Snape: A Definitive Reading

by Lorrie Kim

The state of true combat bypasses reason and engages a different set of responses.

It is true that Snape has treated Neville unspeakably and harmed everyone who witnessed the scene. He deserves to be held accountable. But he should be confronted directly for what he has done, to bring a stop to his cruelty, not subjected to a fresh round of hostility using irrelevant and hurtful tactics.

At 13, Harry does not yet understand the phenomenon of being genuinely helpful to a person for whom one feels enmity.

regardless of whether Snape and Hermione get along personally, they have the same kind of academic mind.

Insulting or not, for Hermione, a teacher who expects others to function at Hermione’s pace is a treasure.

If Lupin is indeed colluding with a murderer who wants to kill Harry, perhaps they plan to attack Harry while Lupin is in werewolf form. If Snape fears that may be possible, it makes sense that he would try to teach the students how to identify and kill werewolves.

He put his shame above the safety of the students and above Dumbledore’s good name.

As Snape has found, the urge to interfere can overpower reason. The ability to overcome this urge is essential for experienced time travelers: that is, adults, parents, teachers, or anyone who has had to learn that each generation will make its own mistakes.

The Time-Turner magic that we learn in this volume will also turn out to be the overarching story of Snape’s second chance in life, going back to his own past to become somebody who is stronger and more protective than he knew he could be.

His exterior image does not reflect his true self; it’s uglier than he really is.

All year long, Snape has been trying to teach Harry about antidotes. He has been unsuccessful, possibly because students learn better from teachers who don’t bully them.

People can change, even if their spots cannot. Appearances and inner reality are not always the same.

the way people view him mirrors his true inner self. We have seen the toll it takes on Snape to be seen wrongly. It may be necessary for a greater goal, but it is costly. Being believed, especially by the people one most esteems, brings immediate relief.

No matter what, the mere memory of this shared learning can fortify him, whether or not he is being accurately mirrored by those around him. It is a more self-sufficient joy. It gives us a glimpse into one of the ways a reviled teacher might be able to sustain himself, even when he has committed himself to the guarantee of being misunderstood by all around him.

For once, Snape can tell the truth. It gives Snape that “curious, almost satisfied expression.” He has been seen.

We know from other characters, such as Lupin, that shame can drive people to secrecy that is nearly impossible to break.

sometimes the only thing that separates mischief from murder is sheer chance.

Snape’s rare power to undo Dark curses is one of the reasons Dumbledore trusts him so completely. The remorse necessary to effect such powerful magic cannot be faked.

It is no wonder that Snape is feeling the strain of being the only one who can help Draco, the only one who can fight some forms of Dark Magic, the only one who can retain Voldemort’s trust while taking his place at Dumbledore’s right hand. In some ways, it’s a bit similar to being the Chosen One, although Harry gets credit for his sacrifices and the blessing of a clean conscience.

But once we release Dark Magic into the world, in the moments when we “really want to cause pain,” it is beyond our control.

once they are out in the world, their original authors cannot control them. There is no controlling who sees them, how they use what they read, how they judge the authors based on the stagnant information that stays fixed no matter how much the authors themselves have changed.

According to Machiavelli’s definition, then, Dark Magic is intentional harm, not perpetrated in self-defense, that becomes more destructive over time. A single stroke of cruelty, converted into the greatest possible benefits for the subjects—such as killing a dying man in order to shield a minor from a tyrant—could, perhaps, be considered a cruelty well used, not Dark Magic.

Like other powerful objects, such as the Sorcerer’s Stone, the Deathly Hallows are subject to one of Rowling’s cardinal rules: they belong to those who seek them not for gain, but to protect others.

One must understand this: a prince, and especially a new prince, cannot observe all those things for which men are considered good, because in order to maintain the state he must often act against his faith, against charity, against humanity, and against religion.

But by pointing us toward Machiavelli once again with the name “Charity,” she tells us that Snape, a “new prince,” is acting against his own beliefs.

He should not depart from the good if it is possible to do so, but he should know how to enter into evil when forced by necessity. (Machiavelli, 61)

Snape draws strength from the memory of a loved one always but keeps the image internal, introjecting rather than projecting it. This prevents him from protecting others by scattering dementors, but he is a spy; his life’s work is to protect others on a grand scale by remaining hidden for the long term, even if that means forgoing immediate action. Part of remaining hidden is keeping his true self secret.

Snape’s Patronus shows that he holds in his heart an image of a woman whose friendship and love helped form the best part of his nature.

During this year when nobody knows Snape’s true self, Snape cannot depend upon external recognition of his nearly superhuman efforts. He can turn to his memories of Lily’s friendship as a guide: he can atone for his betrayal that resulted in her death by becoming, in the second part of his life, someone who would be able to meet the gaze of a person like Lily without shame.

He is simply reminding himself how to live so he can make the best of a great gift: the chance to do things over again, not to undo the past, not to gain reward, but only to do good and save innocent lives.

He can say look at me because he finally meets the standard he set for himself: if he were to see Lily Potter now, he would be able to meet her gaze without shame at last. He has done all he can do to atone.

the conviction of lovability that makes one feel worthy of grooming:

Not all of us are born into lives of love; not all of us receive the love we crave. That doesn’t mean we are doomed to be loveless monsters. We can gain more love within ourselves by increasing our desire to protect others. If that sounds stark and unrewarding—well, it can be. But if there’s someone we want to protect, we will make that bargain.

Nobody in the world but Snape could do this job. It is a way of being seen, of being known for his true and best self.

Snape had been terrified to let himself feel the life he had really given Harry. Better to believe that Harry didn’t suffer. That Potter was so insulated by his arrogance, he could barely feel pain at all. That criticism would simply bounce off him without effect.

The sight of Harry choosing to die without defending himself made an impact on Voldemort, just as the sight of Snape taking his hands off his wound convinced Harry to pay attention to the message Snape delivered. Harry and Snape both had something they valued more than their own survival.

Harry’s fiercest desire has always been to know the full story, to have the truth be known, especially about those, like his parents, who died protecting others.

The urge that led him to commemorate Dobby is the same one that makes him sympathetic to Phineas Nigellus Black’s plea to credit the profound but necessarily covert work that Slytherins did to bring down Voldemort.

Perhaps Dumbledore’s portrait can finally explain that he withheld information about Horcruxes not for lack of trust but because he cared about Snape enough to protect his life.

her even greater heartbreak when she realized everything he endured while she attacked him.