Why Snape is the most interesting character

[Philosoph]

Snape is what is commonly called an "antagonistic-protagonist" (a bad good guy)

He possesses attributes of both a reader loved and reader hated character.

The greatest element of mysetery guises him, and from the POV the story is centered around you are lead on to dislike the character. (or such is the author's intent) However when one looks at the goals of the main character Snape is usually an asset in achieving them. (note I said usually)

I am referring to main goals such as beat Voldemort, keep Hogwarts secure, support the Order, et cetera. This character shows an unsual cunning loyalty which is most fascinating to me. Whereas the typical protagonist, such as Harry, shows a recklassly good approach and would blunder into a scenario with the best of intentions. But not the cleverest of approaches, this character leaves you on the edge where their stance in unclear, but eventually surfaces for the bestter, so far.

Ultimately I have no point in creating this post other than expressing my opinion and defending why this is perhaps my favorite character. What is your opinion?

Reginald Keenman PhD in Literature Analysis

[littlemissy]

Snape is not my favourite character, because I don't actually like him, but I think that he is definitely and by far the most intriguing character in the books. I think this is because he has been on both sides of the good/evil divide, and you can never be sure of his real feelings or intentions. We don't know for sure whether he is on the side of good or evil...
I really hope to find out more about him, and I'm sure we will. One idea that I have is that Snape might return to the Dark Side if Dumbledore should die. I really don't know though, which is why I find him so fascinating. One minute I think he's a 'good guy' and the next I'm wondering if he is still bad after all... Can't wait to find out more!!

[Dink Meeker]

Snape is also one of my favourite characters, but I don't think there is any question about which side he's on. His dislike of Harry and his loyalty to the Order are apparent in every book. Without Snape Harry would almost certainly have failed a great many of his tasks.

I think that Snape and Harry are alike in many ways and together could be a powerful force against LV, if they would let the anger and resentment of the past go.

[ElijahRain]

I enjoy the complexity of Snape as well. His disdain for Harry has more to do with his past and being bullied by the arrogant James Potter than it does much else. Harry embodies those things that Snape dislikes about some people. However, he likes Malfoy - the school's current bully. We may find later though that his relationship with Malfoy was an encouragement by Dumbledore to keep the Malfoy family close in just such an event like what has happened with LV making a reappearance.

[Blaise Zabini]

Ooh! Snapeikins!

Throughout the books, though he may not be the most admirable or most loyal, Severus Snape is the character whom I believe to be the most developed and who's the most open to interpretation. There's so much ambiguity surrounding him and so much topic for discussion in regards to him, that he's by far the most interesting and intriguing of the bunch. A part in OotP that really stood out (for me, at least,) was when he was teaching Harry Occlumency and seemed to almost care for the boy and as though he truly wanted him to do well at it. Though there's obviously a great amount of enmity between the two, I think that Harry will need to depend on his relationship with Snape as the series progresses.

The glimpses into Snape's memories in OotP also furthered our understanding of his character. Not only the scene in the Penseive, which was heartbreaking and brought that uni-dimensional Potions Master down to a much more human level, but also where we saw him as a tortured and abused child. Because of these above revelations, we've come to understand the reason for his being the way he is and the factors that shaped the Snape that we know.

Furthermore, because of Snape's character JK also expanded upon the role of James and got rid of that perfect of image of him that many of us had. This furthered Harry's realisation of the fallability of the people he knows (Dumbledore, Sirius, his Father, etc.) I think that the brilliance of Snape's character comes as much from his own characteristics as it does in helping to enhance the characters that he interacts with.

As for his loyalties, I think that a great part of the intrigue surrounding Snape comes from our not fully knowing to which side he belongs. Though he openly has his loyalties with Dumbledore, there is enough substantial evidence to show that he isn't fully committed to the Order. Philosoph, I like how you made the comparison between Snape and Harry. The two do serve as somewhat of a foil for each other, in that while Harry is more rash and incautious, Snape is more the circumspect and logical type. Moreover, while Harry has taken a prominent role in this battle again Lord Voldemort, Snape has taken a more inconspicuous position. While both have undoubtedly done much for the cause (for Dumbledore's trust of Snape must be founded in something,) their roles and positions in the Order seem to be contrasted.

Hm, hope that made some sense...

[Meg Boyd]

wow, i never really thought about it that way...

but he is a very complex character, and in theater those are usually the most fun to act.

It makes perfect sense that a complex character in a book would be the most interesting...

[highsorcerer]

All good writers have a backstory to tell of how certain characters got to where they are. Snape, by far, has the most enigmic background of every character. The glimpses we've had portray him as somewhat bitter and resentful from the time he entered Hogwarts (and even before). He was resentful of James Potter's talent, popularity, and Quidditch ability at school, spent his time hanging around a gang of Slytherins that almost all became death eaters, then, for some reason, turned his back on them, and turned spy. Yet 10 years after the first fall of Voldemort, he treats the only children of the original Order of the Phoenix (Neville and Harry) with a savage brutality, and shows favoritism to the son of a known death eater (Draco). He's also in the unique position of being trusted by both Dumbledore and Voldemort.

