be much more concerned about the two boys trapped with him and surrounded by death eaters than about himself. Dumbledore would gladly give up his own life for Harry and Draco - and also for Snape. So "please kill me," seems a much more likely message. I think, however, that Dumbledore's last request to Severus Snape is both simpler and more profound than that. I believe what he tells him is "keep your promise," or perhaps "keep your promises." And Snape does. He fulfills the unbreakable vow he made to Narcissa Malfoy by killing the headmaster, because he can see no other way out, but it's clear to me that he hates to do it, and hates himself for doing it. He keeps his second promise as well; he protects Harry. Like Harry, Snape is loyal to Dumbledore even after the headmaster 's death - yes, even after having killed him. It's important to realize that this sort of loyalty and obedience is an aspect of love. It may be the only aspect this proud and damaged soul can understand, but understand it he does. He obeys Dumbledore, and I think he will continue to obey Dumbledore, and protect Harry, until his last breath. "Severus Snape and the Great Mysteries", pages 14- 15
5. List of Sources:
Duane, Diane A Wizard Alone, first American edition, 2002
Lewis, C.S. The Silver Chair, 6th American Edition, Macmillan, 1965
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, first American Edition, Scholastic, 1998
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, first American edition, Scholastic 1999
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, first American edition, Scholastic, 2003
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, first American edition, Scholastic, 2005
Williams, Charles, Descent into Hell, William B. Eerdmans paperback edition, 1949
The Red Hen website, May, 2006
http://www.redhen-publications.com/PotionsMaster.html
http://www.redhen-publications.com/Limb.html
John Granger's website, October, 2005
http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/home.php?page=docs/BaptismIntoDeath
http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/home.php?page=docs/railings
Mugglenet:
http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-elissa.shtml
Mary Johnson, May 2006
written for the Half-Blood prince fest on livejournal.
All links cited were current as of May 10, 2006.
Author:mary_j_59
Type: Essay
Category: Gen, I think?
Length: About 5,900 words
Main characters and/or pairings: Severus Snape, Harry Potter, Hagrid, Buckbeak, Hermione, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, Albus Dumbledore - and others
Warnings: This is an examination of Snape's role in the books when seen by the light of books by the Inklings. It includes religious (specifically medieval Catholic) imagery and religious ideas, so please avoid if you find these offensive.
Rating: G
Summary:In his novel "Descent into Hell", Charles Williams originates the idea of a "terrible good". Is it possible that Severus Snape exemplifies this concept?
Disclaimers and Notes: I'd like to thank my sister and aubrem, who read this for me and approved it. The essay follows the cut - it is also at the Snape the half-Blood prince fest.
Snape as a Pillar of the Universe?
Who is Severus Snape, and What is his Role in the "Harry Potter" Stories?
Several commentators online, most notably swythyv in the livejournal community and jodel from aol at the red hen website, have postulated that Severus Snape is perhaps the major figure - the hidden hero - of the Harry Potter stories. I agree - I see him as a warrior/guardian, who has always protected Harry and who will play a key role in the final defeat of Voldemort. But if he is a hero, why is he so petty and cruel? For he does seem to be. There are many examples of petty, malicious, or even downright vicious behavior from Snape in all the books, but the two most shocking bits of venom (other than the utterly horrifying climax to the Half-Blood Prince ) must surely be his treatment of Neville Longbottom and the ‘sectumsempra’ spell he invented as a young teenager. Can behaviors like these be reconciled with the idea of Snape as a hero, and, if so, how?
Sirius Black, of all people, gives us a clue when he is speaking with Harry about the loathsome Dolores Umbridge. He says: " . . .the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters." (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, First American Edition, p 302) Quite true, and it's after all fairly obvious that not all evil people need be Death Eaters. It might be convenient if all the evil people bore a mark that helped identify them, as the Death Eaters do, but in Rowling's universe, as in real life, evil is not always so easy to recognize. Umbridge works at the ministry, is loyal to the Minister, and clearly considers herself good; nevertheless, she is one of the worst villains in the books. If evil people can vary, that must surely be true of good ones, as well. Perhaps they, too, are not always easy to recongnize. And niceness may not be a pointer to goodness. Umbridge, after all, might seem nice to someone who didn't examine her closely or come into conflict with her. She surrounds herself with a false sweetness and sentimentality, but she is actually cruel - even sadistic - ambitious, and controlling. Granted that Umbridge's niceness is false, and that good people may well be nicer than they would be if they gave in to evil, there is nothing intrinsically nice about goodness, is there? (More on this later.) Perhaps being a nasty person doesn't preclude goodness, after all. There is yet another clue Rowling gives us that may help to explain why Professor Snape so abuses Harry, Neville, and Harry’s friend Hermione. It occurs in Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry has visited the village of Hogsmeade without permission, thus endangering himself. He has the Marauder’s map in his pocket, and attempts to lie to Professor Snape about where he has been and what he has done. "Snape's eyes were boring into Harry's. It was exactly like trying to stare down a hippogriff. Harry tried hard not to blink." (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, first American edition, p 283)
In the same book, in an early lesson in Care of Magical Creatures, Harry befriends the hippogriff Buckbeak. One of the first things apparent in this scene is that all the children - Harry included - find the creature alarming. Though beautiful in his own way, Buckbeak, like the other hippogriffs, is clearly very dangerous. Even when he has made some progress and Hagrid encourages him to pet the animal, Harry feels that a better reward would be to back away. (POA, page 116). Harry is right to be wary of Buckbeak and to treat him with respect; indeed, Hagrid insists that respect is the first step in dealing with these creatures. " 'Now, the firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud,' said Hagrid. 'Easily offended, hippogriffs are.' " (POA p 114) The first thing Harry must do in his encounter is to approach respectfully, but without fear, and make eye contact. Once he receives a signal from Buckbeak, Harry must demonstrate his respect by bowing - exposing the back of his neck to the predator - before Buckbeak will bow to him. At every step, he must follow Buckbeak's lead. Only after the creature has bowed may he approach it and touch it. If Professor Snape is like a hippogriff, how ought the children to approach him?
