It seemed like it was the same issue he had when he was arguing with Lily about using the term Mudblood. He didn't see why he couldn't think of Muggle-borns that way but just not call Lily that. The ethical choice-which was exactly what I thought Snape had made that made him stand out-turned out to really be beyond him.
This is a perfect encapsulation of what I've been trying to say in this thread. Snape doesn't make the ethical choice-- thwarting Voldemort because Voldemort and his philosophies are dangerous and wrong -- but rather the ... emotionally expedient choice: it will make him feel better about getting Lily killed if he helps topple the man who killed her. And the reason I'm being kind of intransigent in this discussion is because, like you, I don't think Snape ever actually progresses from the emotionally expedient end of the spectrum to the ethical one. The memories indicate that he produces the doe!Patronus during his conversation with Dumbledore during the events of HBP. So as recently as the six months or so prior to the start of DH, it's still just about Lily for Snape and the fact that he still feels terrible for having contributed to her death. The actual ethics of getting rid of Voldemort still don't seem to have occurred to him. And that's why I can't really see any transformation in him that makes me impressed with him or makes me think he really was a good guy after all.
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Re: part I
Date: 2007-07-27 04:57 pm (UTC)This is a perfect encapsulation of what I've been trying to say in this thread. Snape doesn't make the ethical choice-- thwarting Voldemort because Voldemort and his philosophies are dangerous and wrong -- but rather the ... emotionally expedient choice: it will make him feel better about getting Lily killed if he helps topple the man who killed her. And the reason I'm being kind of intransigent in this discussion is because, like you, I don't think Snape ever actually progresses from the emotionally expedient end of the spectrum to the ethical one. The memories indicate that he produces the doe!Patronus during his conversation with Dumbledore during the events of HBP. So as recently as the six months or so prior to the start of DH, it's still just about Lily for Snape and the fact that he still feels terrible for having contributed to her death. The actual ethics of getting rid of Voldemort still don't seem to have occurred to him. And that's why I can't really see any transformation in him that makes me impressed with him or makes me think he really was a good guy after all.