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deathdaydungeon:
lordhellebore:
p394:
not to get on my anti-rich soapbox here, but i always read snape’s death eater past in the books as a representation of someone from a lower class being spoon-fed racist propaganda and beliefs to provide an artificial feeling of “superiority” over a “lesser” group (muggleborns). because the 1% of the wizarding world is scared of what sort of social revolutions could happen if everyone banded together against them (pure bloods), and what might happen to their positions.
deathdaydungeon
Absolutely.
He’s also an excellent example of the supposed ‘worthy’ exception; the purebloods don’t really want to accept his ilk, but it’s important that there’s a widespread belief that you will be welcomed into the upper echelons if you prove yourself worthy - if only you remember to hold your fork correctly, and speak in RP, and earn invitations to the right social gatherings.
From the juxtaposition between Snape as a child and as an adult, we can see that he does make these changes, and he almost passes to the untrained eye as a pureblood. There’s the odd incongruous slip, which points the reader to his background long before the reveal (such as spitting on the ground, or using a colloquial insult such as dunderhead) - but as HBP shows, he can’t escape his background - figuratively, or literally.
It’s easy to see how an ambitious boy with his background would fall into the clutches of such false promises; he’s intelligent, hard-working, isolated, and earnest - so he believes the propaganda. In his mind, he’s not like other people from his background.
And it’s important that he’s useful as a poster boy for the purebloods. If our assumption that his depiction of his childhood is indicative of a miserable upbringing, with resentment towards both his father (Muggle) and his mother (betrayed the magical community by marrying a Muggle), then he can be held up as an unfortunate example of what can happen if the bloodlines are mixed. He becomes Unfortunate.
Potter is a curious series in that the main villain (Riddle) is also a halfblood, and his agenda differs from that of the majority of the purebloods; he’s interested in power and self-preservation, not the subjugation of those with lower blood status - although he certainly uses this as a tool to command power and followers. It is convenient for Riddle to elevate Snape above others of better backgrounds - such as Lucius - but this is a distraction; it is part of a game where Riddle is punishing others for their failure - Snape’s status here is still unearned.
It is easy to read Snape as rising to the top of the Death Eater movement and assuming that he overcame the barriers of class, but his entire journey is fraudulent. He earns neither of his positions through achievement - not even his outward cover story of professor. He is nothing more than a pawn who is manipulated for Riddle and Dumbledore’s own ends, whilst his own desires are ignored, and once he has served his purpose, he is discarded without care or genuine regret.
There is an equally compelling tale to be told of the make-up of the Order of the Phoenix, and how the freedom fighters are mostly comprised of pureblood wizards such as the Prewetts, the Longbottoms, Alastor Moody, Elphias Doge, Sirius Black and James Potter et al - and how there was unlikely to be a place at the table for someone of Severus Snape’s background.
In this case, it appears that the elite are so busy fighting the battle between themselves, they forget to welcome the unwashed to the table. Moreover, they not only fail to court the ordinary worker, but they also fail to counter the misinformation that’s being spread. It’s crucial that in Snape’s situation that he had his own epiphany; it was not instigated by the side of the light - despite his talents, he was never of any interest to them.
deathdaydungeon:
lordhellebore:
p394:
not to get on my anti-rich soapbox here, but i always read snape’s death eater past in the books as a representation of someone from a lower class being spoon-fed racist propaganda and beliefs to provide an artificial feeling of “superiority” over a “lesser” group (muggleborns). because the 1% of the wizarding world is scared of what sort of social revolutions could happen if everyone banded together against them (pure bloods), and what might happen to their positions.
deathdaydungeonAbsolutely.
He’s also an excellent example of the supposed ‘worthy’ exception; the purebloods don’t really want to accept his ilk, but it’s important that there’s a widespread belief that you will be welcomed into the upper echelons if you prove yourself worthy - if only you remember to hold your fork correctly, and speak in RP, and earn invitations to the right social gatherings.
From the juxtaposition between Snape as a child and as an adult, we can see that he does make these changes, and he almost passes to the untrained eye as a pureblood. There’s the odd incongruous slip, which points the reader to his background long before the reveal (such as spitting on the ground, or using a colloquial insult such as dunderhead) - but as HBP shows, he can’t escape his background - figuratively, or literally.
It’s easy to see how an ambitious boy with his background would fall into the clutches of such false promises; he’s intelligent, hard-working, isolated, and earnest - so he believes the propaganda. In his mind, he’s not like other people from his background.
And it’s important that he’s useful as a poster boy for the purebloods. If our assumption that his depiction of his childhood is indicative of a miserable upbringing, with resentment towards both his father (Muggle) and his mother (betrayed the magical community by marrying a Muggle), then he can be held up as an unfortunate example of what can happen if the bloodlines are mixed. He becomes Unfortunate.
Potter is a curious series in that the main villain (Riddle) is also a halfblood, and his agenda differs from that of the majority of the purebloods; he’s interested in power and self-preservation, not the subjugation of those with lower blood status - although he certainly uses this as a tool to command power and followers. It is convenient for Riddle to elevate Snape above others of better backgrounds - such as Lucius - but this is a distraction; it is part of a game where Riddle is punishing others for their failure - Snape’s status here is still unearned.
It is easy to read Snape as rising to the top of the Death Eater movement and assuming that he overcame the barriers of class, but his entire journey is fraudulent. He earns neither of his positions through achievement - not even his outward cover story of professor. He is nothing more than a pawn who is manipulated for Riddle and Dumbledore’s own ends, whilst his own desires are ignored, and once he has served his purpose, he is discarded without care or genuine regret.
There is an equally compelling tale to be told of the make-up of the Order of the Phoenix, and how the freedom fighters are mostly comprised of pureblood wizards such as the Prewetts, the Longbottoms, Alastor Moody, Elphias Doge, Sirius Black and James Potter et al - and how there was unlikely to be a place at the table for someone of Severus Snape’s background.
In this case, it appears that the elite are so busy fighting the battle between themselves, they forget to welcome the unwashed to the table. Moreover, they not only fail to court the ordinary worker, but they also fail to counter the misinformation that’s being spread. It’s crucial that in Snape’s situation that he had his own epiphany; it was not instigated by the side of the light - despite his talents, he was never of any interest to them.
