Just a little Snape musing...

[valis2]

rickfan37 did her own build-a-snape here and mentioned this really excellent point:

Here’s the Urbane!Snape myth again. I don’t know, and we’re given no clue in canon. I simply don’t believe he’s a closet opera buff and spends his spare time humming along to great arias, or that he can quote Dante or Shakespeare at will.

It really made me think of something new. I've always been a bit apprehensive about fics where Snape quotes Byron and listens to Bach.

I think what really is happening is that giving Snape these "pretentious" hobbies is a way for an inexperienced writer to "shorthand" their characterization of him, because in just a sentence of quoting/playing classical music, they set him up (in their minds) as a certain sort of character, aloof, mysterious, educated, etc. It's a short-cut.

The thing is, the sort of character they're trying to develop is not canon. Snape is a pure-blood, and would most likely know very little, if anything, about the Muggle world (his matchbox comment notwithstanding). And I'm certain that most pure-bloods wouldn't want to involve themselves in any sort of Muggle-world scrutiny.

So authors who attempt this short-cut are really doing canon a disservice, when what they really need to do is discover what would make him an aloof, mysterious, and educated character in Rowling's world.

Just my little musing for the moment.

Comments

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Hmm...I realize that I didn't put pretentious in quotes...oops. *runs off and fixes* Sorry about that. I only meant that they are viewed as pretentious by a large portion of society.

I have always wondered about the presence of literature in wizarding society, especially considering that there are no artistic classes mentioned in the course schedules at Hogwarts. Obviously the students are expected to be literate, but not much else happens in that arena, unless you consider the valentines Lockhart coordinated. Hence my determination not to allude to any literature in my fic.

I used to read Mummy fic a lot, and at first I thought it was interesting if the characters to spouted classic literature, until I really thought about it. What sort of books would a desert-dwelling native own? And that's what set the stage for my Byron-spouting-Snape snobbery.

Though he definitely is a bit of a poet, in my mind, considering his opening day speech in Potions, and his little potion riddle in PS/SS.

That was a really great comment, and I was fascinated, btw.

[pen-and-umbra.livejournal.com]

I only meant that they are viewed as pretentious by a large portion of society.

Oh, quite so, and I very well understand such a view; when observed objectively, opera is an extremely ridiculous genre with formalisms and structures that are either incomprehensible or utterly laughable unless one takes them in the proper context of the art form. Very much an acquired taste, in other words. And certainly, a lot of people invoke opera or classical music when they wish to appear more educated/sophisticated than they feel they are, hence the unfortunate reputation. Why this is so, I have no clue. I'm just there for the music. :)

Obviously the students are expected to be literate, but not much else happens in that arena, unless you consider the valentines Lockhart coordinated.

A very good point, and I could even construe the lack of arts classes at Hogwarts to speak on behalf of wizards being forced to seek their cultural fix in the Muggle arts. The wizarding folk are taught to be consumers of literature and music and such things, but outside Lockhart's valentines and singing the school song at the start-of-term feast, there is not much encouragement to become a producer of art. Not that education in such matters is imperative to make artists -- one can be self-taught, after all -- but it certainly seems to discourage seeking careers in the arts.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

it certainly seems to discourage seeking careers in the arts.

Yes, all of the occupations we've seen so far seem to be rather prosaic...Ministry official, teacher, Dark Lord...

I know we're not getting the entire schedule, but I haven't seen a glimpse of arts, just about. And there doesn't seem to be an outlet for crafts, or handcrafted spells/goods...they're either amusingly charmed items that embarrass or hurt people (Dark Magic items at Grimmauld) or they're practical (brooms, Molly's clock, etc.). Or they're mass produced by companies, though perhaps "mass" isn't quite the best word. Actually, the entire wizarding economy fascinates me, because it's so small. Anyway, short of shops, we don't hear of any private money changing hands, probably because of Harry's pov, though.

I'm rambling, sorry.

[pen-and-umbra.livejournal.com]

Actually, the entire wizarding economy fascinates me, because it's so small.

Ditto. Hence, I was all a-squee over the details of the broom industry in Quidditch Through The Ages.

