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

[jedirita.livejournal.com]

I never expected it to show up on daily_snitch.

Heheh. That's the problem, isn't it? One time I posted a half-joking prediction about HBP, and it got snitched, and all these people started showing up, giving these serious responses.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

I would have toned it down a bit had I known beforehand. It was one of those afternoons where I was bored and had read a few too many Suave!Snape stories...

[gillieweed.livejournal.com]

OH just you wait now until you start reading all those new fics about Curling!Snape. Well it does involve brooms, after all!

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Hahaha...oh dear. He would look cute, though, on skates, with a little felt hat...