Many of the main characters in the Harry Potter books tend to fit into two camps, the heroes and the villains. There are the characters that constantly seek to do good, be good, be kind, and upstanding, characters like Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the entourage that surrounds them be it friends, family, and teachers, then you have the bad characters, obviously Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, the Death Eaters, etc. But there are other characters that have garnered a lot more debate from fans over whether or not they fit into either of these camps, with no one receiving as much online and in person discussion as Severus Snape.
This is the question that can often divide the Harry Potter community. Was Snape a good guy or a bad guy? A hero or a villain? Snape exists in the gray area in the Harry Potter books and films (though the films are much kinder with the character than the books, of course with the wonderful Alan Rickman in the role), and gray can oftentimes be difficult for us to really place, but let’s try and see if we can come to a conclusion.
Is Snape good or bad?
Snape’s character from the beginning is presented to us as a bad character, but Rowling, in that very first book shows us this is a misdirect. We were looking at the wrong person all the way until the end of The Philosopher’s Stone as it was in fact Professor Quirrel all along. Despite this, we continue to suspect Snape for the entirety of the series, and we believe we are proven right to have been wary of him when he appears to mercilessly kill Dumbledore at the end of Half-Blood Prince. Once again, Rowling has hoodwinked us, as we come to discover that this death was foreplanned, with Dumbledore requesting it of Snape given that he was dying already and he wanted to spare Draco’s soul and that Snape has been working for Dumbledore this entire time.
We learn at the very end that Snape was always on the side of protecting Harry and bringing down Voldemort, giving his life to meet these goals. But why do many still hate him so much, even after this is discovered? Why does this revelation at the end of the book still make so many of us feel uneasy calling him the hero?
Of course, the true answer is that Snape is somewhere between good and bad, but as we dive deeper we’ll let you make up your minds yourselves.
Snape’s bad side
It’s because, for the most part, he is a pretty horrid man. He emotionally abuses the kids under his care, so much so that Neville sees him as one of his great fears when learning to deal with a boggart. He is casually cruel to the kids, especially Harry (who has suffered enough abuse at this point in his life) simply constantly finding ways to ridicule him, bully him, and even try to have him expelled on a number of occasions. He does this simply because Harry looks like his father, James, who bullied and abused Snape a number of times growing up. He was bitter, cold, and downright unlikeable as a teacher, someone who, in the real world at least, should never be in charge of kids and their welfare.
Not only that but he was in fact a Death Eater back at the height of Voldemort’s power, joining a group of murderous “purist” witches and wizards whose goal was to eliminate and enslave any who were not like them. From what we are given into his background, we can see how he fell into this group, he was badly bullied by the “popular” kids, who just so happened to be James Potter et al. he was shunned and pushed aside all making the prospect of joining a group who also harbors anger and resentment an appealing choice.
His case is one that echoes in the real world, a classic example of a loner who feels he doesn’t fit in, has no strong role models, is bullied and shunned, and then finds solace in a group of extremists. Whilst we can sympathize with his situation none of these things are reason enough to overlook his joining an evil megalomaniac and his murderous band.
His reason for turning back to the “good” side, as it were, is because Voldemort murders the woman he loves, Lily. Though his change of heart eventually becomes Voldemort’s downfall we have to ask ourselves the question, would he have had the same realization if it hadn’t been Lily? If Voldemort had decided Neville instead was The Chosen One (which was a real possibility), would he have so much as batted an eyelid?
We don’t know how invested Snape was in the Death Eaters, whether he was already uncomfortable in their ranks and losing Lily was the last straw, or whether it took the death of a loved one for him to turn his back on his master. Without this knowledge, it is hard to determine whether his reasons for turning were altruistic or motivated purely by the impact it had on his own life.
The good within Snape
Though we really don’t like the character of Snape, we cannot deny, that without him, Harry would likely not have been able to defeat Voldemort. From the moment of Lily’s death, Snape worked as a double agent, keeping tabs on Voldemort for Dumbledore, assisting Dumbledore with his search for the Deathly Hallows, and keeping it all a secret from everyone else. Both knew there would come a time when Snape would need to rejoin Voldemort, and no one could know that he was a mole, so Snape had to keep up an appearance that would make people suspicious of him and also have it be plausable, not only for the other characters in the book, but for us the readers, that he was someone who would turn to evil.
Though we can’t say Snape was faking his bad behavior, he appears to be genuinely an unlikeable character, who does resent Harry for being James’ son we have to understand that behaving this way was perhaps necessary. Let’s not forget, as he was head of the Slytherin house, a house that had kids whose parents, like the Malfoys, were Death Eaters, his being cruel towards characters like Harry and Neville would help cement his disguise as a faithful servant to the Dark Lord. It was important that he kept up appearances to make his betrayal seem all the more believable. This meant he had to lead quite a lonely existance, even if he preferred it that way.
Snape placed himself in an extremely dangerous situation playing double agent beside Voldemort, Snape constantly having to keep his guard up against a wizard whose skills at Legilimency (reading thoughts) were renowned, forcing Snape to strengthen his Occulemency (blocking Legilimency) at all times, a task we know from watching Harry try is exceptionally difficult and draining. Add to that the knowledge that if he slips he will be murdered on the spot and his and Dumbledore’s entire plan for saving the world will crumble, is a lot of pressure to take on, but he does.
Though he may not like Harry very much, he cares for him in a small way, and upon discovering that Harry has to die feels disgusted, used, and betrayed after spending so much time watching out for Harry. We know that he is the one who intervened on Harry’s behalf twice in The Philosopher’s Stone in an attempt to stop Quirrel, he tries to protect the kids from Lupin in werewolf form, and he brings Harry the sword of Godric Gryffindor, guiding him to it with his Patronus, he even tries to stop a Death Eater from killing George Weasley during Harry’s final departure from Privet Drive, only to miss and remove George’s ear instead, an action that causes him to break down crying in private afterward.
His final act, as he lies dying, is to give Harry his memories, allowing Harry and the readers to fully understand his role in the whole story and offer Harry the knowledge to destroy Voldemort, once and for all. Even in his final moments he still works towards his and Dumbledore’s goal and looks at Harry with tenderness as he sees Lily’s eyes for the last time.
Is Snape a hero or a villain?
Snape is a complex character, he is neither one nor the other. He is blunt, and cruel, and should never have been allowed near kids, there was almost no excuse for how excessive his bullying was, even if he was trying to keep up appearances. At the end of the day though, he risked his life to bring down a powerful and murderous evil, there was no reward for him at the end, the woman he loved was already gone, and even if he had survived he likely would have been unable to go back to Hogwarts.
To put him in either the good or bad camp would be a disservice to his character. He is neither. He is a flawed complicated character, one who could have been a better teacher, a more likeable person, but if that had been the case would he have pulled off his role in taking down Voldemort from the inside? For the readers, the character of Snape causes a lot of confusion, we hated him for so long, especially for killing Dumbledore, but this is a case of “the more you know.” Once we are provided the context behind his actions, hating him becomes complicated.
Though he may still be a personal villain to certain individuals, in the grand scheme of things he is a hero and a truly brave man. Harry recognizes this, and though he suffered under years of Snape’s bullying he comes to respect the man and his sacrifices to such a degree that he gives his youngest son the middle name Severus. Of course, people are entitled to their own conclusion on the matter; to some the sight of a bullying teacher is a trigger to their own trauma at school, to others he did enough to be redeemed.
All this dispute over whether he was one or another shows us, is that the character of Snape is one that resonates with us deeply, making him an exceptionally interesting fictional character.
For a more insightful look at the topic, from people more qualified, check out the Cinema Therapy video on his character.