Harry has the first step right; he is not afraid of Professor Snape and is able to look him in the eye. However, he fails badly at the second step. He never shows Snape the slightest respect, and lies to him constantly. A failure to bow before a hippogriff results in an attack. It’s not surprising, then, that Snape attacks Harry.
Poor Neville fails at the first step, just as he seems to do with his hippogriff in the Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry notices that "Neville ran repeatedly backward from his (hippogriff), which didn't seem to want to bend its knees." (POA page 117). It is clear that the animal senses Neville's fear and therefore rebuffs him. Like the hippogriff, Professor Snape terrifies the boy, and Neville shows his fear. The result is disastrous; just like a hippogriff, the professor responds to fear with aggression, and he and Neville soon become trapped in a vicious circle.
As for Hermione, she genuinely respects the professor and is inclined to think positively of him, but she ignores these subtle signals altogether. Her response to him is rather like Draco Malfoy’s to Buckbeak; she is careless and rushes in without going through the necessary preliminaries. Of course, there is a major difference between Hermione and Draco in that Draco is truly arrogant in his approach to the hippogriff. Hermione, in her approach to the man, is not arrogant at all - but she is aggressive and heedless, which he interprets as arrogance. As a result, he lashes out at her, just as Buckbeak lashes out at Draco.
But can these three children be blamed for not knowing how to deal with such a touchy and difficult man? After all, Professor Snape is not actually a hippogriff, operating on instinct, but a rational human being. It does seem he should be able to overlook the children's ignorance and bend to meet them where they are. That he cannot manage to do so is a personal flaw. However, at least in Harry's case, he has some excuse. Professor Snape is quite perceptive, and it must be clear to him that the boy detests him. It is only human of him to dislike Harry in turn, though, as the adult in the relationship, and the person in a position of power, he has an obligation to combat his personal feelings and deal with the boy as fairly as possible. And perhaps, according to his grim lights, he does exactly that. Needless to say, Harry does not see it that way.
As far as Harry is concerned, Severus Snape is evil and a person to be hated from the moment he sees him. He has three grounds for thinking this way. First, there is the pain in his scar when Professor Snape looks at him. Second is the fact that Snape is head of Slytherin house, and Hagrid has told Harry that Lord Voldemort, along with many other dark wizards, was in Slytherin. Finally, Percy Weasley confirms the prejudice implanted by Hagrid and tells Harry that Snape is fascinated by the Dark Arts; since his parents were killed by Lord Voldemort, who is a Dark Arts practitioner, Harry is naturally repelled by this report. The result is that Harry is inclined to dislike Professor Snape before the man even opens his mouth. Granted, Professor Snape’s behavior in Harry's first Potions class does nothing to contradict the boy’s first impression of him - but what is Harry’s first impression of Buckbeak? Doesn’t he seem a frightening and dangerous animal? Yet, under Hagrid's tutelage, Harry is willing and able to give Buckbeak a chance and eventually comes to love the animal deeply. In marked contrast to the way he treats the animal, Harry never gives Snape a second chance nor the slightest modicum of respect. Clearly, Severus should also give Harry respect - but, if the professor is truly like a hippogriff, it is up to Harry to show respect first, and he does not do so.
As I said above, Harry comes to love Buckbeak even though he is a scary creature. This may also say something important about Professor Snape. There is, in some of the books by the Inklings, and in Diane Duane’s A Wizard Alone, a concept of "a terrible good". This is a goodness so fierce, so unrelenting, and so powerful that it is actually terrifying - indeed, almost inhuman. I think it is possible that, in her portrayal of Professor Snape, J.K.Rowling is attempting to picture this sort of goodness. As a reader, my first introduction to this concept was in the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. Although the idea is presented for the first time in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it is perhaps stated most clearly in The Silver Chair. Early in the book, when Jill watches her friend Eustace fall over a cliff as the result of her own showing off, she collapses into tears. When she comes to herself again, she realizes that there is a stream nearby - but it is guarded by a huge lion. This is the only stream on all that mountainside, and the child is desperate with thirst. She asks the lion if he has ever eaten girls, and this is his answer:
"I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
(The Silver Chair MacMillan 1965, 6th American Edition, p 17)
This is a terribly harsh response, but it is contrasted with the lion's gentleness and patience with Jill as he explains that he has saved Eustace and then sends her on her mission. It is a safe guess that every young reader, like Jill, comes to love the lion Aslan even though they understand there are times when it is right to be afraid of him.
Aslan, however, is a representation of Christ. One would expect his goodness to be awe-inspiring, and sometimes even frightening. Could the same type of goodness be seen in a character as flawed and human as Severus Snape?
In Diane Duane's A Wizard Alone, the wizard of the title is a small boy called Darryl, who is autistic. In Duane's universe, as they reach adolescence and come into their powers, young wizards must face an ordeal in which they battle the Lone Power -Lucifer, the angel who fell out of pride and released death and entropy onto the world. Darryl's ordeal has gone wrong, so the young teenagers Nita and Kit are sent after him to see if they can help. What they find is that Darryl has deliberately trapped the Lone Power in a single combat from which neither party can escape. Darryl's goal is to keep the Lone one trapped so that he cannot do harm elsewhere. Nita, on seeing this, comments that Darryl's goodness is so powerful it is scary. In fact, the boy is a saint - one of the pillars that holds up the universe.
