ESSAY ADDENDA: More "Deeply Horrible" Stuff, from the Presentation

[rj_anderson]

There were a few things in the oral presentation that didn't make it into the essay, or at least not in such a detailed form, so I'm adding them in here. The presentation followed pretty much the same thought flow as the essay, but I think I did a better job of backing up some of my arguments in the presentation. So here's the Special Bonus Section of the game, for those playing at home:

What is Redemption, Anyway?

Before we go talking about whether or not Snape will be redeemed, it's important to determine just what kind of redemption we're talking about.

1. In a general literary context redemption usually refers to a formerly bad or unpleasant character showing a change of heart and proving his moral worth by some great, noble action -- such as Boromir giving up his life to try and save Pippin and Merry from the Orcs in LotR -- the character redeems himself




2. If the character survives, then we expect to see an obvious, marked positive change in their behaviour and relations to others, so we know their redemption is genuine -- in context of HP this would mean that Snape would experience some dramatic change of heart, do some heroic thing for Harry and from that point on we would see him behave more graciously in a social context -- more Lupinesque

However, root idea of "redemption" is a financial transaction -- to be purchased or bought back -- the person is being redeemed by a price paid by another. This is the Christian theological concept of redemption as well

This may mean that a redeemed person does not show any immediate or dramatic change in their nature or behaviour -- of course, if they truly appreciate and are grateful for their redemption then they will want to become a better person, but it may not happen easily -- could this be more along the lines of what JKR has in mind with Snape?

Later, having established that JKR's Christianity does, by her own admission, have an influence on the outcome of the books, I came back to the subject of redemption in the Biblical sense and its possible impact on Snape's character arc, as well as including some thoughts on this motif in the Narnia books (since JKR unabashedly acknowledges her love of and indebtedness to that series as well):

Has Snape Already Been Redeemed?

In Christian theology you cannot and do not redeem yourself -- you are redeemed by the grace of God when you turn to Him in despair for your sins (repentance) and accept His payment on your behalf.

...it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ... (1 Pet. 1:18-19)

This seems to be borne out in HP where Snape is concerned: Snape repented when he left the DE's and cast himself on Dumbledore's mercy, but it was Dumbledore who redeemed him and saved him from Azkaban, Snape didn't redeem or save himself.

Even so, it's true that if a person truly appreciates what they have been redeemed from, their lives will change. The question is, how quickly will they change, and in what ways? It may not be at the speed or in the ways we expect. The Narnia books show that people may be attractive and polite and seem to do all the right things, but end up making wrong choices in the end (Susan), while some struggle and end up hurting others and themselves before they overcome (Edmund, Eustace); and quite unattractive, harsh-spoken or depressive people may turn out to be heroes (Trumpkin, Puddleglum) -- JKR appears to be working with a similar spectrum of characters in her books -- nobody is all bad or all good, and it takes time for people to learn and grow. This may well be true of Snape.

And, of course, this would be further complicated by the question of just how much of his nasty behaviour is exaggerated (or at least, deliberately unrestrained) on account of his need to preserve his cover as a Voldemort sympathizer.

Finally, and less importantly, when discussing in the early part of the presentation whether or not JKR's comments about Snape in interviews should be taken at face value, I mentioned the Rickman factor -- that JKR was not only delighted with AR being cast in the part, but that he was in fact her first pick for the role -- and suggested that if Jo had really wanted the audience to dislike Snape and have no sympathy with him, she chose the wrong actor. :)

Anyway, I think those were the only really significant departures from or additions to what I'd written in the essay. So... now you know what you missed!

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ETA: kizmet_42 wrote something in an e-mail regarding the essay that I think worth reposting here, as I can see that I didn't make myself quite clear on this particular point:

I doubt very strongly that Harry and Snape will ever have any sort of non-adversarial relationship. When Snape looks at Harry, he sees James. But since James is dead and Harry can not possibly make the apologies that Snape needs to hear from James, the reconciliation is just not possible. ...

Besides, reconciliation between [Harry and Snape] would be too tidy, something I think Rowling has avoided since the first book. There are far too many loose strands that may or may not be resolved by the time the series is over, but the fact remains that in real life we have relationships that are tinged with hatred. I don't think Harry or Snape will overcome their mutual antipathy.

However, I actually agreed with her, and said so in my reply:

I don't think Snape and Harry will ever be holding hands and skipping through meadows together, or even willingly spending time in the same room. What I meant by "resolve their mutual hostility" was not "become friends" so much as "declare a cease-fire". And I do think that a measure of mutual understanding will be involved in that -- but that's not to say it will be a complete understanding of the sort that eliminates differences and draws two people together. There's just too much baggage there.

I see Snape and Harry, if they both survive the books, living out the rest of their lives in a kind of wary truce, avoiding each other as much as possible. That's how I've portrayed them in the post D&L works -- neither one really wants anything to do with the other, and makes little secret of that fact. However, Harry no longer mistakes Snape for an enemy, and Snape has a grudging respect for Harry's role in stopping Voldemort. And if they do end up in a room together, they manage to be reasonably civil... provided the encounter doesn't last too long. :)

I hope that makes things a bit more clear.

Comments

[kerravonsen]

Snape acts in a redemptive way on his own, perhaps because Dumbledore is no longer available.
What a good idea. If Dumbledore dies (which would be dramatic and angstful and not all that improbable), then Snape could well be thrust into a position of greater responsibility (either within the Order, or at Hogwarts, or both). It could be an opportunity of drawing together -- or, it could, as seems to happen so often between Snape and Harry, yet another round of mutual hatred and hostility, if one or the other or both of them blames the other one for Dumbledore's death.