Hero or Villain? Dichotomous Characters in Harry Potter, Part I: Severus Snape

Over a decade later, debates still rage on about the character of some of Harry Potter's most dichotomous characters. Are they good or bad? In part one, we will examine the most enigmatic of these characters: Severus Snape

On July 20th, 2007, at around 11:00 PM, I entered Borders bookstore for the Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows midnight release. Upon walking in, stickers were given out, and each person had the choice of donning either a sticker stating, "Trust Snape" or "Snape is a very bad man."

The previous book, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, ended with Snape killing Dumbledore on top of the Astronomy Tower, so the question of Snape's character was still in question, pending the release of Deathly Hallows. As I was one of the older fans awaiting the final installment at this Borders location, at 24 years old, and also, as I had, to some degree, predicted the "horcruxes" by obsessively analyzing "in essence divided," a line from Dumbledore in Order of the Phoenix, I was arrogantly confident I was right when I chose the sticker, "Snape is a very bad man" and attached it to my shirt. I was, however, disquieted when I realized minutes later that almost every fan in Borders was wearing a "Trust Snape" sticker. Part of me thought, these fools, but another part of me thought, did I miss something?! Surely there should be a 50/50 split, if not a significant majority wearing the "bad man" sticker.

It was a humbling experience when I realized a few days later that I was wrong, and the majority of others in that bookstore were right. Snape was trustworthy, as Dumbledore always insisted, and the look of hatred upon his face when he killed Dumbledore was not, as I had thought, actual hatred for Dumbledore, but hatred for the task Snape had been assigned--killing a man he deeply respected and perhaps even loved.

After reading "The Prince's Tale"--the Deathly Hallows chapter that revealed Snape's innocence through the memories he gives to Harry as he, Snape, dies--I was not at all disappointed about misinterpreting the prior book; I was glad and deeply moved. I thought Snape's innocence would cheapen Dumbledore's death, but I was entirely wrong.

Despite the overwhelming support for Snape even before his "innocence" was revealed as canon, debates still rage on about whether Snape was a true villain, despite his role in protecting Harry and defeating Voldemort, 15 years later for the books' finale, and 11 years after the films'.

The debates are not without merit on both sides. One side argues that Snape was a villain, or at least a bad person, due to the unfair and bullying treatment he demonstrated toward Harry, as well as Hermione, Ron, and Neville. The other side argues, to simplify their arguments, that Snape's valiant actions to protect Harry absolve Snape of the title of "villain" or "bad."

**It is important before continuing that book Snape and movie Snape are somewhat different. Book Snape is much more brutal and bullying than film Snape. So, moving forward, I will be referring book Snape, unless otherwise specified.**

Both arguments, as I said, have their merits, and I argue that both are right. BUT HOW can opposing sides BOTH be correct, you might ask? Because they ARE. They are also both WRONG. Allow me to explain.

The argument of Snape's true character falls victim to the fallacy of false dichotomy, otherwise known as the "either/or fallacy"or "false dilemma," and for an understandable reason; this is how we have all learned how to assess and judge characters in epic heroic stories. Every successful story follows the formula of The Hero's Journey, but those that adhere to it the most closely and literally are fantasy-hero tales: Star Wars' Luke vs Darth Vader, Lord of the Rings' Frodo vs Sauron, The Hunger Games' Katniss vs President Snow, and even Harry Potter's Harry vs Voldemort. But the reality is, as Sirius Black states in OotP, "The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters; we all have light and dark inside us." All of us are some combination of good and "bad," or what others on the outside would perceive as bad.

Snape is not purely good or purely bad. The arguments that his bad cancels or NEGATES his good, or that his good NEGATES his bad, are both inherently fallacies. Why? Because we are dealing with the most complex of topics: human beings. Unless you can prove Snape's good acts were a rouse, or his bad acts were misunderstood and done for the, then, unseen good, there is no one answer. And you cannot prove either, because the canon speaks clearly for Snape on both sides.

So, what was really despicably horrible about Snape?

Some fans believe Snape hated all his Gryffindor students, but this isn't necessarily true. Although he definitely favored his own house, Slytherin, however unpleasant Snape was toward Gryffindors, most Gryffindors don't seem to have been actually bullied by him. This treatment seemed to be reserved for Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville.