[straussmonster.livejournal.com]

I have always wondered about the presence of literature in wizarding society, especially considering that there are no artistic classes mentioned in the course schedules at Hogwarts.

It seems to exist--there's a book industry, there's a play in French mentioned in one of the schoolbooks, but unless it's one of those things that is really there but we don't see it, the arts (hell, the humanities in general!) aren't getting any time at Hogwarts at all.

I waver over whether that's a deliberate omission or not, Doyle vs. Watson. It seems thematically meaningful. People who can do magic and make pictures move might be less interested in developing different kinds of artistic expression, since they can copy real life so accurately. Are wizards so caught up in the magic of magic that they forget about other things in life? Is that why it's notable that Flamel and Dumbledore are fans of genres of music with extremely strong connotations about their personalities/interests? I wish I knew.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

It is fascinating that the most "creative" thing we've seen in the written word has come from Snape (his puzzle at the end of PS/SS).

It does seem like Hogwarts is deficient in the arts. Perhaps Beauxbatons is more arts-oriented. Perhaps magic is already such a creative and artistic art in itself that they feel no pull to express themselves in any other way, as you posit. Fascinating.

It is interesting that the sing-a-long of the Hogwarts theme is so individualistic, and that each singer sings their own rendition.

[gillieweed.livejournal.com]

Sadly, the more I read into the books the more I see the mention of Flamel's and Dumbledore's musical tastes as only being mentioned to show how quaint and amusing they are. "Oh, they like opera wink wink." The implication being that "we" as in "Harry" are very much cooler than Dumbledore and Flamel becuase "we" meaning "Harry" know that opera is very much uncool and old.

[straussmonster.livejournal.com]

That's possible. Dumbledore being into chamber music seems to my highly selective reading as reinforcing (for those in the know) his status as interested in Muggle culture, but a fan of one of the most refined kinds of classical music. Chamber music has always had some connotations of connaiseurship, something listened to in private instead of public (chamber instead of public paying concert hall), and as being the most 'intellectual' form of classical music. That's my read, at least.

[arclevel.livejournal.com]

I once commented on this fairly extensively, and unfortunately, I can't begin to remember where. I suppose this is why I need to occasionally post on my journal rather than simply wandering in to everyone else's conversations. Anyway, my theory is that the arts are largely undervalued in the wizarding world because the day to day practice of magic itself stunts the imagination -- there's not many places left to go. There's a book industry, yes, but notably, we have never seen *any* wizard, not even Hermione, reading a novel. The only fiction mentioned is one French play and a comic book Ron used to read. Art has more to do with *actually* capturing a person or scene than with the aesthetics of such; who cares if your ocean is the right shade when the waves are going to be crashing against the rocks, or if your subject's eyes reflect her personality when she's going to be chatting with you? There is music, but I have a hard time believing there's much *good* music if only based on the size of the society -- look at how much of what we have is awful! Also, that has to take into account the fact that Muggle influences come in, but are slow to catch on; Muggle music has changed so much within the last century that it's hard to say what most wizards, even those relatively in touch with Muggle society, know about it. If they catch a few jazz pieces, some Elvis, and a Beatles tune, that will hardly prepare them to listen to Evanescence, for example. All of which makes it rather stunning to me that there are rock bands at *all* in the wizarding world, though there's clearly at least one. Do we happen to know if any or all of the Weird Sisters are Muggle-born?

And switching from one complete tangent to another, I was a hideous writer when I was eleven, and I was better than most of my classmates. Are the poor professors attempting to teach composition skills along with their subjects? They certainly don't seem to be, but I expect McGonagall and Snape, at least, would go insane attempting to read misspelled, badly worded, transition-less essays from all seven years' worth of their classes. We'll also hope that the non-fiction writers learn these things at some point.

[straussmonster.livejournal.com]

my theory is that the arts are largely undervalued in the wizarding world because the day to day practice of magic itself stunts the imagination

I've plugged that idea myself, in the sense of wizards not seeing the *point* of art when they can reproduce real life. They wouldn't be impressed with the machines of French Baroque opera that are so wonderful when you're in tune with their aesthetic. :)

I can see the Weird Sisters as Muggle-born, though. But again, I wonder whether this is all a meaningful omission or not. I think so...