The backstory of James is not well known. Sirius and Lupin spoke highly of him, Dumbledore and Pettigrew agreed James would have spared Peter's life, and McGonagall noted his was an excellent Quidditch player, though also admitted he and Sirius were troublemakers even above George and Fred Weasley. However, as Harry learned to his dismay, his father didn't play harmless pranks like the Weasley twins (such as turning a corridor into a swamp), but ones intended to humiliate people and show off (noted by his treatment of Snape).

Harry in most ways has a history very similar to Snape's, an unloving home and constant bullying by his cousin and his gang. True, he's good at Quidditch, and while popular in his own way in the wizard world, it hasn't exactly transformed him into a popular person at Hogwarts, at least outside of Gryffindor, and until after GoF. He has a roller coaster of popularity, from his intial fame, to his suspicion of being the heir of Slytherin. 3/4th of the school (and all the other schools) were against him during the Triwizard Tournament (with the only one outside Gryffindor wishing him good luck before the first task being Cho Chang, one of the reasons I don't speak ill of her, despite her problematic relationship with Harry in OotP), at least until he proved both his skill (at the first task) and morality (by telling Cedric about the dragons, which led to Cedric's defense of Harry and subsequent relaxation of the hostility that house expressed towards him).

Both Snape and Harry missed a chance to mend some old wound when Snape caught Harry in the pensive. Snape would have been better served to mock James and ask Harry what he thought of his father now. Harry would have been better to tell Snape outright that what James did was wrong, and side with Snape on that issue.

HighSorcerer (turns into parrot and flies off)

[bludy mery]

Snape is absolotley my fav... what I realy like is all that mystory in him...
all his "unrebaled" secrets whatsoever... and I realy liked that interesting chapter about him and James... it was my favourite one

[Aule]

snape is a good character, but he has to learn to not let the past influence his present. We have been mocked as kids but most of mature from that. snape, however, still needs to mature or deal with his problem.
as for draco, i just think the obvious- snape favors draco b/c he is the leading student of slytherin.
just my opinions

[Eol]

An excellent post Blaise.

While Snape is undoubtedly a multi-faceted character, he does still retain a shallowness. My guess is that he's put Harry down since his very first day due to Harry's remarkable resemblence (sp?) to James. It just brings back the memories of the emnity of old. But for Snape (who is now in his mid 30's) to deliberately sabotage Harry's work in front of the other students shows us that with him any grudge he holds is permanent, i.e. he refuses to forgive and forget.
As has been mentioned in PoA and other books, Snape was insanely jealous of James due to his popularity, intelligence and natural talent. Finally, the anagram of "Serverus Snape" being "Persues Evans" brings to light another possible reason for why Snape hated James so much and why this hated has been projected onto Harry.

[Nacht]

I didn't know about that anagram Eol Highly interesting...

Although we could expect something like that from book 5, this can't be coincidence.

[littlemissy]

Except 'pursues' isn't spelt 'persues'.

[Eol]

Lol I stand corrected, thanks for that LittleMissy

[Lizzy Bennet]

Except 'pursues' isn't spelt 'persues'.

I was under the impression Eol wasn't using the word 'pursues' as a word (as in 'he 'pursues' Voldemort) but as part of Snape's name...there's only one 'u' in 'Severus Snape', so it would have to be 'Persues'. If I'm wrong about that, you have my apologies in advance. But even if Eol did misspell it, is it worth eye-rolling?


~ Lizzy

[Just Mom]

There are some really insightful posts on this thread.

I too, have been very interested in Snape somewhat from the beginning, but most especially from PoA up to now and the OotP really brought some interesting features to light.

Since reading your post Eol, about Snape and Lily awhile back(it seems like you had that idea on another thread somewhere), I think more and more that there are some real possibilities there. I know in OotP he speaks with chilling rudeness to her when she defends him but that doesn't mean anything at all. Look at Heathcliff and Kathy in Wuthering Heights. He was quite unkind to her as well yet loved her deeply in some manner. (I hate that book because I think it doesn't represent "love" well at all, but nevertheless, it can apply here)

I have pondered also, the way Snape was tormented by James and Sirius. That whole scene where he's working so hard on his exams, and seems to be very pre-occupied, in other words, doesn't ask for the treatment he got, is really heartbreaking. (haven't we all gone to school with folks like that who just get it no matter what they do?) And then to compare that with where he is now, a powerful, knowledgeable wizard and a professor at Hogwarts is striking. Yet sadly, like many of us, his insides haven't caught up with his outsides so to speak. There are still so many wounds there.

I think his disdain for Harry is a projection of anger that is in part directed at James, and in line with the Lily thing, if Snape did love her way back when, and when she was killed trying to save Harry, Snape may have harbored even more bitterness towards James for not protecting her properly. (and then we get into who died first, etc.)

I believe Snape will have some further redemption in the last two books. I look forward to it because I see so much in him that is yet to be revealed. And of course Dumbledore trusts him and that goes a long way.