Another literary example of a "terrible good" occurs in Descent into Hell by Charles Williams. The young heroine, Pauline Anstruther, has been haunted since her childhood by a dreadful, almost soul-destroying, fear. At the climax of the story she comes face to face with her ancestor, John Struther, who was one of the Marian martyrs. The man must face a terrible death, and he is nearly insane with dread. Here is what happens:
...her own voice said: "Give it to me, John Struther." (Pauline is asking him to give her his fear.) He heard it, in his cell and chains, as the first dawn of his day of martyrdom broke beyond the prison. It spoke and sprang in his drained heart; and drove the riotous blood again through his veins: "Give it to me, give it to me, John Struther."
(Descent into Hell, Eerdmans paperback edition, 1949, page 170)
At this moment, Pauline herself represents the "terrible good." She seems like an angel in a vision, and she willingly, even joyfully, accepts the horror and fear that are driving Struther mad and rendering him unable to do what he must. Pauline (like Harry when he conjures the Patronus at the end of POA) knows that she can bear the fear without being greatly harmed by it, because she has borne it already. What she offers her ancestor John Struther is her own brokenness. It is her weakness, pain and humanity that she accepts, and they - her human flaws, and human pain - are what enable her to do the good she must do for Struther.
As for Darryl, the little boy, during his battle, has retreated further and further into his autism. This is causing his parents great pain; they are desperately worried about him, and, on some level, Darryl knows this. He willingly accepts his disability and the terrible isolation it brings as the price he must pay in order to do the good he has in mind. The child loves his parents; he would like to be able to reach out to them, but it matters more to him that they be kept safe from the Lone Power. For Darryl too, it is his weakness - his autism - that actually enables him to do good.
Perhaps Severus Snape - certainly a flawed human being - has the kind of fierce integrity these other characters exemplify. In that case, he might actually be using, and even intensifying, his own failings in order to do good. Jodel hints at this in her essay "The Potions Master". She says,
If they want to see a Death Eater, he will SHOW them a Death Eater.
And see how well they like it.
Every day of the week for seven years those kids are getting an up close and personal demonstration of just what a Death Eater is, with ALL the pettiness, spite, partiality, injustice, treachery, contempt and cruelty on full display. (http://www.redhen- publications.com/PotionsMaster.html)
Since it is widely known that Snape was a Death Eater, his sheer unpleasantness might well turn off children who are of two minds about the organization. Snape may thus be making use of his flaws and previous sins in order to do good - to turn young people away from the mistakes he has made.
But the "terrible good" Williams refers to in Descent into Hell is even more extreme than this. It is not just that an individual's human failings are precisely what enable her to do good; it is also that this individual asks - even demands - that another person suffer for the sake of good. In Pauline's case, her ancestor is about to be burned alive. She offers him no escape, for (whether his theology is right or wrong) his integrity as a person has led him to that prison - as is also true of a Jesuit martyr who suffers and dies, like Struther, some years later. These men cannot recant; they must live and die with integrity. So, Pauline demands that John Struther face the flames, but offers him the courage to do so. This is why she appears to him as a "terrible good".
In the same way, Darryl, in his battle with the Lone Power, not only accepts a worsening of his autism and an increase in his isolation, he also imposes that isolation on the parents who love him. He cannot do otherwise, for to deliberately give in to the evil he is fighting, in order to reunite with his parents, would not only allow evil to be victorious, it would also diminish him as a person. If Darryl is to conquer his autism and reach out to his parents, he must do it in his own way, at his own time. It may grieve him that they are also suffering as his condition worsens, but he will not take the easy way out.
If Severus Snape fits the same pattern, we should expect to see him making use of his human flaws and weaknesses in a battle or confrontation in which another person, or persons, must also accept pain, harm or injury for the sake of the greater good. The people involved should be acting in a way that is essential to them - that preserves their integrity in the face of evil. Is there such a moment in the Harry Potter books? There is - and it is Dumbledore's murder on the "lightning-struck tower".
It is hard to accept that this murder may exemplify a "terrible good", or any kind of good at all. After all (and this is the sticking point for me), Pauline may ask her ancestor to retain his integrity by accepting his martyrdom, but she herself does him no harm. She does not judge him, condemn him and lead him to the fire. Severus Snape, on the other hand, really does kill Albus Dumbledore. How can such a betrayal possibly be good? What does seem clear is that the Headmaster's death is the lesser of two evils (the second evil being Harry's capture and death, which might well have happened had Dumbledore and Snape not both protected him.) It is also clear that only Snape's failings, which he must embrace at this moment, enable him to go through with the murder. Because he has been a Death Eater, he is able to perform an unforgivable curse. By acting as he does, he saves Draco Malfoy from having to perform the "Avada Kedavra", quite possibly saves his life, and also - in the flight from the tower - saves Harry. Finally, it is clear to me that Albus Dumbledore willingly sacrifices himself for the sake of the two boys, particularly for Harry. (see note below) Whether the killing of Dumbledore is a '"terrible good" is something we cannot yet determine, however. We do not yet know the end of the story, nor, do we know all the facts surrounding this death. But there are some hints in the text that this may be what Rowling is aiming at.
For one thing, Snape is definitely offering his weaknesses. Even before the murder, he is generally disliked by most of his colleagues and students, and hated by some of them. They trust him, generally, only because Dumbledore trusts him. His role as a spy isolates him further, and he seems entirely without confidants. At the end of the book, he is not just disliked, but actively hated, by all his former colleagues, and there is no guarantee Voldemort will be pleased with him. He accepts this purgatory, apparently willingly, in order to survive so that he can continue to protect Harry.
Also, as hard as it is to believe in Snape's goodness after the conclusion of Half-Blood Prince, if we pay careful attention to the symbols associated with this character, it becomes clear that he may indeed be good - and not only good, but a hero of the same type as Pauline and Darryl, exhibiting the terrible, uncompromising goodness of which Aslan speaks to Jill. We see the first clue that this may be so in the comparison of Snape to the hippogriff Buckbeak.
