Why I Love HBP Snape (and Salman Rushdie Does too!)
I was just discussing with gioiamia, who like me recs on KIA, why I love Snape. She's involved with a LJ Community that speculates about Book 7, called hpbook7thoughts. That group isn't particularly SS/HG oriented, and Gioia actually considers Harry/Ginny her OTP. She says that everyone she knows in her corner of the fandom, Snape fan or not, believes Snape is still one of the good guys. But she's says I'm the first person she's encountered whose interest in Snape was actually sparked by Half-Blood Prince. That even if they're convinced Snape is still a White Hat, many couldn't imagine shipping him anymore in the wake of the last book.
Well, I'd thought I'd post about why HBP made me love Snape, along the lines of the reply I sent her. If only as part of a plea to not ditch that Snape, to not retreat into non-HBP Compliant versions.
I think the exact same things that sparked my interest in Snape are the reasons some have either lost interest in writing him as a romantic lead or have caused writers to go into "HBP Denial" in the ship.
If you had told me pre-HBP, that Snape would betray Dumbledore and murder him and that Snape was evil, I would have shrugged. I wasn't much of a fan of Snape or Rowling's books before Half-Blood Prince. I'd read each book only once and hadn't even planned on buying the last one. I took Harry's POV for granted and had disliked and distrusted Snape. I read HBP at first in the Barnes & Noble book store Cafe and didn't buy it until 3 chapters into my SS/HG WIP when I realized it was a bit ridiculous to keep going back to the book store to check a point of canon.
But despite being then no fan of Snape's, there were things ringing alarms in me throughout my first read of HBP-that Snape finally got that DADA job-right after the vow. That cursed DADA job Dumbledore had never allowed him to take. That conversation between Snape and Dumbledore in the forest Hagrid overheard. By the time we got to the Astronomy Tower, I was sure Dumbledore had known about the vow from the very beginning and suspected what would happen.
And there was no way I was going to accept that "Please, Severus" at face value. The character in HP I had loved the most before HBP was Dumbledore. I couldn't believe he'd plead for his life. Sure, Dumbledore could have been pleading for Snape to not commit murder and split his soul. But I couldn't believe JKR would leave that open for interpretation-she didn't with Dumbledore's speech to Draco. Have Dumbledore die because he foolishly trusted Snape rather than choosing to sacrifice himself you diminish his character. Diminish Dumbledore you diminish Voldemort since Dumbledore is the "only wizard he ever feared." Diminsh Voldemort, Harry's adversary, and you diminish Harry. Diminish the hero of the books and you undercut its power. That's an argument made very well by Peter David, a pro sci-fi writer, right after HBP was published here
So, I wasn't someone trying to desperately salvage a heroic view of Snape. On the contrary, it was HBP that cemented for me his loyalties. But more than that, it was HBP that first gave Snape heroic dimension for me.
Trek was my first fandom-and my favorite character was Kirk. And what moved me most about Kirk was that he had to make decisions that were heartbreakers. The core of the character for me is epitomized by one event when Kirk has to allow the woman he loves to die-has to physically stop someone from saving her-in order to preserve the very future she dreamed of.
It wasn't a "nice" act. It wasn't tidily moral. Edith Keeler was an innocent, and Kirk allowed a truck to hit her. And, as it happened, it was obvious he was in agony over it.
The other TV series that most engaged me, even if I didn't write fanfic in it, was Buffy. She has a similar moment, when she has to put a sword right through her own true love and send him to hell to save the world. It's her defining moment, one that caused her visible agony.
What particularly moved me in HBP were a few things. Harry is described in the cave as feeling hatred and revulsion for what he's doing as he feeds Dumbledore that poison-one I'm sure that would have ultimately killed Dumbledore. Something he does under Dumbeldore's orders.
And what does Harry see on Snape's face as he does the deed?
Hate and revulsion.
Then there's the description of the "Flight of the Prince." With Snape teaching Harry to the very last minute, giving a lame excuse as to why Harry can't be captured or harmed, being described as demented, being described like the dog in agony in a burning house, finally goaded into that CAPS LOCK moment when Snape screams he's no coward.
Dear Lord. Suddenly I found myself feeling tremendous sympathy for Snape. I saw in him the kind that would do what was necessary even at great personal cost-and ultimately be despised and destroyed for it. I put down that book convinced both of his loyalties and that he'd die next book. I went in search of the fandom to see if anyone else saw what I did.
Then I read KazVL's vision of Snape in Falling Further In-as a leader of Slytherin fiercely devoted to his charges as Head of House, and I could feel myself falling in love with that character, that vision of him as I read.
