Posting over at HP Essays is always interesting, and it generates some good discussion. I posted the Life Debts essay over there, and though the discussion was not anywhere near as lengthy as some other posts, one interesting point did arise: Snape does a lot more saving in the series than I realized. Let’s do a quick summary; feel free to add any I’ve missed:
- Snape saves Harry from Quirrell’s curse during the Quidditch match in PS.
- Snape saves Dumbledore from the curse on the Slytherin Ring horcrux.
- Snape saves (or contributes to saving) Katie Bell after the opal necklace cursed her.
- Snape saves Draco from Harry’s sectumsempra curse.
- Snape saves Draco from Voldemort’s wrath, even at the risk of his own life (taking the Unbreakable Vow).
- Snape saves Harry from further torture under the cruciatus curse. (Oh, sure, “Potter belongs to the Dark Lord” and all…but surely Lord Voldemort wouldn’t mind the Death Eaters giving him a bit of torture, without killing him, before leaving the Hogwarts grounds).
There’s at least six clear examples. If our story’s hero has a “saving-people thing,” he’s got a rival when it comes to who does the most of that “thing” – Severus Snape.
Is Snape simultaneous evil and the one who does the most life-saving in the series?
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Snape saves Harry at the end of OotP by telling Dumbledore he’s gone to the Ministry to save Sirius.
That was also something that hit me. Snape, despite the fact that he HATES Harry, ends up informing Dumbledore that Harry has gone to the Department of Mysteries. While I will not say that Snape it “good”, because I believe he is rotten to the core, that was the most important incident that shows that he supports Dumbledore and NOT LV. Did Snape have to tell DD that Harry had gone? NO. If Snape truly supported LV, he would have kept his mouth shut and not informed anyone. He would have let Harry meet his end at the Department of Mysteries. However, he did say where Harry was, leading them to save him. This shows the obvious support of DD over LV.
Hmm… sounds like a classic case of both “saint and sinner” if you ask me.
I seem to remember in Chapter Two of HBP that Snape explained to Bellatrix that he has been doing all his good deeds to ‘keep his cover’. This could be a moot point – is Snape keeping his cover or is he really good?
Snape, in the classical sense, is not “good” For instance, you would see in Prisoner of Azkaban that he actually wanted to have the Demetors kiss applied to Lupin…..thats not the mark a of “good” person, to punish innocent people. This extends past Harry, who we can at least understand why he would hate him. He makes sure to pressure Neville, enjoying seeing him fail. He is annoyed at the brilliance of Hermione, because she is not a Slytherin. I also believed that in his time as a Death Eater, that he would have killed, which is why DD wanted Snape to kill him, because he had committed murder already, and was not “pure” as Draco was. With that in mind, I have no doubt that he supports Dumbledore. That doesn’t mean that he’s “good” but simply supports DD and whatever DD does, which is good.Its not much of a problem for Snape to keep his cover, because he truly IS evil, but is simply supporting DD, probably for reasons relating to his past and because DD saved him from Azkaban, although I am sure there is more to go along with it.
Daryl, almost sounds like you’re equating “good” and “perfect.” Snape has faults, many glaring ones – but ultimately his allegiance/loyalty/faith is in Dumbledore, which puts him on the “good” side, and at significantly great sacrifice to himself.
I also don’t think that the idea that if you murdered once, you might as well do it again, fits the book’s themes at all. Redemption and forgiveness are possible, even for one who has murdered.
Snape has his faults, but he’s not evil – he’s on the good side, and he’s sacrificing a lot to stay there.
That was quick Travis….I believe that Snape is on the “good side”, but being on the good side does NOT make a person good. Again, he is loyal to DD, so therefore has to go along with what DD says, but his CHARACTER is not one that can be classified as “good”. I didn’t mean that because he murdered that he might as well do it again, but that DD believed that his death was probably necessary. Therefore, he asked Snape to save Malfoy, BECAUSE he was already impure from his stint as a Death Eater. I mean, why Snape? Why not McGonagill (spelling is a bit off, I know) to help him? To kill him? Snape already knew that Draco was to kill DD before the Unbreakable Vow was made. He LET Snape make the vow because he was, in truth, the best man for the job. I am not saying that DD wanted Snape to kill him simply because he had already murdered, BUT I believe it was one of the factors WHY DD asked for Snape, and NOT McGonagill or some other teacher, to come.
Again, Snape is on the SIDE of the good guys, but he’s not ONE of them. He has certain motivations for being on their side. Its because of his loyalty to DD, and NOT because he wants to be “good”, in my opinion, because Snape has never TRIED to do the “right” thing, but simply operates on personal preferences.
