Why, exactly, does Rowling hate Snape so much?
author mary-j-59
title Snape as wicked Stepmother?
type essay, gen, about 1,000 words
warnings, credits, etc G-rated, no warnings. Thanks to Swythyv, Bohemianspirit, and especially Jodel from aol and liznc for inspiring me and allowing me to quote them.
Rowling's hatred of Severus Snape: a theory about what it signifies.
When I summed up my reactions to Deathly Hallows, one of the things that struck me was Rowling's extraordinary cruelty to Severus Snape. Others have noted it, too, and, have, I think, been equally puzzled by it. In fact, liznc points out, Rowling is actually kinder to Voldemort than she is to Snape. Why on earth should an author who claims to be writing a Christian work be so appallingly cruel to one of her own characters, and what does it indicate?
In her response to Swythyv's latest essay, Jodel from aol had something very insightful to say about this. She pointed out that perhaps the reason DH feels so different from the other books in the series, and ignores so many of the story lines and characterizations Rowling built up previously, is that Rowling stopped telling a story, and began instead dealing directly with the trauma of her mother's death. She says, in a comment she posted on November 5, 2007:
It wasn't until after I finally uploaded the revised essay collection that a few of the mists cleared and I finally decided that the reason Book 7 doesn't seem to fit, is because it *doesn't fit*. That you can make a fairly good argument that with Book 7 she simply stepped aside from telling us a story, and engaged in a bit of "therapeutic" writing.
In which she finally rolled up her sleeves, set Albus up as a stand-in, set Harry up as her own avatar, and started finally dealing with the psychodrama of finally forgiving a god who wasn't in reach, wouldn't answer questions directly, didn't explain his plans, and who sat back and let her mother die.
Which, since the whole Potterverse project is what she hid out in when she couldn't bear to deal with a world where her mother was unfairly and far to early dead, makes a kind of sense, but psychodrama doesn't make for very satisafying stories for anyone but the person writing them.
(http://community.livejournal.com/hp_essays/241557.html?thread=5454485#t5454485)
That actually makes a good deal of sense to me, for it seems clear Rowling must have had a very strong motivation to tell this story. And Albus Dumbledore, as an apparently cruel, distant and manipulative god, also makes sense. But the theory does not - yet - explain her hatred of Snape, and her denial of the positive aspects of his character.
Another livejournaller, liznc, had some equally fascinating things to say about what Rowling might intend where Snape is concerned. This was a comment to Bohemianspirit's post on Ian McKellan:
I can't shake this feeling that she understands Snape way too well, & that's why she hates him. Her statements are so bitter, so hateful, so downright mean that it's difficult for me to see it any other way. She's nicer to Voldemort! She's made Snape in her own image & then attacked that image - more as an expression of self-hatred than anything else. Seen in that light, her statements make me a little less angry.
(http://community.livejournal.com/snapedom/39560.html)
Liznc went on to explain how Rowling's attitude toward Snape could be shadow projection. She is, it seems, rejecting aspects of her own personality and pouring them into a fictional character whom she then destroys. Liz's full comment is well worth a look, for those who haven't seen it, as is Bohemianspirit's original post and the whole discussion that ensued.
I agree with liznc that Rowling is expressing unconscious hatred and anger in her portrayal of Severus Snape. But I'm not sure it's self-hatred. One thing many readers noted in DH was that, for almost the first time, the watery and feminine aspects of Slytherin house - and thus, of their head - came to the fore. Severus, like Draco, is shown weeping, something Gryffindors (and men, generally) in these books do not do. On the train when they are children, the other boys tease him, in part, because his best friend is a girl. The incident by the lake during OWLs week is, of course, a sexual assault, and a deliberate emasculation. James is never punished for this during the course of the story; on the contrary, it is Severus, the victim, who is punished because of the way he lashes out at Lily. Finally, as others have pointed out, Severus assumes a femine role - the lady of the lake who gives the sword - when he helps Harry, and his Patronus, which guides Harry, is feminine. It seems to me that Rowling is using these feminine images quite consciously. But, as several of us have said, she is not introspective, and doesn't realize quite what she's done with this character.
What did she consciously intend to do? As I've said earlier, one young woman I'm acquainted with thinks she has been writing a fairy tale. Who is that stock character in fairy tales who is always punished mercilessly? Isn't that character usually female? Throughout the first six books, I'd been convinced that Snape represented the "Dark Father" - the disciplinarian, conscience, or superego, with which Harry had to reconcile. That reading still makes sense to me, but Rowling had something else in mind. Snape is not the "Dark Father", after all. He is the wicked stepmother.
As Liznc says, Rowling's cruelty to Snape may represent self-hatred, and a rejection of a part of herself that she would do better to accept and transcend. But I think her depiction of this character may point to something even more disturbing.
As Jodel says, these books are all about Ms. Rowling's mother's death. As Dumbledore represents God, and her anger at him for letting her mother die; as Lily represents the conscious love for the mother and her sacrifice, so Snape represents the unconscious anger at the mother for dying and abandoning her child. Or so it seems to me. I am no psychologist (though I'm interested in what makes people tick), and the woman, except through her work, is an utter stranger to me. So I can't really judge.
But Snape, poor guy, is quite definitely the wicked stepmother in these books. That much I am sure of.
