Is Snape actually Petrarch — a 13th century Italian poet?
The character of Snape in the Harry potter series is highly praised as being the ultimate anti-hero. We resonate with him because he is a flawed character just like humans from of all walks of life.
Till the 6th book, Snape’s motivations were largely ambiguous and he was mostly loved for spicing up the series with his sarcastic comments and dark humour. However, in the last book, another layer to his character is added as we discover that all his actions and sacrifices were in fact dictated by his love for Lilly. But is that really as noble as we make it out to be? Some would argue that his interest in Lilly was borderline obsessive and hence unhealthy. After all, aren’t we all encouraged to eventually move on from past flames or crushes? Throughout the series we are led to believe that Snape has always viewed Harry as a product of his parents and never as an individual. So either Snape deeply despises Harry because he sees his father in him or he feels the need to protect him because he sees Lilly in Harry’s eyes. But perhaps there is evidence to suggest that he does in fact move on from Lilly and start to view Harry as an individual? Towards the end of Harry potter and the deathly hallows, readers see a flashback scene in which Snape is outraged to hear that Harry himself is in fact the seventh horcrux and thus Harry has to be killed in order to truly destroy Voldermort. Dumbledore is amused by Snape’s reaction and questions if Snape has finally grown to care for Harry after all this time. However, Snape dodges the question and instead hastily shows that his patronus is the same as that of Lilly’s to which a moved Dumbledore asks “after all this time?” and Snape responds with the infamous “always” that left readers throughout the world swooning at this profession of undying and timeless love.
But I would argue that perhaps Dumbledore’s initial suspicion was indeed right and that Snape had in fact grown to care for Harry. At the end of the chapter entitled a Prince’s tale, Snape is on the verge of death and asks Harry to look at him one last time in the eyes. The most accepted and common interpretation of this request is that he wanted to see Harry’s eyes because they reminded him of Lilly’s eyes. But perhaps he asked to look in to Harry’s eyes simply to see Harry one last time and not Harry’s mother? Snape is viewed as this highly noble character because he is willing to sacrifice himself to protect the son of the woman he loves. Nevertheless, is not being able to move on from a past attraction and constantly projecting an individual’s parent on to them as noble as we make it out to be? I would argue that while initially his actions were indeed motivated by his passion for Lilly, his character evolved and towards the end of the series he started to care for Harry as an individual even though he never outwardly showed it. If Snape was indeed able to finally distance himself from his past crush, that would make him far more brave than hanging on to feelings that were never going to be reciprocated.
Perhaps Snape can be compared to Petrarch-the 13 century Italian writer who, through writing poetry, embarked on a journey of self discovery that eventually enabled him to find his centre and to overcome a deep passion for a woman named Laura. The first verses in his collection of poetry entitled Il Canzoniere describe Laura’s appearance and his general fascination for the woman just like how the first part of the chapter entitled The Prince’s Tale portrays the development of Snape’s intense feelings towards Lilly. However, in the last verse dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Petrarch repents his past obsession and distances himself from the love affair that once consumed him; in the case of Snape, his journey to distance himself is never portrayed explicitly but instead hinted ever so subtly in the two instances I mentioned previously.
Of course the appeal for his character is all in this obsession depicted on the surface as a grandiose love story. But perhaps the real love story was not with Lilly but with himself as he eventually found the courage to make choices that were not dictated by the love interest that once consumed him. Therefore, Snape is all the more noble because he chose to save Harry not for Harry’s mother but for the “greater good” and simply because he finally saw Harry forwhat he was — an innocent boy and not the son of the woman he was madly in love with.