The hippogriff is closely akin to another mythical animal, the griffin. Elissa at mugglenet makes a brief, but fascinating argument that Severus Snape's Patronus may actually be a griffin, rather than the commonly mentioned bat. (http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-elissa.shtml) She points out that bats and images of flying are frequently mentioned where Snape is concerned, but that some of his features - his hooked nose, for example, - are not at all batlike. Rather, the large nose and the long, clawlike fingers are reminiscent of a predatory bird like the eagle. There is also Snape's prowling walk - again, like a predator's - , his apparent fearlessness, and, the color yellow - Snape's sallow (or yellowish) skin, yellow fingers and yellowish teeth are frequently highlighted throughout the series. Gold, or yellow, is often associated with lions, specifically the Gryffindor lion in these books. The griffin is a beast with a lion's body and an eagle's head and wings. And it is, of course, a predator, and extremely powerful. The same is true of the hippogriff to which Snape is directly compared. Both animals are traditional medieval symbols of Christ because they are native to both the air and the earth. Thus, they exemplify Christ's dual nature - both God and man.
I imagine most readers of The Half Blood Prince were both impressed and surprised at Severus Snape's skill as a healer. He was the person who saved Katie Bell, who gave the information Harry used to save Ron Weasely, who healed Draco Malfoy, and who, initially, saved the seriously injured Headmaster. When I read the scene with Draco in the bathroom, I was strongly reminded of Aragorn healing Frodo at Weathertop - and Aragorn, the king who is to return and bring healing to his people, is a figure of Christ. John Granger, too, noticed this similarity and pointed out that Christ is the Divine Physician and healer of the world. (http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/home.php?page=docs/BaptismIntoDeath)
Professor Granger also pointed out a symbol I had missed - Snape's nickname, the half-blood prince. He says,
Is Snape a Christ symbol?
Well, yes, he is.
Most obviously in his name, The Half Blood Prince. You don’t have to be very clever to see in that name “a double-natured King.” As all of Rowling’s book titles are cryptonyms for Christ, this is an easy leap.
(http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/home.php?page=docs/railings)
Finally, in the famous interview with Emerson and Melissa, J.K. Rowling said that Slytherin house represents water. Water stands for birth, new life, healing, renewal, baptism, and the Holy Spirit. These are by no means negative images, and tend to confirm the view that Severus Snape actually is a Christ symbol, just as Professor Granger has asserted.
However, there is no doubt that Snape as a Christ figure is a shocking concept. When we think of Christ, those of us who are Christians, whatever our creed, surely think of redemption, forgiveness, and, most of all, self-sacrificing love. On the surface, Severus Snape does not seem to exemplify any of those traits. Or does he?
One thing we should remember is that everyone is called to imitate Christ in his or her own way - and that the way they do so is unique to them. Darryl is a good example. On the surface he is quite unprepossessing; small and skinny for his age, and, due to his crippling autism, unable to interact normally with other children or look them in the eye. All the same, he is a hero; indeed, a saint. For her part, Pauline is not conventionally beautiful, is living alone with her dying grandmother, and does not give many hints as to what is going on inside her. Still, she is ultimately capable of great imagination, compassion and courage. From these literary examples, we can see that a person who is living his life with great integrity, and doing his best to love, may nevertheless seem far from saintly on the surface.
Perhaps it is integrity and love that are key here. In order to be a saint, and to live up to the Christ imagery by which he is surrounded, Severus Snape needs to be the person he uniquely is, and to love in the way that is possible only for him - no one else. So, who or what is Severus Snape? And how does such a person best exhibit love?
I believe that Elissa's guess is right, and that Snape is, at the core, a griffin. In addition to being a symbol of Christ, a griffin is a powerful predator, a fighter, and a guardian of treasure. It is quite easy to see Snape this way. Over and over we have heard about his looming over students, his prowling walk, and his fascination with the Dark Arts - and therefore with fighting them. Look again at the scene of the teenage Snape Harry witnesses in the pensieve:
His hair was lank and greasy and was flopping onto the table; his hooked nose barely half an inch from the surface of the parchment as he scribbled. . . . His hand was flying across the parchment; he had written at least a foot more than his closest neighbors, and yet his writing was miniscule and cramped. (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, first American Edition, p, 641)
There are many adjectives - besides the ones Rowling uses ("pallid" "stringy" and "greasy") - one could apply to such a boy. We are obviously supposed to think that he is an ambitious swot out to get the top grade in the subject. This impression is confirmed when he sits down in the shade outside and starts reviewing the examination paper - something Hermione, who is definitely an ambitious swot, does constantly. But "ambitious", "competitive" and "nerdy" are not the only adjectives that come to mind. One could also call young Severus passionate, focused, intense, perhaps even obsessed. There is something a little scary about his extreme concentration on this subject - and the subject is defense. He is intensely interested in knowing how to fight.
And, when we finally see Severus Snape teach a class in Defense against the Dark Arts, this impression is confirmed. Harry is repelled by Snape's opening speech, but Hermione is not; she comments that Snape sounds like Harry ( HBP, page 180). And it is notable that Snape instantly begins to teach the sixth years something they truly need to know, and which would have been a great aid to those who were present at the battle in the ministry in OOTP - nonverbal spells. He seems very sincere in his desire that his students learn - witness his conversation with Draco Malfoy at Christmastime: "If your friends Crabbe and Goyle intend to pass their Defense against the Dark Arts O.W.L. this time around, they will need to work a little harder than they are doing. . . (HBP page 324) In this conversation, he is trying to pump Draco, but the concerned (and irritated) Defense teacher comes through almost in spite of himself.
