Mudblood : Snape

Mudblood : Snape

⪼ COS - Aragog

“I’m quite surprised the Mudbloods haven’t all packed their bags by now,” Malfoy went on. “Bet you five Galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn’t Granger–”

The bell rang at that moment, which was lucky; at Malfoy’s last words, Ron had leapt off his stool, and in the scramble to collect bags and books, his attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed.

“"Let me at him,” Ron growled as Harry and Dean hung onto his arms. “I don’t care, I don’t need my wand, I’m going to kill him with my bare hands–

“Hurry up, I’ve got to take you all to Herbology,” barked Snape over the class’s heads, and off they marched, with Harry, Ron, and Dean bringing up the rear, Ron still trying to get loose. (HP/CoS, )

[Hypervigilant Snape has an uncanny ability to sense and punish Gryffindor aggression against any Slytherin, especially Draco. But here, Ron spends several minutes under Snape’s supervision lunging at Draco, growling death threats, forcibly restrained by two other Gryffindors. Snape might miss the occasional moment, but not a struggle that lasts for the entire walk to the castle doors. Through careful use of the passive voice–“his attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed” –Rowling hints that Snape saw Ron’s anger but let it pass unremarked. We don’t know yet that Snape has any history around Slytherin boys wishing death on Muggle-born girls. We only know that something about Draco’s comment override’s Snape’s usual eagerness to take Draco’s side against Gryffindors, the only instance such a thing happens in the series.]

⪼OOTP - Snape’s Worst Memory

Ah, Evans, don’t make me hex you,’ said James earnestly.

‘Take the curse off him, then!’ James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the counter-curse.

‘There you go,’ he said, as Snape struggled to his feet. ‘You’re lucky Evans was here, Snivellus –’

‘I don’t need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!’

Lily blinked. ‘Fine,’ she said coolly. ‘I won’t bother in future. And I’d wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus.’

‘Apologise to Evans!’ James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him.

‘I don’t want you to make him apologise,’ Lily shouted, rounding on James.

‘You’re as bad as he is.’ ‘What?’ yelped James. ‘I’d NEVER call you a – you-know-what!’

[Lily blinked: she was surprised to hear Snape call her a ‘filthy little Mudblood.’ she hadn’t been expecting it. Snape could not endure being told that he owed his relief to Lily’s willingness to put herself on the line for him. We don’t see in this memory how we’ll they know each other, but her surprise shows that it’s something that hasn’t happened before. The betrayal causes enough of a change in her attitude that she calls him by the same name that the bullies do and made her own sexually humiliating observation. James’s outrage shows that he thinks his own behaviour was morally superior to Snape’s hate speech, a view that Lily does not share. She tells James he makes her sick then leaves. James covers for this loss of face by resuming his bullying and playing to the crowd.]

[Rowling gives us a clue (to why Snape is so shaken) in the chapter title ‘Snape’s worst memory.’ We don’t see the whole memory, but for her to give it that title, we can assume that we have seen most or all of what we need to know. Snape is not the one who labels the memory this way; the chapter title is a message from author to reader. The bullying is bad, but Snape has been through worse: these same people tried to kill him the sexual humiliation is bad, but that’s not it, either, or the scene would not have cut off before the attempt to remove Snape’s pants. Rowling is showing that it was Snape’s own response to Lily that makes this his worst memory. His shame is one reason why he orders Harry not to tell anyone what he saw. We know from other characters, such as Lupin, that shame can drive people to secrecy that is nearly impossible to break. Surely, nothing else in that memory would be newsworthy enough for Snape to forbid Harry to speak of it; nobody would be surprised that teens bullied another teen or that bullied teen struck back]

⪼ DH - The Prince’s Tale

And now Snape stood again in the Headmaster’s study as Phineas Nigellus came hurrying into his portrait. ‘Headmaster! They are camping in the Forest of Dean! The Mudblood –’ ‘Do not use that word!’

[Phileas Nigellus Black wass running into his portrait with news of Harry and Hermione’s location. Snape has been looking for them for months to give them the sword of Gryffindor, but even so, there’s something else so important that he interrupts this long awaited announcement.

In this final memory from Snape, Rowling is making a deliberate parallel to Dumbledore, letting us know without ambiguity that Snape is just as steadfast on issues that matter. When Draco had Dumbledore at wandpojnt in the top of the tower, he referred to Hermione with a slur.

(’ Please do not use that offensive word in front of me,’ said Dumbledore. Malfoy gave a harsh laugh. ’ you care about me saying’ Mudblood ’ when I’m about to kill you?’)

Snape and Dumbledore are equally clear that they fight for the rights of muggle born, just as Snape and Dumbledore both sacrificed the chance to save their own lives because they used their last moments to protect Harry instead]