Professor Severus Snape: Behind The Character
Generally inspired by an unpleasant
Chemistry instructor whom J.K. Rowling was forced to endure during her time in
secondary school, Professor Severus Snape is amongst the most intriguing of
characters in the Harry Potter world.
In many ways, Severus Snape acts as the
catalyst for the entire series, as it is he who initially informs Lord
Voldemort of the prophecy involving a boy who is to become the Dark Lord's
downfall (which consequently leads to the death of Lily and James Potter, as
well as the first disappearance of “You-Know-Who” himself).
However, Snape's impact is much more
widespread than on this specific occasion -- rather, the reader spends
essentially the entire duration of the series struggling to decipher where his
loyalties truly remain. In essence, as the reader becomes more familiar with
Snape's character, they also become more confused in regards to his allegiance.
From the onset, J.K. Rowling places Snape
in a quite shady role. The reader cannot help themselves from wondering exactly
why Snape detests Harry so strongly, and must consequently spend the entirety
of the first novel in firm beliefs that Snape is trying to get his greedy hands
upon the Sorcerer's Stone.
Once this conspiracy is negated, the reader
is left more confused than ever about the situation as a whole. In fact, J.K.
Rowling herself may not even fully understand the complexity of Snape's
character, claiming that he is somewhat of an “extremely flawed anti-hero”.
A cold, spiteful bully who is capable of
love and immense bravery, it is unclear exactly where Severus Snape belongs in
a ranking of J.K. Rowling’s greatest heroes. However, perhaps by delving deeper
into his difficult past, we may be able to extract some sort of fulfilling conclusion.
Born to Muggle Tobias Snape and Witch Eileen Snape (née
Prince) on the 9th of January, 1960, Severus Snape was a Half-Blood
Wizard who attended Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1971 to 1978.
Raised by endlessly-bickering parents in the Muggle dwelling
of Spinner’s End, Severus first met a girl by the name of Lily Evans at age
nine. Soon thereafter, he fell deeply in love with Lily, and devoted the
majority of his time and energy to winning her over.
Nevertheless, when Severus and Lily (still friends) began
school in 1971, they were sorted into rival Houses (Slytherin and Gryffindor
respectively), and Severus became the immediate enemy of James Potter and
Sirius Black (Lily’s House-mates).
After suffering through a great deal of bullying at the
hands of James and Sirius, Severus developed a strong, vindictive passion for
the Dark Arts, befriending a large number of Pure-Blood supremacists. By their
fifth years at Hogwarts, Severus and Lily were no longer on friendly terms, and
Severus would resort to joining Voldemort’s followers (the Death Eaters) in a
fruitless attempt at winning her back.
Subsequent to delivering Lord Voldemort’s requested prophecy
(which would eventually lead to Lily’s untimely death), however, Severus would finally
learn the error of his ways, favorably switching sides to support the Order of
the Phoenix, and acting as a double agent during the Second Wizarding War.
While “adult” Severus Snape would remain immensely bitter
about the loss of Lily Evans, and perhaps hopelessly scarred by the frequent
bullying behavior of her husband James, he would also become an invaluable
piece in the eventual downfall of Lord Voldemort.
Indeed, Severus Snape was somehow able to prevent Lord
Voldemort from discovering his true intentions, while acting solely upon Albus
Dumbledore’s orders for many critical years. Snape would show immense bravery
and loyalty throughout Rowling’s later novels, even agreeing to murder
Dumbledore at his own request, and suffering a quite brutal death of his own.
Although Snape was hopelessly attached to Harry’s mother,
and completely victimized by prejudices brought on by the past, he was able to
correct his most prominent flaws in time to fight honorably against perhaps the
darkest Wizard in the history of J.K. Rowling’s world.
And while the unfortunate truth remains that Snape had no
legitimate reason for treating Harry as unfairly as he did, Snape’s ultimate
conversion and unwavering loyalty shown to Albus Dumbledore and the entire
Order of the Phoenix, seems to prove that he was, in many ways, a hero.
Thus, the analysis shows -- Severus Snape: a complexly
flawed hero, who was ultimately willing to sacrifice his own life to correct
one single, most egregious error.
If you're interested in my assessment of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (Philosopher's) Stone", click here.
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