Entry tags:
- characters,
- essays,
- hp,
- snape,
- theories
Happy Belated Birthday, Severus
My reaction to finding out that Snape was a Capricorn instead of a Scorpio:
...
...
...
Er, was I supposed to care about this?
Sorry, I've just never had the slightest interest or confidence in astrological signs as a means of personality determination. I don't think I even bothered to decide when D&L Snape's birthday was, since it never came into any of the stories. Besides, if Snape were a Scorpio, as many people sincerely believed suited him to a T -- dude, that would make him the same sign as Kalan Porter (you knew I had to get a reference in there, didn't you?). Any astrological sign which can encompass both those personalities is so vague as to be completely useless, if you ask me.
Speaking of Snape, I've heard rumours -- I'm so out of the loop these days -- that Snape is "really" completely obsessed with his own selfish ambitions to the exclusion of all else, and that he is "really" evil or at least completely amoral and only prepared to support whichever side appears to be winning at the time. *yawn* Sorry, but I seem to recall having this discussion around the time PoA (the book, not the movie) came out and it didn't interest me much then either. JKR will let us know what's really going on in Severus's mind in good time, I'm sure. In the meantime, there are perfectly good canonical reasons to believe that he is not entirely self-interested, and the game of "My Snape Is More Canonical Than Yours Because He's Meaner" smacks of pettiness and wishful thinking to me.
Personally, I'll take any Snape who appears to look, speak and behave similarly to the way he does in canon, and where any obvious deviations from canon are noted and intelligently addressed in the context of the fic. I'm tired of Snapes who are sekritly beyootiful, expert oenophiles, and own sprawling manor houses to which they invite a host of wide-eyed Mary Sues (Hermione!Sue very much included) -- but I'm also tired of Snapes who are actually more vicious, selfish, and flagrantly amoral than I've ever seen Snape behave in canon. Oh, and Snape is not a dribbling psychological mess, either. He certainly has Issues, but if he really had all the Issues that some fic writers foist upon him, the guy would never get anything done because he'd be curled up in a corner in the St. Mungo's psych ward somewhere, gibbering.
( My Snape, for the record... )
I've already written a lengthy essay about the question of Snape's redemption, and a number of stories about the possibility of him having a successful romantic relationship, so I won't bother repeating any of that here. Basically, if my view of Snape is deemed hopelessly romanticized and uncanonical in certain quarters, no skin off my nose. Those who enjoy the stories I write will go on enjoying them, and those who don't are perfectly free to move on and seek out the kinds of stories they do like.
...
...
...
Er, was I supposed to care about this?
Sorry, I've just never had the slightest interest or confidence in astrological signs as a means of personality determination. I don't think I even bothered to decide when D&L Snape's birthday was, since it never came into any of the stories. Besides, if Snape were a Scorpio, as many people sincerely believed suited him to a T -- dude, that would make him the same sign as Kalan Porter (you knew I had to get a reference in there, didn't you?). Any astrological sign which can encompass both those personalities is so vague as to be completely useless, if you ask me.
Speaking of Snape, I've heard rumours -- I'm so out of the loop these days -- that Snape is "really" completely obsessed with his own selfish ambitions to the exclusion of all else, and that he is "really" evil or at least completely amoral and only prepared to support whichever side appears to be winning at the time. *yawn* Sorry, but I seem to recall having this discussion around the time PoA (the book, not the movie) came out and it didn't interest me much then either. JKR will let us know what's really going on in Severus's mind in good time, I'm sure. In the meantime, there are perfectly good canonical reasons to believe that he is not entirely self-interested, and the game of "My Snape Is More Canonical Than Yours Because He's Meaner" smacks of pettiness and wishful thinking to me.
Personally, I'll take any Snape who appears to look, speak and behave similarly to the way he does in canon, and where any obvious deviations from canon are noted and intelligently addressed in the context of the fic. I'm tired of Snapes who are sekritly beyootiful, expert oenophiles, and own sprawling manor houses to which they invite a host of wide-eyed Mary Sues (Hermione!Sue very much included) -- but I'm also tired of Snapes who are actually more vicious, selfish, and flagrantly amoral than I've ever seen Snape behave in canon. Oh, and Snape is not a dribbling psychological mess, either. He certainly has Issues, but if he really had all the Issues that some fic writers foist upon him, the guy would never get anything done because he'd be curled up in a corner in the St. Mungo's psych ward somewhere, gibbering.
( My Snape, for the record... )
I've already written a lengthy essay about the question of Snape's redemption, and a number of stories about the possibility of him having a successful romantic relationship, so I won't bother repeating any of that here. Basically, if my view of Snape is deemed hopelessly romanticized and uncanonical in certain quarters, no skin off my nose. Those who enjoy the stories I write will go on enjoying them, and those who don't are perfectly free to move on and seek out the kinds of stories they do like.