Finally, we witness the running battle between Snape and Harry during the flight of the prince. We know Harry is extraordinarily talented at defense; we have seen him battle Death Eaters, teach other students and, at the climax of Goblet of Fire, fight Voldemort to a standstill. But he cannot touch Snape. The man hardly seems to expend any effort in rebuffing the boy's attacks. Whatever else he may be, this man is a fighter. And - again - for the most part, we see him defend. He may be fascinated with the Dark Arts; I would guess he is more interested in combatting them.
In his essence, then, Severus Snape is a warrior. Thus far he fits the image of the griffin very well. But is he also a guardian? I believe he is; I think that, from at least the time Harry entered Hogwarts, and possibly before, Snape has been guarding him. There are many scenes throughout the books that, seen one way, would seem to show hostility toward Harry, but, seen another, show great concern for his safety. The scene from POA which I cited above is just one such; a few others are the Shrieking Shack scene in POA, the rescue at the end of GOF, the early occlumency lessons in OOTP; the warning of the order in OOTP, and his intercepting of Tonks's Patronus and fetching of Harry in HBP. This is a short list, and I am sure readers can come up with many more examples.
But Severus Snape seems to truly despise Harry Potter, quite as much as the boy despises him. Then why does he expend time and effort in protecting him, if, indeed, that is what he is doing? One possible answer is that Albus Dumbledore has asked him to. And Severus Snape obeys Albus Dumbledore. Even when he is ordered to guard a boy he dislikes and considers dangerous; even when he is (possibly) asked to kill a friend and mentor rather than let that boy come to harm, Severus Snape obeys. As I said in an earlier paper, (see notes below) obedience of this sort is a form of love. It is, furthermore, precisely the sort of love a warrior would be most likely to give and to understand.
Thus, it is possible to see Snape's actions in HBP as motivated by his personal integrity and his love for Albus Dumbledore. If this is true, his killing of Dumbledore in order to save Harry is, indeed, a terrible good.
Where Severus Snape is concerned, Harry has typically been wrong in his judgements. At the end of HBP, he says the last and greatest of his protectors is gone. Again, he is wrong. Dumbledore may - or may not - have been the greatest of Harry's protectors, but he was not the last.
Severus Snape is still alive.
Notes and sources:
1. A note on "sectumsempra". We are led to believe that young Snape invented this spell in order to get back at the bullying marauders. But what if that, too, is a piece of misdirection? It would make this essay far too long and meandering to go into detail about what that spell may really indicate - in any case, Jodel from aol said it first. Please see her essay "out on a limb" and look particularly at the first section, which she calls the Martian canals. I think she is right. Here is the url:
http://www.redhen-publications.com/Limb.html
2. It is Charles Williams who actually names the concept of a "terrible good" which his book explores. He is the oddest of the Inklings, and the hardest to read; his most fun and accessible book is probably War in Heaven, which concerns a battle for the Holy Grail between the forces of good and evil in and around 1930s London. Both my sister and I think Rowling may have read this book, for Grimmauld place is reminiscent of the vanishing apothecary shop in which the forces of evil meet in Williams' book.
3. Dumbledore's murder is very ambiguous. It is not at all clear when or how the Headmaster died, or even if he is truly dead (I believe he is). Therefore, it is not clear that Snape killed him. Nevertheless, in casting the AK at Dumbledore, Severus Snape did a terrible thing, something that clearly cost him a great deal. He does seem to offer his own weakness here - but, as I said above, we don't yet know enough about this scene to state beyond a shadow of a doubt that it represents a terrible good. There are strong indications that it does, but we will not know for sure until Rowling publishes the final book in the series.
4. Snape as a healer, and Dumbledore's willing sacrifice to save the two boys: I explored both the 'sectumsempra' scene and Dumbledore's sacrifice at greater length in an earlier paper, "Severus Snape and the Great Mysteries: Love, Forgiveness and Redemption in Harry Potter. " Here are the relevant quotes:
A. Snape as healer:
This is a side of Snape we have never seen before, and it shocked me because of the comparison it brought to mind. Here is a scene from another book:
He sat down on the ground, and taking the dagger-hilt laid it on his knees, and he sang
over it a slow song in a strange tongue. Then setting it aside, he turned to Frodo and in
a soft tone spoke words the others could not catch. (The Fellowship of the Ring, Folio
society second edition, p 233.)
This scene, of course, is Aragon starting to heal Frodo after he has been stabbed by the Witch-King's Morgul blade. J.K. Rowling says she has never finished The Lord of the Rings, and, at first glance, it is hard to imagine characters more different than the noble, heroic and patient Aragorn and the irascible, introverted and self-protective Snape. If there is no direct influence, both authors must have been calling on the same model. In Aragorn's case, the model is Christ, the Great Physician. And, on his website, John Granger states that the model Rowling is surely using in this scene is the Great Physician (http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/home.php?page=docs/BaptismIntoDeath) . I believe Mr. Granger is right, for the mingled blood and water on the bathroom floor, which Rowling describes as looking like red flowers, clearly presage a crucifixion. I also believe the foreshadowed crucifixion is Snape's, and that it begins in the climactic scene on the lightning-struck tower. "Severus Snape and the Great Mysteries", page 10
B. The sacrifice on the tower:
. . .when Snape came to the top of the tower, I think Dumbledore did send him an unspoken message. It was certainly not "please don't kill me," as Harry thinks - Dumbledore has said many times in the course of this terrible evening that his life is nowhere near so valuable as Harry's, and he would be much more concerned about the two boys trapped with him and surrounded by death eaters than about himself. Dumbledore would gladly give up his own life for Harry and Draco - and also for Snape. So "please kill me," seems a much more likely message. I think, however, that Dumbledore's last request to Severus Snape is both simpler and more profound than that. I believe what he tells him is "keep your promise," or perhaps "keep your promises." And Snape does. He fulfills the unbreakable vow he made to Narcissa Malfoy by killing the headmaster, because he can see no other way out, but it's clear to me that he hates to do it, and hates himself for doing it. He keeps his second promise as well; he protects Harry. Like Harry, Snape is loyal to Dumbledore even after the headmaster 's death - yes, even after having killed him. It's important to realize that this sort of loyalty and obedience is an aspect of love. It may be the only aspect this proud and damaged soul can understand, but understand it he does. He obeys Dumbledore, and I think he will continue to obey Dumbledore, and protect Harry, until his last breath. "Severus Snape and the Great Mysteries", pages 14- 15
5. List of Sources:
Duane, Diane A Wizard Alone, first American edition, 2002
Lewis, C.S. The Silver Chair, 6th American Edition, Macmillan, 1965
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, first American Edition, Scholastic, 1998
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, first American edition, Scholastic 1999
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, first American edition, Scholastic, 2003
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, first American edition, Scholastic, 2005
Williams, Charles, Descent into Hell, William B. Eerdmans paperback edition, 1949
The Red Hen website, May, 2006
http://www.redhen-publications.com/PotionsMaster.html
http://www.redhen-publications.com/Limb.html
John Granger's website, October, 2005
http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/home.php?page=docs/BaptismIntoDeath
http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/home.php?page=docs/railings
Mugglenet:
http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/editorials/edit-elissa.shtml
Mary Johnson, May 2006
written for the Half-Blood prince fest on livejournal.
