Deathly Hallows, Chapter 33: The Prince's Tale, Part 1

[oneandthetruth]

Or, Severus Snape and the Doomed Love

“I am a Serpent, I am Love;

I have been an Adder of the Mountain;

I have been a Serpent in the River.”

Taliesin

“I was raised the Chinese way: I was taught to desire nothing, to swallow other people’s misery, and to eat my own bitterness.”

Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club

Author’s note: The sporkings for “The Prince’s

Comments

[aikaterini]

To be honest, I was surprised that this wasn’t your least favorite chapter of DH.

/She has to debase him even further, describing his “undisguised greed” as he looks at Lily/

Which is probably supposed to tarnish Snape’s image in the readers’ eyes, to warn them against having too much sympathy for Snape.

Except…didn’t Harry look “greedily” at the image of his family in the Mirror of Erised, way back in the first book?

/Rowling also undermines her readers’ feelings of sympathy by never referring to this little boy as anything but “Snape.”/

I wonder if this is an echo of everyone referring to Pettigrew as “Wormtail.”

/If someone had paid attention to him, encouraging his inquisitive nature/

I wonder if the reason why he joined the Death Eaters was because Voldemort did pay attention to him or, at the very least, convincingly pretend to.

/He’s talking to her about Slytherin when James rudely interrupts and sneers at that house/

How did Slytherin have a bad reputation back then? Voldemort wasn’t on the scene yet.

/He had “...that indefinable air of having been well-cared for, even adored, that Snape so conspicuously lacked.”/

Like Draco did, when Harry first met him at Madam Malkin’s. This is why I wonder if the Harry-Snape/James-Draco parallels were deliberate or not, despite Dumbledore switching them around in PS/SS.

/Obviously, he’s still uncomfortable about his father’s behavior, which speaks well of him/

Like he did in OotP, but once again, nothing comes of it. He still names one of his kids after James.

/become so heartless and judgmental she won’t even allow that friend to speak, let alone cut him any slack/

And she doesn’t give a rat’s rear that her boyfriend humiliated him. She doesn’t care that he almost died as a result of whatever her boyfriend rescued him from. If James bullies people, that’s all right, he can change. But Snape says one nasty insult and he’s doomed forever in her eyes.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Re: House reputation: We are in September 1971, after the Weasleys and their friends already eloped out of fear of some kind of Dark Lord threat. Though I don't think the general public (ie people not immediately tied to Dumbles) were aware of much nor related it to a particular House. IMO James' bias is family-specific, and might even be related to dysfunctionality of his parents' relationship, if indeed his mother was a Black.

[hwyla]

Even if his mother wasn't Dorthea, it can still be a family bias. It would be shadowed by Aunt Dorthea's 'family' reputation.

I personally think Charlus was probably James' father's brother. It makes more sense not only of what JKR has said about James' parents' ages and deaths, but it also helps explain just why James and Sirius might not have met before the Express. They are not directly related - more cousins-in-law than cousins.

However, James doesn't seem to object at all that Sirius is a Black. Instead he focuses on him being a Slytherin. I don't recall however actually why he objects to Slytherins. I think we're supposed to assume he thinks they are 'evil' - however the direct correlation with Draco's comment about Hufflepuffs could mean almost anything, not necessarily 'evil'. Perhaps James sees their 'ambition' as 'social climbing' or just plain snobbery? Unless he actually says they're all dark or evil and I've forgotten it?

[oryx_leucoryx]

James on Slytherin:

J: "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"
S: "My whole family have been in Slytherin"
J: "Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right."

No further explanation given. But clearly, James thought that being in Slytherin meant you were not all right.

[hwyla]

Thanks - I was pretty sure he didn't give a reason. That means it is also possible that he thought Slytherins were all snobs or social climbers. It isn't as if when Lily asked him why he attacked Snape he replied that he was 'slytherin'. So it isn't shouldn't necessarily mean that 'slytherin' was an acceptable answer and therefore the equivalent of 'evil' in those days. It is entirely possible that the reputation comes after their 5th year. Of course, the real reason seems to be because Lily actually like Snape - his existence as rival, but IF slytherin was a good enough excuse I see no reason why he wouldn't have used it.

[jana_ch]

Since the defining characteristic of Slytherin is ambition, Slyths are more likely to be social climbers than snobs. Though fanon insists on making all Slytherins rich purebloods, it is more likely to be the House of Severus Snape, hard-scrabbling half-blood from Spinner's End, than of Sirius Black, genuine London nob born with a silver wand in his hand.

[ext_2456708]

I think she also started needing protectors, and playing along with the Marauders was her best bet. And since she was supposed to be the kindest justice warrior, she had a cognitive dissonance she was trying to deny her way out of, by convincing herself that her bodyguards and meal ticket are pure of heart and deserve to be rewarded, and her former friend she didn't have enough power to save and whose housemates were a threat to her, was pure evil now.