I have been seeing confessions saying how Snape is not a
good person, or how hateful he is. Although I don’t deny that he has certainly
been the antagonist for many parts of the book (I remember seriously disliking
him when I read the first few books), it is rather sad that some out there
continue to believe how Snape should never have been forgiven, or how he is
less of a ‘good’ person than, for example, James Potter. And so, after many
days of thinking about it (and free periods to think about it), here’s a short
analysis of why perhaps, we should appreciate the complexity of this character
more rather than continuing to hate him.
One must realise that circumstances surrounding Snape had
been very different from that of James Potter and even Harry Potter—in fact, it
could be said that he is the most unfortunate out of the three. In Snape’s
memories (Deathly Hallows), we were shown how Snape came from an abusive
household, and how much he had hoped to go to Hogwarts where he would learn
magic and, it seems, be accepted as a normal person there and be treated
equally. We also learnt that before he entered Hogwarts, he made his first and
only true friend—Lily Evans, who also became the love of his life.
Yet, Snape quickly learns that Hogwarts is not all that he
had dreamt to be. His first taste of it was during his journey on the Hogwarts
express, where he expressed his desire to be in Slytherin and was scorned by
James Potter and Sirius Black. Luckily for him, Lily stood up for him, and the
matter was laid to rest. However, as he continued his studies in Hogwarts, he
saw how James Potter and his merry gang of Gryffindors (apart from Lupin,
though he did not stop the bullying), was constantly ganging up against him and
not serving any punishments he felt they deserved. He saw how James Potter got
more famous and liked by many teachers as Snape suffered through his bullying
and despite how Snape felt Potter had less talent than himself. It would not be
far fetched to suggest that Snape was perhaps also alienated by others due to
him being a Slytherin and his love for the dark arts (I think he knew deep down
that those ‘friends’ he had who later became death eaters were not good in any
way, but they were the only few who were willing to be with him then), and this
combination of alienation and unjustice felt in Hogwarts, along with the final
straw of losing Lily forever to James Potter, provoked him to take on the Dark
Mark. By then, he couldn’t forgive James Potter, who had everything he did not
have.
James Potter VS Snape
As I have hinted in my second paragraph, James Potter’s
circumstances were very different. James Potter grew up in a well loved
household and was also well liked in Hogwarts. His bullying of Snape was
constantly cheered on by his fellow Marauders and no one took any action to
stop it (apart from Lily). In short, his time in school was glorified. And therein made all the
difference: school for Snape was not fully a place of respite, but a place
where he was still bullied—his time all the way till 17 was not a good one (if
he ever had a good year, that is; only the times he shared with Lily were his
best), and Lily had left him due to his mistakes in his later years in Hogwarts—stopped
defending him and became close to his bully. James could thus have understood
what a terrible bully he used to be and changed his ways to become a better
person, but Snape was bitter for all the injustice he had received which had
been etched into his mind (as they say, childhood bullying has a most profound
impact on individuals) and could thus never have forgiven James Potter. James
Potter had been labelled a bully in his mind, and he most probably had a bad
impression on the Gryffindors in part due to the Golden Boy James Potter was in
his house.
Rather unfortunately, his time back in Hogwarts, seeing all
the Gryffindors again and the child of James Potter and Lily Evans, a constant reminder of his mistakes and of
how Lily left him for his bully, did nothing to improve his already messed
up situation and he took to bullying the students and blatantly showing
favouritism towards his own house, something he had experienced from others
during his time at Hogwarts, perhaps knowingly doing something his teachers
used to do which he hated them for.
Harry Potter VS Snape
Harry Potter’s situation is very different from Snape’s:
Harry may have grown up in an abusive household, but he was loved and
appreciated, even revered in Hogwarts. Despite the blatant bullying from Snape,
he had his best friends who stuck to him always and teachers and even the
Headmaster who was on his side. He never took to bullying others because he had
always felt loved from so many people, and Snape was never that lucky—his head
of house then probably cared not much for him as an individual.
Harry was also never tempted to join the Dark side for two
reasons: he was already loved by people in the Light, and Voldemort had killed
Harry’s mother, thereby sealing him from ever becoming a Dark wizard. On the
other hand, Voldemort had never done anything bad to Snape when he joined; but most
importantly, when Snape learnt that Voldemort had killed Lily, he was willing
to help the Light (driven by guilt and his love for Lily), although he knew
that he would never be appreciated or loved for all that he had done—in the
end, his change in sides was motivated
by love. In the end, his crucial role in the Wizarding War redeemed him.
Also, Voldemort had given him the appreciation he so thirst for when
others did not, when others only saw how good James Potter was. This did not
mean that he was all for blood purity for all that—he was only asking for
something which he was never shown as a child: appreciation (which Snape may
have confused with love when he was younger). His taking of the Dark Mark meant
that he was serving the Dark Lord, and he could not see a way out of leaving
Voldemort’s service whilst not being less appreciated or loved than James
Potter (or even unloved, for he was already branded with a Mark he could never
take away). The only person he felt ever loved him as an individual was dead.
Overall, circumstances were different between all three, and
these circumstances made all the difference to the character of all three.
Whilst I do not deny that Snape is a horrible teacher as he bullied and showed
favouritism to students, his situation is much too complex to define him as
being an evil bat because of this. In a way, I feel most sorry for Snape (which
I’m sure he would hate me for) for he never felt much love in his life and was
constantly undertaking dangerous tasks during the war. He is indeed a most
complex character in the Harry Potter series, and I thank JK Rowling for
creating him.
(I might do a more in depth analysis in the future if I have
time)