Mary Johnson, November, 2007
Thanks to Swythyv, Jodel, liznc, and Bohemianspirit for inspiring me and giving me permission to quote.
title Snape as wicked Stepmother?
type essay, gen, about 1,000 words
warnings, credits, etc G-rated, no warnings. Thanks to Swythyv, Bohemianspirit, and especially Jodel from aol and liznc for inspiring me and allowing me to quote them.
Rowling's hatred of Severus Snape: a theory about what it signifies.
When I summed up my reactions to Deathly Hallows, one of the things that struck me was Rowling's extraordinary cruelty to Severus Snape. Others have noted it, too, and, have, I think, been equally puzzled by it. In fact, liznc points out, Rowling is actually kinder to Voldemort than she is to Snape. Why on earth should an author who claims to be writing a Christian work be so appallingly cruel to one of her own characters, and what does it indicate?
In her response to Swythyv's latest essay, Jodel from aol had something very insightful to say about this. She pointed out that perhaps the reason DH feels so different from the other books in the series, and ignores so many of the story lines and characterizations Rowling built up previously, is that Rowling stopped telling a story, and began instead dealing directly with the trauma of her mother's death. She says, in a comment she posted on November 5, 2007:
It wasn't until after I finally uploaded the revised essay collection that a few of the mists cleared and I finally decided that the reason Book 7 doesn't seem to fit, is because it *doesn't fit*. That you can make a fairly good argument that with Book 7 she simply stepped aside from telling us a story, and engaged in a bit of "therapeutic" writing.
In which she finally rolled up her sleeves, set Albus up as a stand-in, set Harry up as her own avatar, and started finally dealing with the psychodrama of finally forgiving a god who wasn't in reach, wouldn't answer questions directly, didn't explain his plans, and who sat back and let her mother die.
Which, since the whole Potterverse project is what she hid out in when she couldn't bear to deal with a world where her mother was unfairly and far to early dead, makes a kind of sense, but psychodrama doesn't make for very satisafying stories for anyone but the person writing them.
(http://community.livejournal.com/hp_essays/241557.html?thread=5454485#t5454485)
That actually makes a good deal of sense to me, for it seems clear Rowling must have had a very strong motivation to tell this story. And Albus Dumbledore, as an apparently cruel, distant and manipulative god, also makes sense. But the theory does not - yet - explain her hatred of Snape, and her denial of the positive aspects of his character.
Another livejournaller, liznc, had some equally fascinating things to say about what Rowling might intend where Snape is concerned. This was a comment to Bohemianspirit's post on Ian McKellan:
I can't shake this feeling that she understands Snape way too well, & that's why she hates him. Her statements are so bitter, so hateful, so downright mean that it's difficult for me to see it any other way. She's nicer to Voldemort! She's made Snape in her own image & then attacked that image - more as an expression of self-hatred than anything else. Seen in that light, her statements make me a little less angry.
(http://community.livejournal.com/snapedom/39560.html)
Liznc went on to explain how Rowling's attitude toward Snape could be shadow projection. She is, it seems, rejecting aspects of her own personality and pouring them into a fictional character whom she then destroys. Liz's full comment is well worth a look, for those who haven't seen it, as is Bohemianspirit's original post and the whole discussion that ensued.
I agree with liznc that Rowling is expressing unconscious hatred and anger in her portrayal of Severus Snape. But I'm not sure it's self-hatred. One thing many readers noted in DH was that, for almost the first time, the watery and feminine aspects of Slytherin house - and thus, of their head - came to the fore. Severus, like Draco, is shown weeping, something Gryffindors (and men, generally) in these books do not do. On the train when they are children, the other boys tease him, in part, because his best friend is a girl. The incident by the lake during OWLs week is, of course, a sexual assault, and a deliberate emasculation. James is never punished for this during the course of the story; on the contrary, it is Severus, the victim, who is punished because of the way he lashes out at Lily. Finally, as others have pointed out, Severus assumes a femine role - the lady of the lake who gives the sword - when he helps Harry, and his Patronus, which guides Harry, is feminine. It seems to me that Rowling is using these feminine images quite consciously. But, as several of us have said, she is not introspective, and doesn't realize quite what she's done with this character.
What did she consciously intend to do? As I've said earlier, one young woman I'm acquainted with thinks she has been writing a fairy tale. Who is that stock character in fairy tales who is always punished mercilessly? Isn't that character usually female? Throughout the first six books, I'd been convinced that Snape represented the "Dark Father" - the disciplinarian, conscience, or superego, with which Harry had to reconcile. That reading still makes sense to me, but Rowling had something else in mind. Snape is not the "Dark Father", after all. He is the wicked stepmother.
As Liznc says, Rowling's cruelty to Snape may represent self-hatred, and a rejection of a part of herself that she would do better to accept and transcend. But I think her depiction of this character may point to something even more disturbing.
As Jodel says, these books are all about Ms. Rowling's mother's death. As Dumbledore represents God, and her anger at him for letting her mother die; as Lily represents the conscious love for the mother and her sacrifice, so Snape represents the unconscious anger at the mother for dying and abandoning her child. Or so it seems to me. I am no psychologist (though I'm interested in what makes people tick), and the woman, except through her work, is an utter stranger to me. So I can't really judge.
But Snape, poor guy, is quite definitely the wicked stepmother in these books. That much I am sure of.
Mary Johnson, November, 2007
Thanks to Swythyv, Jodel, liznc, and Bohemianspirit for inspiring me and giving me permission to quote.