[Toraspanda]

Originally Posted by Crazihors

i see you all arguing whether Snape is good or evil....personally i don't think he's either - a more gutsy version of Wormtail, if you will.

He is bad, he was a slytherin! i think he's one of those people only interested in self-preservation, he changed very quickly from being a death eater to Dumbledore's side, and i think he only seemed reluctant to being a spy again - either that or he was scared of being fried. i think he has his own agenda...like Jack Sparrow only less piratey...he makes it up as he goes along, and overcomes any spanners in the works, so to speak

Crazihors, we are on the same page. Below is what I wrote in my LJ after reading The Deathly Hallows. Anyone who hasn't read the book yet, be warned :

***SPOILERS***

About Snape. I have never believed that he was on the side of the angels. However, I wouldn't say he was either "good or evil"; he is more complex than that. In fact, I believe this character is almost too "heavy" for the book, as he has a tragic potential that transcends the genre of fantasy.

I use the word "tragic" deliberately, in a technical, Aristotelian sense: the tragic protagonist as a man who is basically good, noble and admirable, but who has one Fatal Flaw that will bring about his downfall: Hamlet's indecision, Othello's pathological jealousy, Macbeth's vaulting ambition, and so on.

I must admit to great disappointment with Rowling's "resolution" of the Snape enigma in Book 7. It was rushed and slipshod, especially after the painstaking building of the character throughout the first six books. We are given more insight into what has made Snape what he is than any other character, except Harry himself. We understand why he has built around himself a cold, protective wall, against the many rejections and humiliations he has suffered. He has even created a persona - admirably illustrated by Alan Rickman in the films, of the sinister, powerful, mysterious sorcerer (vide the first Potions lesson that Harry attends). His pride is enormous - another protection - he is the Half-Blood Prince, the archetypal Outsider, who compensates for being shut out from ordinary human warmth and affection by seeing himself as "special", a Man of Destiny. I have often been reminded of other literary or historical instances when reading about Snape: quotations pop into my mind such as:

"Oderint, dun metuant", or
"since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days, -
I am determined to prove a villain,
And hate the idle pleasures of these days."

Why, then, does Snape ultimately choose the "good" side? I believe it is simply that he is not on anyone's side but his own. Much as he hates Harry, for being James' son, and he must hate Voldemort for murdering Lily, it is in his interest to work against Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Snape is intelligent. He knows that Voldemort must ultimately fail, because he stands for violence and tyranny, which inevitably carry the seeds of their own destruction.

It would also be in keeping with the psychology of the solitary misfit to be stimulated, even exhilarated , by the extreme danger of the life of a double-triple agent, of the years of manipulation and pretence. It would give him a sense of power and superiority. He alone would know the secret of who and what he was, of what side he truly supported. He might feel that the destiny of the wizarding world was essentially in his hands, his the power to tip the balance and decide the outcome.

There it is then. A man neither wholly evil not wholly good; a deeply-flawed, almost tragic being , highly intelligent, extremely courageous, possessing extraordinary skill and control - yet at the same time petty, vindictive, resentful, unable to overcome the injustices and rejections he had suffered. No wonder Rowling chose the rather facile device of revealing Snape's motivations through his memories. She could not have done his character justice without unbalancing the book altogether. He is far too dense a character for this particular series, and it is a pity that the plot required his allegiance to remain a mystery until the end. The failure of Snape's characterisation unfortunately detracts from the splendidly crafted Finale, the ultimate confrontation between Harry and Voldemort.