Like in the films, Snape bullies Harry because Snape hates Harry's late father James. Harry, aside from his eyes, looks just like James Potter, and Snape likens Harry to James more than Lily. The films, however, downplay Snape's bullying, and I think it worked out. In the books, Snape is 31-37 years old, but Alan Rickman, who played Snape was in his late 50s-to mid-60s, and the image of a 60 year old holding a school grudge and bullying a kid that severely would have been different than seeing a 30-something year old do the same.

Why Snape hated Ron and Hermione, however, is down to "guilt by association." We know Snape didn't hold Hermione's blood status against her, as he is adamant with Phineas Nigellus's portrait in Deathly Hallows, that the latter not use the term "mudblood" when referring to Hermione, which is due to Snape's love for the muggle-born Lily Potter, whom Snape once called a mudblood, leading to Lily ending their friendship.

Neville should not be considered "guilty by association" to Harry, yet Neville's worst fear is Professor Snape, as we learn in Prisoner of Azkaban when a boggart takes Snape's form before being transformed into something funny (Snape in Neville's grandmother's clothes) with the spell "riddikulus." In the books, Neville's fear makes much more sense than in the films. Snape is brutal toward Neville. He frequently humiliates Neville in Snape's Potion's class and threatened once to poison Neville's toad Trevor, with Neville's poorly made potion. I had always attributed Snape's singling out of Neville a product of Neville simply being an easy target; Neville lacks self esteem and he is a mediocre, at best, potions student. Bullies often attack those they consider weak and unlikely to fight back. But it occurred to me that, even for Snape, this is an extreme reason to bully a kid with such severity for this reason, alone.

Snape targets Neville, I believe, because Snape holds an unfair grudge against Neville, holding Neville in some way partially responsible for Lily Potter's death. Snape heard the prophecy about Voldemort and a child whom Voldemort would later interpret to mean Harry Potter. Snape would also later know that there were only two boys to whom the prophecy could refer: Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom. Voldemort could have chosen Neville, but he did not, and in passing on Neville and choosing Harry, Lily Potter, Snape's great and only love, died. Snape would, of course, blame himself for reporting the partial prophecy he heard to Voldemort, but I believe instead of maturely dealing with that guilt and self-loathing, he projects it onto Neville, who unlike Snape, had no control over or part in the events of Halloween, 1981, when Lily was killed.

Snape's treatment of Harry stems from the same self-loathing. Lily died to save Harry, and further, Harry is a reminder of Lily choosing Snape's arch nemesis over himself, in addition to Harry simply reminding Snape of James, whom Snape despised, outside the context of Lily. Snape is at Hogwarts to protect Harry. He risks his own life to protect Harry for Lily. It has always baffled me that Snape could treat Lily's son so poorly. Clearly, this is something Lily would have hated, and Snape loves Lily, even years after her death. I think his treatment of Neville and Harry both fundamentally come down to Snape's inability to face and deal with his own guilt, instead he unleashes it on "the chosen one," and the "almost chosen one."

Here are some of Snape's most despicable moments:

• In Chamber of Secrets, Snape belittles Neville in front of a large crowd during the dueling club, maliciously calling attention to Neville's lack of magical skill.

• In Goblet of Fire when Draco hexes Hermione, making her [already large] two front teeth grow past her chin, Snape not only does not punish Malfoy, but when Harry and Ron point out Hermione's ever-growing teeth, Snape replies, "I see no difference," leaving Hermione to run away in tears.

• In all five years in which Snape teaches Potions, he consistently marks Harry down to failing grades for minor mistakes, while others in the class brew far worse potions, and sometimes he even vanishes Harry's work, giving him a zero on an assignment.

• In Prisoner of Azkaban, after Snape learns that Sirius is, in fact, innocent, he still calls for the administration of the Dementor's Kiss on Sirius, telling Minister of Magic, Fudge, that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been bewitched by Sirius, and that is why they all insist upon his innocence. The Dementor's Kiss is worse than death, and Snape was willing to let Sirius suffer this fate purely out of a school-age grudge he [and Sirius] still held.

• In chapter 9 of Prisoner of Azkaban, Snape asks Lupin's class (which Snape is substitute teaching) a question, and Hermione answers his question correctly, but Snape replies, "That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger. Five more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all." Taking points from Gryffindor because a student you don't like answers your question correctly is pretty vile.

• In chapter 7 of Prisoner of Azkaban, when Lupin enters the staff room with his class to tackle a Boggart who hides in a wardrobe, they encounter Snape, who, leaving the staff room, says, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear."

