Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion


217 views
If Lily Evans hadn't existed would Snape be a death eater?

Comments Showing 1-18 of 18 (18 new)    post a comment »
dateUp arrow    newest »

Sami Something goodreader Hina said in another thread

"Also if a Lily Evans hadn't existed I think Snape would've stuck with Voldemort, which is quite unnerving."

struck a nerve with me too. I want to know - if it weren't for Lily does anyone think he would have been a death eater through and through? was everything good he did just for Lily or did he have some natural good in him.


Susie Barnes Assuming Lily never existed AND Snape never found anyone to care about, yes, he'd have stuck w/ Voldemort. If the history changes dramatically to omit Lily Evans, it can also change drastically to include someone else or change the life of someone who affected Snape, like his mother. If his home life had been different his future would have changed, too.


message 3: by Kal (last edited Dec 08, 2013 07:20PM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Kal Maybe, maybe not. Maybe not because he could have found someone else to remind him of what he'd be destroying if he stayed with Voldemort.

Also maybe not because if Lily wasn't around James Potter's bullying might have been much worse and so Snape could have been too timid to become a death-eater.

Or maybe things are as simple as Hina claims. But then, if they are, then once again, what about James' involvement? Maybe if he wasn't bullying Snape all the time, Snape would never have considered joining the death eaters in the first place.

There are all sorts of possibilities really; the influence of any given person on another is complicated.


message 4: by AgCl (last edited Dec 08, 2013 07:35PM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

AgCl oh, he'd have been more Bellatrix-ish if Lily hadn't existed.

as they say, "you can't give what you don't receive", and Lily must have been the only one who was really nice to him + he was overly in love with her.

but, that doesn't make him a psychopath like Old Voldy. He was capable of loving after all, besides those zealot death eaters were either nutters or weakling gits, and he was neither, so, he might have converted later on.

...Remember what Sirius said "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters"...


message 5: by [deleted user] (new)

probably


Sammy Young Lily Evans is the reason Snape stopped being a Death Eater...


message 7: by Fox (new) - rated it 5 stars

Fox D'aoust I would have hoped that within Snape, way down deep past the greasy hair he would have been a good person.

Though in all actuality he most likely would have become a death eater. Voldemort is quite persuasive and Snape's love for Lily was the only thing keeping him from "turning to the dark side". She was his savior in a way and he in turn saved her son as he is a part of her.


message 8: by [deleted user] (new)

I think he would have.
In the absence of love, grows hate.


K Whatsherface maybe, Lily was why he stopped, without her would he had something in his life that he cared about enough to not wanna be one? And would James and his friends have bullied him as much as they did? I've always believed that one of the reason James picked on him was because Snape was friends with Lily and James liked Lily. I think he stall him as someone that could get in the way of winning Lily's heart.


Lauren Whoosh…what a question….
I wish I could answer this in a more complete way. I've read the comments above, and I'm not really certain that I agree with what most seem to be saying.

If Lily Evans had never existed, Severus Snape would have gone to Hogwarts very much alone-much like Harry did. He would have been lost and scared in a world he was (largely) unfamiliar with. But like all schools-especially private boarding schools, there is always someone who has the capacity to love the lost ones, the lonely ones, the broken ones. Maybe this is just my big ol' bleeding heart speaking, but I'd like to think that someone would have taken Severus under their wing-a teacher, or another student. Without the inciting incident that caused his broken heart (calling Lily the M-word) there would possibly have been no reason for him to hate so severely. And perhaps he would have found reason to find the light within himself.

Severus Snape is one of my favorite characters, and every time I re-read the books, my heart breaks for the suffering he put himself through. But perhaps it is wishful thinking on my part?

I like to hope for the best. After all, he was good at heart, with good intentions in the deepest parts of himself. If it had not been Lily, it would have been some other young woman-perhaps a more forgiving one. Perhaps, his soul mate.


message 11: by Anna (last edited Jan 22, 2014 11:34PM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Anna Snape did become a Death Eater. Maybe not like Lucius Malfoy or a Carrow, but he did work for Voldemort at some point. He went to Dumbledore in his repentant phase because he'd found out that Lily was Voldemort's next target.


Harshi He realised what Voldemort was up to only after he targeted Lily. So, had she not been there he would never have come on the right side.


Melissa Probably but Snape could have found someone else if he didn't have Lily


Sammy Young lily had absolutely no effect on Snape becoming a death eater, he always loved the dark arts and always found them fascinating no matter what Lily thought of them - he was always going to become a death eater. and on top of that he would have always remained a death eater because it was the fact that Voldemort killed Lily that made Snape change to fight on the good side, the side of the order. It's all a part of the main message and theme of Harry Potter - love conquers fear. Snape's love for Lily conquered over his fear of and devotion to the dark lord. If it had not been for Lily's death Snape would have forever remained like the Malfoy's stuck under Voldemort's power through fear.


message 15: by Anna (new) - rated it 5 stars

Anna Well said, Sammy. :)


Sammy Young Eliza wrote: "Well said, Sammy. :)"

Thank you :)


Callie If Lily Potter had never existed, then the "chosen one" would be Neville Longbottom. So maybe he would, but not during Harry's lifetime. After the Dark Lord's disappearance (assuming he still disappears), Snape would pull a Malfoy and say that he was under a trance or whatever. Because now, he has no reason to stay with Voldemort. No childhood-vengeance against the Chosen One's father, no tragic love story with his mother. He has no connection, so no reason to pursue the Dark Arts after Voldemort's descent.


Emily Sami wrote: "I want to know - if it weren't for Lily does anyone think he would have been a death eater through and through? was everything good he did just for Lily or did he have some natural good in him. "

I think the easy answer is yes, but the way you phrased it made me think about it a little more deeply. I think that he wouldn't have done what he did for Lily and deserted if there hadn't been some "natural good" in him too (and I am far from Snape's biggest fan). Snape would have been fine with it had James and Harry died, but Dumbledore tried to convince Snape that was wrong, and I think that's where the "natural good" comes in. Without that, Snape wouldn't have seen that letting James and Harry die too was acceptable and he just would have been pissed at having lost Lily, but not necessarily come to Dumbledore's side (though maybe have tried to leave the Death Eaters). But with the "natural good," Dumbledore was able to bring Snape to the Order. So while I think Lily was key, if it hadn't been for her, Dumbledore may have found another way to exploit Snape. But then, as Callie points out, everything would be different.


back to top