All links cited were current as of May 10, 2006.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-06-02 12:40 pm (UTC)Thanks - may I reciprocate?
Date: 2006-06-03 03:27 am (UTC)I am glad you enjoyed my stories, since I gather you don't usually read genfic? (and I'm very new at writing it!) This last essay is my 'magnum opus' on Snape, though - it and the stories together are meant to express my 'grand unified theory' which, in essence, is that he is the hidden hero of these books, while Harry is the protagonist - and a large part of Harry's maturation will consist of his recognizing Severus Snape for the person he truly is. It'll be interesting to see if I'm right, but I do think there's a lot of evidence for my theory. Still, it's only a theory!
no subject
Date: 2006-06-22 12:31 am (UTC)And thanks for friending my journal, however you came across it -- I'm friending you back.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-22 01:19 am (UTC)I do agree with you that Dumbledore was slowly dying through the school year, and that his death was therefore inevitable. The idea that the liquid in the basin was the horcrux is fascinating, though! And it certainly explains Snape's revulsion at that moment. Because I think he truly loathes Voldemort - more even than he loathes Harry, though his dislike for the boy does seem entirely sincere as well.
Thanks for reading and commenting! Oh - you also agree with me that Snape's patronus is a griffin! Neat!
no subject
Date: 2006-06-22 02:24 am (UTC)The other alternative is that Snape's Patronus is something that by its very nature proves that he is unequivocally good, but I have a hard time imagining what that could be.
Snape's patronus?
Date: 2006-06-22 03:08 am (UTC)However, I am one of those who has become convinced that, whatever Snape's patronus was before, it's a phoenix now. That's why Rowling was at such pains to teach us that a shock or strong emotions can cause a change in someone's patronus. There are going to be important messages coming to the kids from a phoenix patronus - and it will be Snape. That's my guess, anyway. What do you think?
(I'm almost convinced about the Griffin, but not quite - originally, I thought his patronus would be dog, fox or wolf, which also suit his nature but which - other than pointing out his strong similarity to Sirius - reveal nothing at all. Yes, a Lily patronus would be a shocker, but somehow I don't think it's likely. Since all the order members would have seen it, wouldn't they? So how could they have any doubts as to his *real* motivation for abandoning Voldemort? And why wouldn't someone mention it to Harry?)
Love your icon, BTW. That's a great picture!
no subject
Date: 2006-11-16 10:32 pm (UTC)Thanks--you've pointed out some interesting things--with Lewis and Tolkien and Williams--connections that I hadn't particularly made.
Pat (from HogPro)
no subject
Date: 2006-11-17 01:46 am (UTC)Can I have permission to recommend it to others?
no subject
Date: 2006-11-17 02:37 am (UTC)Thanks for your kind words, too! I am so glad you think it makes perfect sense, because I really do think this interpretation brings Snape to life as a fully rounded human being. If I try to see him as a villain, he doesn't even seem human to me - just a cardboard cliche, and an extraneous one at that. And I really do think and hope that Rowling is aiming for more than cardboard cliches -
Anyway, your response is very encouraging, and I'd love to know what you think of the other essay when you have time to read it. )
Here via harrynthepotter
Date: 2007-06-26 04:49 am (UTC)The hippogriff parallel is one I've never heard before, and it explains a lot. Would you say that Snape's besetting sin is pride?
It is hard to accept that this murder may exemplify a "terrible good", or any kind of good at all. After all (and this is the sticking point for me), Pauline may ask her ancestor to retain his integrity by accepting his martyrdom, but she herself does him no harm. She does not judge him, condemn him and lead him to the fire. Severus Snape, on the other hand, really does kill Albus Dumbledore.
This is very interesting. I have this crazy theory that Snape did not kill Dumbledore, and the scenario I came up with to explain that actually resembles what Pauline did: Snape allows Dumbledore to accept his martyrdom. The sticking point for me isn't Snape committing a murder so much as Albus allowing it, especially after learning that murder tears the soul. I just can't wrap my mind around the idea of Dumbledore requiring someone to literally tear his soul for the greater good. It's just a tad bit too much "ends justifying means" for me.
I wonder- this is totally off-topic, but- have you written any analysis or had any thoughts about the potion-drinking scene in the cave? It seems so very important; the way it's written like a dream, or a hallucination- but I just can't seem to get a handle on it. I just ordered John Granger's new book, and I'm hoping he can shed some light on the symbolism, but I was just curious to see what you thought.
Running off to friend you now.