I also loved that Snape was a Half-blood. One arguably a genius that rewrote his text as a teen-a text that still hadn't caught up with him 20 years later. I think that makes him a more plausible mate for Hermione-not less.
But those are exactly the things I think many in SS/HG hate about HBP. One thing about my involvement in Know-It-Alls is that I've gotten a better sense of the fandom as a whole. The SS/HG ship seems to have a mixed reputation at best. The ship gets flak for the rapefic (much less prevalent in non-Snape shipping) and the silly MLC, but one thing it also gets flak for that I think is by and large unfair is that it's filled with "Harlequin romance." I dunno. I'm not convinced that SS/HG is all that different than the other ships, Het and Slash there. But that is certainly an element. And for those who want that soft, sensitive romantic Snape they can't get away from him being a killer I think.
Too many it seems still yearn for rich, pureblood Snape, a Snape in the Darcy mold. I have no liking for the Aristocrat trope. I loved the idea of Snape I get in OotP and HBP. Of a Half-blood of no means or exalted bloodline that's where he is on pure ambition and merit. But I think for others that's been a ship-killer.
Over a year postHBP I find myself disappointed by many of the postHBP stories in the ship. Too many put their fingers in their ears and cover their eyes and pretend HBP doesn't even exist. I don't mean that they're AU in their events which I don't mind too much, but that even a year later we still get pureblood or "Lord of the Manor" Snape in stories started after HBP. Those writers are excising exactly those elements I love in Snape and I find it unsatisfying to simply ignore canon, especially since HBP really is Snape's book more than any other. I think it added a richness to the character the ship hasn't even begun to tap. There are postHBP SS/HG stories I love, though I think few really dig into the implications for the character and his future. I acutally think the most sucessful stories in that regard I've found so far are gen stories like Jocelyn's Dumbledore's Men which centers around the Harry/Snape relationship (in a non-slash sense). And actually, were I to name my favorite postHBP story with Snape where he's shipped, I think I'd have to name pir8fancier's Snarry, Snape: Home Fries Nazi. My fav postHBP SS/HG, one that did I think did the best job of making a case for SS/HG postHBP is Dyce's Survivors, but I'm finding it hard to think of other, novel-lengh fics in the ship postHBP that I have found as satisfying and moving as stories started or written before HBP.
So, how about you guys? Still in HBP Denial? Did that kill for you a lot of what you love about Snape? What stories do you think have done the best job with HBP?
Besides which, having just come up for breath I found this link on mundungus42's LJ. An article about why we love Snape that like her I thought I'd share that can be found here.
How are people doing with the sshg_exchange piece btw? I'm still strugging to find and feed a bunny.
Well, I'd thought I'd post about why HBP made me love Snape, along the lines of the reply I sent her. If only as part of a plea to not ditch that Snape, to not retreat into non-HBP Compliant versions.
I think the exact same things that sparked my interest in Snape are the reasons some have either lost interest in writing him as a romantic lead or have caused writers to go into "HBP Denial" in the ship.
If you had told me pre-HBP, that Snape would betray Dumbledore and murder him and that Snape was evil, I would have shrugged. I wasn't much of a fan of Snape or Rowling's books before Half-Blood Prince. I'd read each book only once and hadn't even planned on buying the last one. I took Harry's POV for granted and had disliked and distrusted Snape. I read HBP at first in the Barnes & Noble book store Cafe and didn't buy it until 3 chapters into my SS/HG WIP when I realized it was a bit ridiculous to keep going back to the book store to check a point of canon.
But despite being then no fan of Snape's, there were things ringing alarms in me throughout my first read of HBP-that Snape finally got that DADA job-right after the vow. That cursed DADA job Dumbledore had never allowed him to take. That conversation between Snape and Dumbledore in the forest Hagrid overheard. By the time we got to the Astronomy Tower, I was sure Dumbledore had known about the vow from the very beginning and suspected what would happen.
And there was no way I was going to accept that "Please, Severus" at face value. The character in HP I had loved the most before HBP was Dumbledore. I couldn't believe he'd plead for his life. Sure, Dumbledore could have been pleading for Snape to not commit murder and split his soul. But I couldn't believe JKR would leave that open for interpretation-she didn't with Dumbledore's speech to Draco. Have Dumbledore die because he foolishly trusted Snape rather than choosing to sacrifice himself you diminish his character. Diminish Dumbledore you diminish Voldemort since Dumbledore is the "only wizard he ever feared." Diminsh Voldemort, Harry's adversary, and you diminish Harry. Diminish the hero of the books and you undercut its power. That's an argument made very well by Peter David, a pro sci-fi writer, right after HBP was published here
So, I wasn't someone trying to desperately salvage a heroic view of Snape. On the contrary, it was HBP that cemented for me his loyalties. But more than that, it was HBP that first gave Snape heroic dimension for me.