• After Harry is attacked by Malfoy on the Hogwarts Express on the way to school in chapter 8 of Half-Blood Prince, Snape comes to the gate to fetch Harry from Tonks, ignoring Harry's face covered in blood, taking points away from Gryffindor with a smile, reminding Harry no one had ever lost house points before the term even began. And further, when he sees a very heartbroken Tonks' Patronus, which now takes the form of a wolf (like her love, Remus Lupin), for the SAME reason Snape's Patronus takes the form of Lily's doe, I might add, he relishes in telling Tonks her former Patronus was better--this new one looks "weak."

• Snape loves to remind Harry that James and Sirius are dead in Half-Blood Prince. When Harry does detention with Snape for nearly killing Malfoy with Snape's own curse, Sectumsempra, Snape gives Harry a box of files to recopy that detail James and Sirius's rule breaking, cursing, and punishments while the two were at school. Snape, smirking, tells Harry that though they are gone, records of their great deeds remain.

• Snape never tried to help Harry succeed in class, always doing everything possible to keep him from excelling. This is also seen in Harry's Occlumency lessons with Snape, which despite their importance, Snape makes no effort to help Harry succeed. Occulemency requires emptying your mind of emotion, and during each lesson, Snape only insulted Harry and his late father and provoked Harry into anger. During one session, Snape tells Harry, "...you are neither special nor important, and it is not up to you to find out what the Dark Lord is saying to his Death Eaters."

• In chapter 21 of Half-Blood Prince, Snape asks Harry during class what the difference is between ghosts and inferi, and, caught off guard, Harry replies, "ghosts are transparent." Snape says, "Yes, it is easy to see that nearly six years of magical education have not been wasted on you, Potter. 'Ghosts are transparent.'"

• Snape uses every opportunity he can to assert his authority and abuse his power in abusing specific students. Honestly, I think Dumbledore should have asserted some control over Snape's behavior, but Dumbledore is a Laissez Faire leader, even when he should definitely occasionally step in.

Some defend Snape's actions, claiming, "Hermione reminded him of Lily," "Snape was under a lot of stress with playing a double agent," or "Snape couldn't let Harry think he cared about him," or any other weak arguments that try to make Snape's bullying behavior in some way acceptable. But Snape's behavior toward children--children he TEACHES--is abhorrent. I think we can understand where it comes from--it can be explained--but that just because we can explain it, does not mean that explanation absolves him of any wrongdoing. Yes, Snape was immature and resentful, and he could not deal with his own actions that he ended up deeply regretting, and there are many people who do this. Bullies project their own unresolved problems and unhappiness onto others, and Snape is no different. In fact, he is worse, because he consciously knows Harry and Neville are not at fault for Lily's death, and while most bullies are not in formal positions of power directly over their victims, Snape is. Snape is not only an adult who bullies kids--he is their teacher, and he knowingly negatively affects their own education with his behavior.

Nothing Snape does in the Harry Potter series makes any of this acceptable, but in turn, none of this abhorrent behavior negates or weakens the good actions of Snape's.

So, what was really good in Snape?

Severus Snape played a pivotal role in the defeat of Voldemort, and despite his repugnant treatment of Harry & co., Snape's good actions were enough for Harry to completely forgive Snape, even naming his second son's middle name after Snape: Albus Severus Potter. This doesn't mean we have to forgive or forget Snape's bullying, but we should fairly give credit where it is due.

Snape's enduring love for Lily, even after she married James, speaks volumes. He never tried to sabotage their relationship, in or out of school, and he never held her decision to end their friendship against her. He was not a creepy admirer; he genuinely loved Lily and wanted her to be happy and safe. Snape begged Voldemort to spare Lily and only kill James and Harry, which is AWFUL, but what surprises me here is that Voldemort actually tried to spare Lily on Snape's request. Snape must have very strategically made a case for Lily, and Voldemort is a fool for not realizing killing Lily could lead to Snape betraying him.

The thing that really gets me about Snape is that he was willing to allow everyone on Dumbledore's side view him as a traitorous murderer. I could not have done this. The only time Snape betrays this front, to just a small degree, is when Harry calls Snape a coward following Dumbledore's death. Snape is furious, which retrospectively is clearly due to Snape's own resentment of the task Dumbledore had set in this act, and the mourning Snape simultaneously felt for Dumbledore, whose death was still so fresh.

