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

Re: via daily_snitch

[bell-witch.livejournal.com]

I have a problem with reading about a heavy-drinking Snape myself. I can see him having a glass every now and again, probably in those forced social situations. He gets one drink and takes the occasional sip, but keeps the same one all night long.

I don't see Suave!Snape. I read all sorts of stories, and if they're well-written, I can enjoy them even if I don't see the characters the same way. He seems to have been an awkward young man, and is fairly antisocial as an adult. He probably knows how to behave in most situations, although I don't see the 'high culture' thing going on.

Much of Snape's personality is facade, and we don't know how much, canon-wise. He's obviously intelligent and I assume him to be talented in his field. Besides disliking children, being gifted at potions would make his position as a teacher even harder to endure. You don't set the top men and women in any field to teaching secondary school students, because that's a waste of their talents.

Snape might be bitter enough to turn to drink, but I see him as too paranoid to ever give up his self-control in that way. In extreme situations, yes, and it can be done well with great dramatic effect. Done poorly, it's lame.