Trek was my first fandom-and my favorite character was Kirk. And what moved me most about Kirk was that he had to make decisions that were heartbreakers. The core of the character for me is epitomized by one event when Kirk has to allow the woman he loves to die-has to physically stop someone from saving her-in order to preserve the very future she dreamed of.
It wasn't a "nice" act. It wasn't tidily moral. Edith Keeler was an innocent, and Kirk allowed a truck to hit her. And, as it happened, it was obvious he was in agony over it.
The other TV series that most engaged me, even if I didn't write fanfic in it, was Buffy. She has a similar moment, when she has to put a sword right through her own true love and send him to hell to save the world. It's her defining moment, one that caused her visible agony.
What particularly moved me in HBP were a few things. Harry is described in the cave as feeling hatred and revulsion for what he's doing as he feeds Dumbledore that poison-one I'm sure that would have ultimately killed Dumbledore. Something he does under Dumbeldore's orders.
And what does Harry see on Snape's face as he does the deed?
Hate and revulsion.
Then there's the description of the "Flight of the Prince." With Snape teaching Harry to the very last minute, giving a lame excuse as to why Harry can't be captured or harmed, being described as demented, being described like the dog in agony in a burning house, finally goaded into that CAPS LOCK moment when Snape screams he's no coward.
Dear Lord. Suddenly I found myself feeling tremendous sympathy for Snape. I saw in him the kind that would do what was necessary even at great personal cost-and ultimately be despised and destroyed for it. I put down that book convinced both of his loyalties and that he'd die next book. I went in search of the fandom to see if anyone else saw what I did.
Then I read KazVL's vision of Snape in Falling Further In-as a leader of Slytherin fiercely devoted to his charges as Head of House, and I could feel myself falling in love with that character, that vision of him as I read.
I also loved that Snape was a Half-blood. One arguably a genius that rewrote his text as a teen-a text that still hadn't caught up with him 20 years later. I think that makes him a more plausible mate for Hermione-not less.
But those are exactly the things I think many in SS/HG hate about HBP. One thing about my involvement in Know-It-Alls is that I've gotten a better sense of the fandom as a whole. The SS/HG ship seems to have a mixed reputation at best. The ship gets flak for the rapefic (much less prevalent in non-Snape shipping) and the silly MLC, but one thing it also gets flak for that I think is by and large unfair is that it's filled with "Harlequin romance." I dunno. I'm not convinced that SS/HG is all that different than the other ships, Het and Slash there. But that is certainly an element. And for those who want that soft, sensitive romantic Snape they can't get away from him being a killer I think.
Too many it seems still yearn for rich, pureblood Snape, a Snape in the Darcy mold. I have no liking for the Aristocrat trope. I loved the idea of Snape I get in OotP and HBP. Of a Half-blood of no means or exalted bloodline that's where he is on pure ambition and merit. But I think for others that's been a ship-killer.
Over a year postHBP I find myself disappointed by many of the postHBP stories in the ship. Too many put their fingers in their ears and cover their eyes and pretend HBP doesn't even exist. I don't mean that they're AU in their events which I don't mind too much, but that even a year later we still get pureblood or "Lord of the Manor" Snape in stories started after HBP. Those writers are excising exactly those elements I love in Snape and I find it unsatisfying to simply ignore canon, especially since HBP really is Snape's book more than any other. I think it added a richness to the character the ship hasn't even begun to tap. There are postHBP SS/HG stories I love, though I think few really dig into the implications for the character and his future. I acutally think the most sucessful stories in that regard I've found so far are gen stories like Jocelyn's Dumbledore's Men which centers around the Harry/Snape relationship (in a non-slash sense). And actually, were I to name my favorite postHBP story with Snape where he's shipped, I think I'd have to name pir8fancier's Snarry, Snape: Home Fries Nazi. My fav postHBP SS/HG, one that did I think did the best job of making a case for SS/HG postHBP is Dyce's Survivors, but I'm finding it hard to think of other, novel-lengh fics in the ship postHBP that I have found as satisfying and moving as stories started or written before HBP.
So, how about you guys? Still in HBP Denial? Did that kill for you a lot of what you love about Snape? What stories do you think have done the best job with HBP?
Besides which, having just come up for breath I found this link on mundungus42's LJ. An article about why we love Snape that like her I thought I'd share that can be found here.
How are people doing with the sshg_exchange piece btw? I'm still strugging to find and feed a bunny.