Of course, thats all my opinion anyway
I mean, its kind of having a girlfriend that’s a professional bowler, while you hate bowling (just bear with the analogy) You gotta go with some games with her man. I mean, you don’t go because you LIKE bowling, you go because of your connection with HER. If she asks you to come bowl with her, you would be, like, well, I guess I HAVE to, becuase its not a situation where you can compromise. You either go watch her bowl and bowl with her, or you don’t, in the meanwhile therefore not honoring your obligations with her.
If DD was never in the picture, Snape would never have gone on the “good” side, because he doesn’t CARE about the good. He does, however, care about DD, which gives him no choice but to support the wishes of DD. Its not that Snape isn’t “perfect” Surely, Harry isn’t perfect either. However, we watched as he found that he couldn’t kill Sirius, and as he saved Pettigrew from death. THAT is truly the mark of a “good” person.
Something that keeps pricking my attention while reading the books is that Snape seems to go out of his way to give sneaky compliments to Neville and too look after him. The Duelling club scene, Snape give Neville an underhanded compliment about the raw power of his magic while deriding his lack of control. When Umbridges inquisatorial squad have the DA’s, Crabb (or Goyle) is throttling Neville. Snape orders him to ease his hold or he might kill Neville. Snape always seems to hide his true concern for people behind his cutting wit.
Why would he have this concern for Neville? Was he there when Neville’s parents were tortured to insanity? When did that happen? it could have happened no later than when James an Lilly were killed. Same night? Was Voldemort moving on both Harry and Neville to cancel the prophecy in one fell swoop? How did Neville get away?
Linking in with the whole invisibity cloak thing. DumbledorCould James have given the cloak to Dumbledore to help get Neville to safety? Dumbledore finds out from Snape that VOldemort is moving to kill the Longbottoms. Believing the Potters to be protected by the Fidelus charm, he focusses on getting the other prophecy option to safety. But this is a diversion for Voldemort’s real focus- the Potters. Dumbledore goes to the Longbottoms with Snape under the cloak to find the torture session in progress. Snape locates Neville and stuffs him up his jumper and puts a silencio charm on him to stop his crying. Dumbledore, blazing with fury, is about to blast the DE’s but they sprawl about in agony clutching their dark mark tattoos that have almost completely faded. Dumbldore reasising that something unexpected has happened ie. Voldemort has fallen.. but where… The Potters! realizing he has been played he goes to Godric’s Hollow poste haste. Finding Hagrid out cold, he rouses him and get him to look after Harry while he heads off to bring Sirius in for a serious talking to.
Any takers?
Matt
Not really. Book 4, GOF, says that they tortured the Longbottoms AFTER the fall of LV, believing that they had info on his whereabouts, so that one is out. Also, Hagrid was not on the scene at the time of LV’s arrival at the Potters, because he said that DD SENT him there to collect Harry, not that he was already there.
Daryl, how do you define ‘good’? I say that, if you risk your life in the cause of right, and do good things, you are as close as any of us can be to being a good person. “Good” does not mean “nice”, or “pleasant”, or “amiable” – it is something far sterner and more powerful than that. Snape, to me, pretty much defines good. This does not mean that he is perfect, nor that he wasn’t (and isn’t still, at times) a sinner. It simply means that he is working for the good to the very best of his ability, and at considerable cost to himself. I’ve written a long essay on this very topic, and can give you the url if you are interested.
A few words on your intelligent critique above. You say Snape wants to give Lupin the Dementor’s kiss, and a truly good person wouldn’t punish an innocent man that way. But you forget that, from Snape’s pov, Lupin is a traitor in alliance with Sirius Black – death eater, traitor and mass murderer. He does not *know* either man is innocent, and has very good reason to distrust them both. He sees both Lupin and Black as extremely dangerous, and is sincerely trying to save the lives of three children he believes to be confunded. Finally, what he wishes on Lupin, cruel though it is, is simply wizarding justice. It’s exactly what the law would do, in this world, and it is what Harry (by implication) wishes on Pettigrew just a little later. Harry, of course, isn’t as intentionally malicious as Severus – but what would have happened to Pettigrew if they had gotten up to the castle? A dementor’s kiss would have been a likely outcome. Yet we don’t consider Harry evil, do we?
Severus and Harry are very alike, in talents and temperament and even in looks*. One of the main points of HBP is how alike they are. If you consider Severus evil, where does that leave Harry? What’s more, Severus is the pattern of the sinner redeemed. One of the main points this character is meant to illustrate, imho, is that a person who has done evil nevertheless has good in him and can become a good person. If Snape is always and forever evil because of his previous sins, what becomes of the possibility of redemption? Just my point of view here-
*the looks – don’t be shocked! But they have similar vivid coloring – dark hair and fair skin – similar builds, and large, strong hands. Of course, there are more differences than similarities, but the similarities are there!