So, what are some of Snape's most honorable moments:

• In Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone, Snape does what he can to counter the curse Quirrell casts, of which the latter is trying to knock Harry off his broom during the first quidditch match. Snape also referees the next match, which the trio take to be an ominous sign but was really an extra effort to protect Harry.

• During the Dueling Club in Chamber of Secrets, it is Snape who teaches the students, and Harry, Expelliarmus, which Harry adopts as his signature defensive spell.

• Despite Snape's wish in PoA for Sirius to receive the Dementor's Kiss, when Harry sees the vision of Sirius being tortured by Voldemort in OotP and shouts the coded message to Snape in Umbridge's office, "He's got Padfoot in the place where it's hidden," Snape immediately checks on Sirius, and further, upon Harry and Hermione never returning from the forest with Umbridge, dispatches the Order to find and save Harry at the Department of Mysteries.

• In Order of the Phoenix, when Umbridge asks Snape for Veritaserum to interrogate members of Dumbledore's Army, Snape gives Umbridge a fake batch and later claims she used up all his supply of the potion when she wants to use it again against Harry.

• Although Snape hated Lupin for Lupin's involvement with Sirius and James during their school years and also ratted Lupin out eventually as a werewolf, while Lupin taught at Hogwarts, Snape brewed the complicated potion for Lupin each month to ease Lupin's monthly transformations.

• During the sky battle of the 7 Potters, in Deathly Halows, Snape, who flew on the side of the Death Eaters, spent his time defending the Order and the 7 "Harry Potters," rather than attacking. When one Death Eater points his wand at George Weasley's "Potter," Snape aims a curse at the Death Eater, but he unfortunately misses and hits George's ear.

• It was also Snape who fed the Order of the Phoenix, via a Confunded Mundungus Fletcher, the idea to use several people Polyjuiced as Harry Potter as decoys in order to fool the Death Eaters.

In Deathly Hallows, Snape hides the real sword of Gryffindor, giving Bellatrix a fake, and later finds Harry in the Forest of Dean, luring him out of the protective enchantments that keep Harry unseen with his, Snape's, Patronus, a doe, and leads Harry to where Snape has hidden the sword. When Harry dives into the frozen pond to retrieve the sword (Dumbledore's portrait told Snape he must arrange for the sword to be retrieved under courage and valor), the Horcrux around his neck tries to drown him, sensing the sword's presence. Ron Weasley shows up and dives in after Harry, but not before seeing someone watching from behind a tree, which was Snape. This is interesting because Snape was waiting, or so I assume, to make sure Harry safely retrieved the sword before leaving. I do not think that Snape would have done nothing if Ron had not shown up. Snape, upon realizing Harry was not resurfacing, would have jumped in or used some kind of magic to get Harry out safely. I don't know what would have happened then--either Snape would have to explain, which would have been problematic, or he might have just modified Harry's memory, but I do not believe Snape was there as a spectator after the Silver Doe vanished; he was making sure Harry didn't drown.

• While Snape was Headmaster in Deathly Hallows, he did what he could to keep students as safe as possible from the Carrow's, without deceiving his "Death Eater act."

• In Half-Blood Prince, after Dumbledore is killed and Snape and Malfoy are fleeing through the Hogwarts grounds, one of the unnamed Death Eaters hits Harry with the Cruciatus Curse, which Snape immediately lifts, claiming Harry belongs to The Dark Lord, but as Harry was in no mortal danger, this reason was hardly relevant. He also does not fight Harry while Harry attacks him but merely blocks Harry's curses and hexes.

• In Deathly Hallows, Snape tasks Phineas Nigellus's portrait to keep an ear out for Harry, Hermione, and Ron's location, as Hermione has Phineas's other portrait frame in her beaded bag. After months of Hermione's care to not allow Phineas to hear or see them, she slips up and he hears she and Harry are in the Forest of Dean (where Snape later goes to cast the Silver Doe and hide the Sword of Gryffindor). When Nigellus reports the location to Snape, Nigellus tells him he heard "the mudblood" say the location. Snape immediately and fiercely demands Nigellus not use that term to describe Hermione or anyone else.

