For the second time this week, the world has lost an important celebrity figure. First, it was David Bowie, known for his music and his many films. Four days later, also age 69, the world lost Alan Rickman. Whether you know him as Judge Turpin ("Sweeney Todd"), Hans Gruber ("Die Hard") or the Sheriff of Nottingham ("Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"). You no doubt know him as one of the most loved (and hated) Hogwarts professors of all time – professor Severus Snape.
It's easy to call him to mind. If someone mentions Snape, an image appears in your head – a man with stringy black hair and black robes, glaring down his large nose at his students. Perhaps ordering students to "turn to page 394." Or, you may think of him on the floor of a nursery, sitting beside a baby in a crib. He's crying, holding the corpse of the baby's mother.
Snape will always be one of the most debated characters of literature. Was he actually a good guy? He was a universally hated character until readers and viewers got his backstory. As soon as "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" was released, it seemed the fanbase split in two. Those who sympathized and those who didn't. Here are the two sides of the argument.
Snape was the best!
You've heard it. Maybe you think it. Snape was misunderstood. He was a terrible teacher. He insulted students and clearly favored students from his own house – Slytherin. Yet his backstory showed a gentler side. He was friends with Lily Evans, Harry's mother. When he called Lily "mudblood" and insulted her, he didn't mean it. He'd made one mistake and for that he paid. He was a poor, misunderstood boy who grew into a poor, misunderstood man. He loved Lily secretly until the day he died for Harry. Always.
Snape was the worst.
Two sides to every story, right? Snape loved Lily. Snape was protecting Harry from Voldemort. Snape was a double agent. But those who don't like Snape have decided these reasons are not enough. While Snape protected Harry, he still mentally abused him and his classmates. "Don't forget," his haters continue. Snape had joined the Death Eaters first. Only after Lily was killed did he repent. His soul purpose was to save Lily and when that failed he did the next best thing – he helped her orphaned son. He helped Dumbledore many times, but he helped Voldemort too. Holding Lily's body and crying does nothing for Lily. Maybe he should have moved on.
Those who hate him have one more point to make. Think back to "The Prisoner of Azkaban." Remember the boggarts (reatures who turn into a person's worst fear)? Neville Longbottom stepped up to the boggart, only to watch it turn to his worst fear. Severus Snape. The boy whose parents had been tortured to madness by Death Eaters was most afraid of his potions teacher.
So, whose side is right? The world may never decide. All we know is that Alan Rickman, one of the world's most brilliant actors, will truly and forever be missed.
