Comments | hp_essays: The Ragnarok Motif and the M.A.D. Deaths of Snape and Pettigrew in Book 7

sinick in hp_essays

The Ragnarok Motif and the M.A.D. Deaths of Snape and Pettigrew in Book 7

Feb 08, 2006 09:13

Back on Jan 24, amanuensis1 made an interesting post where she speculated on the odds of various HP characters dying in Book 7.

This essay covers slightly different ground. Like her, I believe that both Snape and Pettigrew are goners, but instead of the chances of their deaths in book 7, I'm going to describe the manner in which I believe Snape and Pettigrew ( Read more... )

other topics:mythology, characters:severus snape, other topics:theories, characters:remus lupin, characters:peter pettigrew, characters:fenrir greyback

Comments 153

bluerosefairy February 8 2006, 17:23:54 UTC

YES. Just, yes.

That is exactly how I wish, hope, pray book seven goes down. I want to see Harry finally trusting Snape, as he should have all along. I want to see Peter Pettigrew become something more than just the whiny rat bastard that betrayed the Marauders. I want to know why Pettigrew's new hand was silver, and I want Lupin to survive the series as the last of the Marauders.

And this theory combines everything I want answered in a perfect little bow. Bravo!

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sinick February 9 2006, 02:51:02 UTC

I blush like a blushy thing.

sinick February 9 2006, 02:50:13 UTC

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!

cordelia_v February 8 2006, 17:39:06 UTC

I find this very persuasive. It has the implacable feeling of rightness, of inevitability, of yesss that well-done tragedies must carry within them.

But, my God. Poor Snape.

sinick February 9 2006, 02:52:01 UTC

Oh, no kidding. Poor luckless bastard never had an even break in his life.

rj_anderson February 8 2006, 17:56:12 UTC

This is fearfully convincing, especially the Snape part. I don't know whether to say "Ooh, shiny!" or just grab a tissue and weep.

I'm not sure that the Patronus thing will play out exactly as you've described, but on the other hand, it very well might. Presumably JKR drew our attention to the idea that Patroni can change for some reason, and she certainly has been cagey about letting us know Snape's...

But if Snape went out in the way you've described, fighting a sea of Dementors, it would be a lot more satisfying to me as a reader than, say, merely having him suddenly jump out in front of Voldemort and take an AK for Harry. If JKR could play it right, it would be a truly heart-stopping and powerfully moving sequence. And it'd say a lot about how powerful and resourceful Snape is... as well as potentially revealing some unexpected things about his potential for joy. Now that we know he can cast a Patronus, the man obviously has some kind of happy memories in there somewhere.

sinick February 9 2006, 02:56:10 UTC

First of all, thank you for the rec! I really appreciate it!

Secondly, yes, I very much doubt it's an accident that she set up the Patronus (both in book 6 and that article on her site) as the perfect communication channel for deep-cover-agent Snape.

The image of Snape - who's always been seen by his students as a monster physically and emotionally similar to a dementor - defeating a dementor army has been haunting me for entirely too long. Interesting point about his capacity for joy - in such an essentially joyless life the few shining memories must burn even more brightly by sheer force of contrast.

ook February 8 2006, 18:08:17 UTC

Yup. Ever since I read about Tonks's new Patronus, I figured that Snape's new patronus would be a Phoenix (how else would Order members trust his information). Excellent theory about the Dementors.

Too bad about Snape, but he's pretty much doomed (in order to balance out Dumbledore, Lily, and James dying). I suspect that another big revelation will be that Snape was at Godric's Hollow with the Invisibility Cloak the night the Potters were killed.

Good theory about Pettigrew and Fenrir too. While I doubt that Peter is strong enough to physically rip a wolf's jaws apart, he might kill Fenrir with a blow to the head, using the silver hand.

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sinick February 9 2006, 03:23:58 UTC

I'd pay GOOD cash money to see THAT in Movie 7!

Thread 10

gramarye1971 February 8 2006, 18:24:11 UTC

Here via synaesthete7 -- this is an excellent theory, and one that I would love to see come to fruition in Book 7. We've seen all along in the books that certain characters are 'chosen' to play their parts for particular reasons, and the Theory of Mutually Assured Destruction seems most in keeping with the course of events in the books so far. Thanks for some great insights!

sinick February 9 2006, 02:59:09 UTC

Thank you! I'm very glad these ideas worked for you!