Wouldn't you know, I wrote a response to your review last night and then LiveJournal ate it. However, it's probably a good thing because I can be much more concise in the morning.
It's evident you don't subscribe to the same view of Snape's character as I do, which is fine. You found Maud insipid and unsympathetic, which is also fine. I've no doubt your opinions are sincere, and I wouldn't try to change them, or even want to stop you from voicing them. I don't even think you're alone in holding those views -- in fact I know you're not.
However, I do have a few factual quibbles.
One: you argue that there's no reason to believe Snape did anything good before Voldemort's fall. This isn't true, because Dumbledore states in GoF that Snape turned spy against Voldemort, at great risk to himself, some time *prior* to the incident at Godric's Hollow.
Two: your assertion that Snape is all nasty, all the time, to everyone, and that nobody could plausibly be expected to like him is a belief to which you're certainly entitled, but it's an opinion and a preference, not a canonical truth. In fact, in light of PS/SS, I'd suggest that a belief that the public and private Snapes might be somewhat different, and that Harry's perception of Snape is by no means complete or reliable, is actually encouraged by JKR.
That doesn't mean that I think Snape is a secretly sensitive guy who hugs fluffy bunnies and frolics through fields of daisies in his spare time, or that he never did anything wrong and it's all bad press (the latter is a reductio ad absurdum; I can't think of a single fic I've read which argues Snape was never really a Death Eater, and there's no question the DE's were/are a nasty murderous lot). But canonically I see ample room for the supposition that if someone had reason or inclination to believe the best of Snape rather than the worst, they might perceive him rather differently than Harry does. Certainly Dumbledore and Hagrid, among others, seem to regard Snape favorably.
Three: Because the ending of a story leaves room for a sequel doesn't prove that it was written with a sequel in mind. In fact, if you go back to the archives of HP4GU, you'll find me expressing incredulity that people would be interested in a sequel, and wondering aloud what on earth such a sequel would be about, as well as whether I would have time or inclination to write it. TPMA was supposed to be a one-shot, with future developments left up to the reader's own imagination. It took me several weeks to even consider doing anything else.
All that being said, I appreciate your willingness to reconsider and rework your review in the light of my earlier comments; I hadn't expected that, much less thought to ask for it, and I thank you for the extra time and effort you put in. We may have conflicting views of Snape and different ideas of what we like to see in a fic, but that's hardly the end of the world, and I certainly don't hold it against you.
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Date: 2003-03-26 05:36 am (UTC)It's evident you don't subscribe to the same view of Snape's character as I do, which is fine. You found Maud insipid and unsympathetic, which is also fine. I've no doubt your opinions are sincere, and I wouldn't try to change them, or even want to stop you from voicing them. I don't even think you're alone in holding those views -- in fact I know you're not.
However, I do have a few factual quibbles.
One: you argue that there's no reason to believe Snape did anything good before Voldemort's fall. This isn't true, because Dumbledore states in GoF that Snape turned spy against Voldemort, at great risk to himself, some time *prior* to the incident at Godric's Hollow.
Two: your assertion that Snape is all nasty, all the time, to everyone, and that nobody could plausibly be expected to like him is a belief to which you're certainly entitled, but it's an opinion and a preference, not a canonical truth. In fact, in light of PS/SS, I'd suggest that a belief that the public and private Snapes might be somewhat different, and that Harry's perception of Snape is by no means complete or reliable, is actually encouraged by JKR.
That doesn't mean that I think Snape is a secretly sensitive guy who hugs fluffy bunnies and frolics through fields of daisies in his spare time, or that he never did anything wrong and it's all bad press (the latter is a reductio ad absurdum; I can't think of a single fic I've read which argues Snape was never really a Death Eater, and there's no question the DE's were/are a nasty murderous lot). But canonically I see ample room for the supposition that if someone had reason or inclination to believe the best of Snape rather than the worst, they might perceive him rather differently than Harry does. Certainly Dumbledore and Hagrid, among others, seem to regard Snape favorably.
Three: Because the ending of a story leaves room for a sequel doesn't prove that it was written with a sequel in mind. In fact, if you go back to the archives of HP4GU, you'll find me expressing incredulity that people would be interested in a sequel, and wondering aloud what on earth such a sequel would be about, as well as whether I would have time or inclination to write it. TPMA was supposed to be a one-shot, with future developments left up to the reader's own imagination. It took me several weeks to even consider doing anything else.
All that being said, I appreciate your willingness to reconsider and rework your review in the light of my earlier comments; I hadn't expected that, much less thought to ask for it, and I thank you for the extra time and effort you put in. We may have conflicting views of Snape and different ideas of what we like to see in a fic, but that's hardly the end of the world, and I certainly don't hold it against you.