• In Deathly Hallows, Snape tries to reach Harry in order to tell him the message Dumbledore had tasked Snape to deliver; Snape pleads with McGonagall to hand over Harry, which ends in a fight, and he later pleads with Voldemort to allow him to go find Harry and deliver him to Voldemort. Unfortunately, Voldemort declines and kills Snape, but he manages to stay alive long enough for Harry to approach and retrieve Snape's memories.

• In the Prisoner of Azkaban film, Snape shields the trio from werewolf-Lupin. Although this does not happen in the book, in which Snape was still unconscious, JK Rowling referred to this change as director Alfonso Cuaron's intuitiveness, as it foreshadowed things not yet revealed in the, then, published books.

So, was Snape a hero or a villain?

Snape risked his life, lying frequently to the most powerful dark wizard of all time, to keep Harry alive. Snape is understandably upset when Dumbledore tells him Harry's fate is to die, which was Harry's fate until Voldemort used Harry's blood to resurrect himself, but Dumbledore hides this from Snape, because Harry needs to believe he will die in order to survive, and Snape is the one who will give Harry this message. This double agent act may seem "old hat," but if you were in this position in real life, it would be nearly impossible, knowing at any moment you could be found out and killed, and living in a constant state of stress. What Snape did was unbelievably brave and selfless. Snape gained nothing, personally, from his role as a spy.

Would Snape have eventually left Voldemort's ranks and joined Dumbledore if Lily had not been killed? I don't think so, but as I also cannot picture Snape continuing to faithfully serve Voldemort, indefinitely, even with Lily alive, it is possible. Snape, unlike other Death Eaters, is not a blind follower by nature--at least later in life. I also cannot see him fighting against Lily, who was a member of the Order, for very much longer than he initially did. Dead or alive, his love for Lily would have pulled him away from Voldemort. Whether he would have joined The Order is another matter.

I also wonder if Snape would have treated Harry as badly as he did if Lily were alive, not only because Lily would hear of it, but because I think it likely some of Snape's animosity for Harry was due to his anger that Lily died, that he, Snape, partially caused it and feels guilt he cannot cope with, and that Harry lived only because Lily did not. However, if Lily hadn't been targeted by Voldemort, Snape would not have worked at Hogwarts, so this scenario would not have happened. But it is still worth thinking about, because the answer would give us more insight into Snape's enigmatic mind.

As events did occur, however, I am also on the fence about whether Snape cared at all for the defeat of Voldemort for any reasons not directly related to Lily. Did he, at some point, genuinely care for the safety of the Wizarding and muggle worlds? Or did he not care about the fate of others, but was just solely determined that Voldemort lost? This is again hard to answer, because like many Slytherins, Snape keeps his feelings behind high, nearly impenetrable walls, determined to never appear or feel vulnerable. However, there is one person for whom Snape does let his guard down: Dumbledore. After Lily, Snape cared the most sincerely for Dumbledore. I believe killing Dumbledore was the most difficult task Snape carried out in his entire time working as a double agent. It was less difficult to risk his own life than to end the life of the man who gave him a second chance, a job, and even a friendship. Snape also, I believe, found it difficult to not betray face and allow Voldemort to kill Professor of Muggle Studies, Charity Burbage, in Malfoy Manor at the beginning of Deathly Hallows.

So, I don't think we can say with certainty that Snape did not care for the safety of others, including Harry, outside his Lily-based motivations. I think he did, even if not as deeply or wholly as others. This served well, though, because being able to sometimes remain and sometimes feign being indifferent was an imperative quality and skill in his role as a spy for the Order.

None of Snape's good "redeems" his despicable acts of bullying children, because they are unrelated. Snape didn't need to bully anyone to carry out his mission, and therefore, one does not redeem him of the other; they are separate. Similarly, his acts of bullying and abuse of power do not overshadow or negate the good he achieved.

Like all real people, and like all truly dynamic and realistic fictional heroes and villains, Snape is not simply one thing or the other; he is a complex person with a complex psyche. He is realistic. He demonstrates realistic immaturity, animosity, and hatred that is at odds with his love, loyalty, and bravery. His actions are not supposed to be clean cut and easy to categorize neatly into the "good box" or the "bad box." He is morally grey; and we should not excuse his abusive behavior OR his acts of valor and selflessness. They are both equally true and valid.

So if you want an answer to "is Snape a villain or a hero?" He is simultaneously both, and which one he is at any given time depends entirely on the context--the specific situation to which you are referring. But he also neither one on the whole. If anything, he is closer to a hero, on the whole, than a villain.