(May I also say, with a bit of jealousy, that this is a fabulously well-written essay :)
Re: Here via harrynthepotter
Date: 2007-06-26 05:43 am (UTC)In this light, I see it more as Dumbledore sacraficing himself for the greater good. It was painful for Snape to do it, but it was an act of loyalty on his part to trust Dumbledore's plan.
Re: Here via harrynthepotter
Date: 2007-06-27 04:32 am (UTC)Re: Here via harrynthepotter
Date: 2007-06-27 04:53 am (UTC)I'm thinking in similiar terms to Christ's sacrafice. This is death for a greater purpose. It's not quite right to say anyone murdered Christ because He came to die. It was all part of the plan. You don't blame the Roman soldier who put him up there because they were simply playing their part....at least not anymore than you would blame any of us whose sins Christ took on himself.
(I'm meandering a bit)Johnny Cash's song "Hurt" comes to mind, particularly the sound of the nail being driven and the idea that we all in some measure contributed to the death of Christ. In that respect, Snape plays an everyman in his role. He's only more aware of his part. Accepting that Christ had to die so that we can live, is painful to those of us who love him and come realize what he endured for us....
I'm liking this idea a lot now. That Dumbledore died so that Snape (and Draco, and prehaps Harry as well) could live. Accepting this sacrafice is what makes Snape Dumbledore's man through and through.
I agree that it's unlikely that Harry will AK Voldemort. Love will play a factor in Volde's demise. But even if it did, I don't believe Harry would be committing a murder. He's a soldier in a war, fighting for a cause greater than himself.
I think the last battle will actually take place inside Harry. It will be a battle of souls...very different.
Re: Here via harrynthepotter
Date: 2007-06-27 05:14 am (UTC)See, I get this, but I would hate to think of Harry or Snape being required to do it. It's just my inner pacifist. Orthodoxy (I can't remember off the top of my head which denomination you are, if it's Orthodox forgive me) teaches that any killing of another human being under any circumstances is a sin, and to be avoided at pretty much all costs. They recognize that it is necessary sometimes to protect the innocent, but it is still a sin requiring confession and absolution. Soldiers who kill in battle are often expected to refrain from taking communion for a year- not as a punishment, but as a way to acknowledge the sin and give them time to heal. We take killing of any kind very seriously, even killing in self-defense or in defense of others- but I understand that that view isn't universal among Christians.
Re: Here via harrynthepotter
Date: 2007-06-27 05:30 am (UTC)I do agree it's never something to be done lightly. Even someone who convinces of themselves of lofty reasons who goes against the will of God is sinning, but I see that as a brand of selfishness or at least self-centeredness.
The idea that Dumbledore was already dying is important to me in the Snape instance. It's still painful for the characters to go through, but in that case Snape is simply speeding the inevitable. Ah, well, I think the killing was a heavy thing for him.... it'll be interesting to see how it is all explained.
I do suspect that Snape has killed before, which is why Dumbledore let the task fall to him. He's been through the process, and understands the weight of the matter and how to recover from the spiritual blow. It seemed important to spare Draco who is in a more delicate position from the weight of murder.
(less than a month left!)
Re: Here via harrynthepotter
Date: 2007-06-26 05:16 pm (UTC)I found the whole adventure in the cave even more horrifying than the attack on the tower, and much more mystifying. What Synaesthete7 has said above - that, by drinking the potion, Dumbledore actually took a horcrux into himself - is perhaps the best theory I've read on that particular scene. I also very much like Jodel's (original) idea that Severus didn't kill the headmaster at all - Harry did, by forcing him to drink that potion. Snape merely knocked his dead body off the tower. But I just don't know; I don't have any ideas on it myself.
Thanks again for your comment and for the compliment!
Re: Here via harrynthepotter
Date: 2007-06-27 04:44 am (UTC)That's for sure. In our (Orthodox) tradition also, saints are often surprising. My patron saint, St. John Maximovitch, was known for having a particularly prickly personality and a rather snarky sense of humor. That's why I like him so much ;) Despite that, he was an extraordinarily holy man. Holiness comes in all shapes, sizes and personality types, and I can see how Snape might be going that direction. But I think he has a ways to go.
I also very much like Jodel's (original) idea that Severus didn't kill the headmaster at all - Harry did, by forcing him to drink that potion. Snape merely knocked his dead body off the tower.
Hmmm... veerrry eenteresting. I like this theory. It solves a lot of problems. Everyone gets to pass the blame around: Harry made Dumbledore drink the potion, but Dumbledore himself made him promise to do so, neatly getting Harry off the hook. And Snape is innocent because Harry actually killed him by making him drink the potion, but Harry is innocent...etc. Nice!
no subject
Date: 2007-06-26 05:38 am (UTC)On a surface level, I see Snape as recovering. He may be a bit nasty to his student, but this is a man who had sunk in his youth to a level of finding genocide acceptable. Under Dumbledore's care a tutelage he has much improved. He's not prefect or even always admirable, but he is headed now in the right direction.
What also strikes me about Snape is the genuine concern he seems to show for Draco. I think we see him at his worst with Harry and Neville. I always wonder how he is with students when his favorites and least favorites aren't around. I'm particularly curious about how he treats Luna who is very unpopular, in some ways much like he was but by her choices his exact opposite...
no subject
Date: 2007-06-26 05:24 pm (UTC)I, too, would really, really love to see what Snape makes of Luna in the classroom. I think he'd be bewildered by her. He might feel a very uncomfortable mixture of genuine irritation and equally genuine empathy. What's very interesting is that, after HBP, I have become a mild Harry/Luna shipper, and Harry and Severus are very alike. ;)
no subject
Date: 2007-06-26 07:32 pm (UTC)Back to Snape, I think the conversation that Hagrid overheard between Snape and Dumbledore is *very* important. Snape "maybe I don't want to do it anymore" vs. Dumbledore's "You said you would do it, so you must do it." (I'm paraphrasing from memory) Both of them to me sound like they're debating a plan. Snape may not like it, but I think given his hesitation he must have some reason to believe there are stronger reasons to go through with it than to not.
