Fandom meta: The links between shipping and empathy/sympathy for fictional characters
When I learn new theories in class, often the first thing I think about is how they can be applied to fiction and fandom. "So when Anakin did this, this is what was happening in his head... If Padmé were to do that, this is how she might justify it to herself; these are the defense mechanisms she might use..." Occasionally, there's also "So this is
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Lily was the only thing that ever made him happy, and the lengths to which he went out of his (frankly disturbing) devotion to the memory of her... I don't think it's possible to love a person that much and at the same time believe people like that person are inferior.
I can see him coming away from those beliefs after she's dead; after all, he might have loved her but he didn't start listening to her until she'd shuffled off this mortal coil and joined the choir invisible. But considering how Snape manages to genuinely and utterly despise who Harry is (his father's son) while at the same time keeping him safe because of another aspect of who he is (his mother's son), I don't see a problem with his ability to do a similar thing with Lily.
Generally speaking I think it's perfectly possible - what happens is that you convince yourself the person you love who belongs to the group you despise is different, is not like the others, is special, and then fail totally at understanding why they don't understand your double standards, which is when the relationship blows up in your face. (Which is what I saw happening during the scene when Lily confronts him at the portrait hole. "But you call everyone of my blood by that name, Severus. Why should I be any different?")
What bothers me much more about Snape is how he acts when he is an adult and a teacher.
ABSOLUTELY. To the point where I fail at understanding why the hell Harry named his kid Albus Severus. Except I don't, because Harry sees the good in people just like his Mum. But I don't.
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It's probably a sign of how sex-obsessed we are as individuals and as society.
to transfer a hatred of his absuive Muggle father onto all Muggles and Muggle-borns, considering the way he transfers his hatred of James onto Harry
That makes sense. Well, mostly. I can see him generalising his (justified) hatred of his Muggle father onto all Muggles, but not onto Muggle-born wizards and witches, who have magic despite having Muggle blood - just like him. Purebloods who are prejudiced against both Muggles and Muggleborns haven't closely known either, and therefore don't see and don't care about the differences between the two groups. Would Snape, who grew up around an awful Muggle (his father) and a nice Muggle-born (Lily) lump the two groups together in his mind?
The other reason I have trouble believing Snape was prejudiced against Muggleborns is that of all the nasty things he calls Hermione in the other books, "Mudblood" isn't one of them. And it can't be because he's holding back/doesn't want to give away his prejudice. In the scenes in PoA where he acts deranged, it's obvious he isn't censoring anything that comes out of his mouth. Had he thought of Hermione as "Mudblood", it would have come out then.
what happens is that you convince yourself the person you love who belongs to the group you despise is different, is not like the others
That's what usually happens in fanfics that pair Hermione with Draco or other Slytherins. But I've never seen it in Snape/Lily fics, the few I've read, at least. I've never seen a Snape/Lily fic in which Snape is truly prejudiced against Muggleborns, and maybe that's remiss of the authors, but I wouldn't want to read about Lily being in a relationship with a pureblood supremacist either.
Also: the fact that Harry reminds Snape of James is a reason why he bullies him. But mostly, he does it simply because he is a bully. His other favourite target is Neville, who we can assume doesn't remind him of anyone he especially hated when he was a teenager. My Professor Bully was the same way: nobody was safe, but her favourite targets were the kids who had trouble with the subject and who had a low self-esteem. The most vulnerable ones. It made her feel better about herself and more in control to see the power she had over them.
why the hell Harry named his kid Albus Severus
I don't like it either. And I pity the kid. Imagine how he'll get teased with a name like that, and how he'll feel about being named after such a person, if he ever finds out what the "war hero" was like as a person/teacher.
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