After reading Deathly Hallows I had changed my opinion about Snape. Who didn’t! But now I'm reading HP books all over again (now Goblet of Fire) and I seem to have forgotten why.
So...let me see...
Snape was a brave man (Dumbledore says so), he was not selfish (considering the big picture, and putting people like Draco, Voldemort, etc out of the picture), he was in love with Lily (In spite of the fact that she was a muggleborn... Oh my, imagine that :-p!), and he has been acting as Dumbledore’s spy all this time “at great personal risk” and did things that only a few would have dared to do(no comments here, it is true isn’t it?).
BUT, if you don’t take the big picture, if you look closely into what he has been doing ever since Sorcerer’s Stone, well, I don’t know about you but more than once I wanted to break his big nose and punch in his mouth to wipe away that godawful sneer. What I’m saying here is, why be so mean and be the one everyone hates when you can suppress that impulse and live peacefully? Can someone really enjoy that? (The answer to this is so easily “yes”; otherwise the word “bitter” would only refer to taste) Or, come to think of it, he is technically a spy so is it a cover? No, big no! He seems to relish the idea of putting any student in sight in detention – one step short of Filch. He has reasons. He was this miserable geek (no offence) who turned bitter eventually because of the dumb (again no offence, just telling these two kinds apart) yet popular kid who could fly well. He just did not grow out of it. Poor guy he didn’t even get a chance! Even the nice, pretty girl he actually liked went for the star kid and he is all alone (there is his boss of course but that comes under “work”).
It must have been real hard for him, yes, but it is so far in the past! He could have taken the “high road” and put things behind and live like a normal person. But no! He had to be so Snape-ish. He had a problem with James. But that has NOTHING to do with poor Harry! It is not Harry’s fault he was born to James, or that he was famous for no apparent reason. He is just a kid in school and this Severus-grouchy-Snape is a teacher for crying out loud!
Another thing that bugs me about Snape – Why is he ASHAMED of admitting his love towards Lily? One not-so-nice reason would be that she was a muggle-born and he was Slytherin head, so the official Slytherin principles must have stopped him. But why would he be ashamed of admitting that he always meant good? (Yeah yeah... Spy working undercover! Whatever!)
Like I said, I was feeling too resentful towards Snape that is why the lament. There was no point really here but I never promised any such thing did I?
But after reading Deathly Hallows I kept remembering all the people I knew in real life who would be classified as the “Snape” kind, you know those teachers you hated in school, pestering neighbours, occasionally a grandmother or some just the grouches you happen to know! I kept wondering if they were really depraving. It seems to me (and I would like to think so) that even the most bitter person has to have something nice hidden deep inside; a greater cause (d.e.e*); and all the bitterness is simply a mask behind which there is always a smug, knowing smile.
There is also a second kind – the “Umbridge” kind. I cannot think of reasons for forgiving these people. They are mean just for the sake of it. Some sort of spiteful pleasure I guess! Am I being too harsh? I don’t know, But I will let you know once I come across someone like the Toad Witch whether I’m being too harsh (If there is a frog prince there can be a toad witch..hmph!)
*Dramatically Enhanced Expression