Dumbledore, while not God, plays a God like role. He understands that death is not the end, and he knows he is ready for death. I think it's incredibly painful for Snape to play the role of executioner, but something he feels he must do. Snape strikes me as a very logical person. Dumbledore may not have told him the entire plan, but I think he must have given him some idea of it (or at least his own role).
I've found that sometimes the things God asks us to do seem to us irrational, and even at time contradictory to our understanding of what would be best. But trusting His understanding above our own is a huge step towards spiritual maturity. I think we'll see something of this from both Harry and Snape before the series ends. Perhaps Harry will have to trust Dumbledore by trusting who Dumbledore trust...namely Snape.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-27 04:49 am (UTC)Yes. Yes, yes, yes!! Exactly! Regardless of how everything to do with the Lightning-Struck Tower plays out in the details, this I expect to see.
great essay
Date: 2008-05-15 12:30 am (UTC)Re: great essay
Date: 2008-05-16 03:48 am (UTC)What's interesting to me about this essay, coming back to it after DH, is that so much of it still seems right to me. It seems to me that Rowling worked very hard to diminish Snape's "hero's journey" in DH - perhaps she was afraid it would overshadow Harry's; perhaps (my opinion) she simply didn't see what she had done with this character. But his heroism still shines through all her attempts to diminish him - and he *was* Harry's bodyguard. I was right about that, at any rate. )
Re: great essay
Date: 2008-05-16 05:38 am (UTC)Kind of weird, to read the Red Hen and Swythyv's brilliant speculations first only AFTER half of them had been canon-shafted!
But yes, this essay and Rex Luscus's on the significance of the silver doe (I think it's called "Snape's Supposed Great Love") were the two that I found that most--guided, and gelled, my own thoughts of Snape. I've read both of them three times at least; I kept going back and rereading, as I firmed my own understanding of Severus Snape.
So thank you, in case I haven't said that directly, for writing and posting; without you, what I write myself would have been poorer. (And anyone who gets me to reread the Young Wizards series has done me a favor--where's your essay comparing Snape to Ed the Shark?)
It's interesting to compare HP to LOTR-- I wrote my own LOTR fanfic when I read it when I was a teen, but it was pure Mary-Sueism and I acknowleged it as such--I just wanted to find a way to insert myself (perfected) into JRRT's world. But what he did himself was right, it worked; even when it was painful and terrible it was right. I wanted to join that, is why I wrote teeny fanfics--and I had no interest in reading anyone else's in that world.
Then reading CT's publications of his father's notebooks--JRR didnt' know until 2/3 of the way through that it was Gollum who would finally destroy the ring!--and it became clear the JRR was willing to let his work, his characters, the moral complexity grow. He knew about where he was taking it--or where he thought he was taking it--but he was willing to let his work teach him otherwise.
On a small scale my own fanfic has done that: in "Betrayals", when Severus realizes that Voldie is homing in on the Potters, he has to decide whether to save Lily against her will--but then I realized (while the fic was almost done being beta-read) that his dilemma was much worse than that: he has to choose directly whether to save Lily herself (his highest good) or Harry (hers).
I (very anxiously) asked my beta reader if it was a mistake to change it at that late date.
I think that was JKR's mistake at the end: she decided to force everything back into the plot she'd settled on a decade earlier, while her characters and universe had grown without her noticing.
One should blunt the criticism: she wrote characters who could grow.
Re: great essay
Date: 2008-05-17 04:01 am (UTC)In response, I can only quote what Swythyv (who inspired my fanfic) said to me after one of my stories - "I am honored to have inspired someone who can actually write!" And an essay comparing Snape to Ed the Shark - I don't know. I know what I now think of the Potterverse; it now seems much of the good I find in it is unintentional (Snape's character, for example). So that, at this point, making the effort to write more essays is somewhat exhausting. (I do have two in the works, but I'm not especially motivated to finish them.) More to the point, I hadn't thought of Severus in connection with the shark, though that's a rather brilliant idea! ;) I'm rereading the "young wizards" series now, too. There is just so much more *substance* there. That's the conclusion I've come to, you see; I think those grand old ladies who are my role models for fantasy, Ursula LeGuin and Madeleine L'Engle, are right. Ms. LeGuin famously called Rowling a meanspirited writer, and L'Engle said the series lacked depth.
But I'm really glad you've been inspired to write, because you are telling the story Rowling should have told, IMHO - and I'm going to keep on with the Griffins, as well as my other projects. Heaven knows when or if I'll get those essays done, though.
Your compare and contrast of Tolkien and Rowling is excellent, BTW. I do think a large part of the problem with these books is her refusal to follow the characters and let them lead the plot. As with your "Betrayals", doing so can bring you to rather uncomfortable places, but the stories that result have an organic wholeness and depth that Tolkien's has and Rowling's lacks. I got propelled into essay writing and fanfic because of my frustrations with this world and worry about where it was headed. For me, that happened after HBP.
I'm afraid I'm rambling again. All I meant to say is that I'm very pleased to have inspired you, and keep writing!
Re: great essay
Date: 2008-05-17 05:16 am (UTC)Re: great essay
Date: 2016-11-15 12:03 am (UTC)Oh yes Ms. L'engle and Tolkien are much more humane and wholesome in their work. And Madeleine L'engle writes characters and relationships, not just plots. That's something different, I think.
Personally, I think some of the Harry Potter books are so nihilistic the best comparison for them would be something like Beckett. Except that Beckett put jokes in to leaven the darkness, and kept the pace snappy to make it entertaining.
Re: great essay
Date: 2016-11-15 05:13 am (UTC)