[ SECRET POST #1509 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #1509 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 16 pages, 376 secrets from Secret Submission Post #216.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 3 4 - too big ], [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Snape abused hundreds of students over the years, though. I think they're equally bad.

[(Anonymous)]

That's another angle. We didn't have a look at what Snape would be like if he had a kid he hated around full time in his home, rather than a few times a week.

[(Anonymous)]

Yup. Honestly, he's just so awful when he's interacting with students (like when Hermione got that curse that made her front teeth grow and he said he didn't see any difference? WTF, man?) that I can't imagine he'd be any less horrible than Petunia and Vernon were, if he had to take a kid in like they did.

[cobryn-moy.livejournal.com]

Neville's the one I can never get over. He knows that part of why Neville is insecure is because the people with whom Snape sided tortured the Longbottoms to insanity. If he feels any remorse at all for being allied with them (which, if he does, is something we're never shown) he doesn't translate it into empathy for their son. Nope. Instead he threatens to murder Neville's pet. FFS.

[crazyponko.livejournal.com]

I often wondered if Snape was blaming Neville for not being the chosen child instead of Harry. Then Neville would be the tragic kid with the dead parents and Lily would still be alive... assuming the Death Eaters didn't decide to go kill her just for being a muggle born.

[favabean05.livejournal.com]

Dude...I never ever thought of that.

[criedtherabbit.livejournal.com]

I am one-hundred percent certain that Snape would have continued the cycle of abuse, as he, himself, had a terrible, abusive childhood.

Petunia, however, appears to have come from a well-adjusted, loving home. Snape learned to be vile from an early age. Petunia's character flaws are all her own.

[(Anonymous)]

But Snape didn't have to continue the cycle of abuse. I mean, Harry also had a horrible childhood, but didn't become an abusive jerk. It was Snape's choices that made him awful, not his childhood.

[criedtherabbit.livejournal.com]

No, Snape did not have to continue the cycle of abuse. However, I am saying that -because- Snape did have these painful childhood experiences, it makes him a more sympathetic character. It is very difficult to grow up into a non-abusive adult when the seed of abuse is planted into you at an early age. If all you knew as a child was violence, you have a much harder time reacting differently as an adult. But that is what being an adult is all about: taking responsibility for your actions. Not being able to heal and grow from his childhood abuse was Snape's weakness.
Harry was obviously stronger. We saw at various times that he -could- have become someone like Snape or Voldemort, but he made a conscious effort to be better.

The problem with Petunia is that she has no such excuse. When we meet her, she is not dirty and unkempt as Snape is. She obviously has a stable home life. Yes, she suffered a major disappointment as a child, but that happens to everyone. I wanted nothing more than to grow up to be a singer when I was younger, but I didn't have any musical talent. It broke my heart, but I moved on and found other talents. That's life.
I am more willing to forgive Snape for not being strong enough to overcome his abuse than I am Petunia's petty jealousy. Petunia had a good family and a sister who loved her, but she chose to let her envy poison that relationship instead of focusing her energy elsewhere.

tl;dr: It takes more strength to overcome childhood abuse than a childhood disappointment. Everyone experiences disappointment in their life. That Petunia couldn't get over hers (and used it as a reason to abuse an innocent child who was entirely dependent on her) makes her an exceptionally weak character.

[wldcatsprstr-14.livejournal.com]

Why couldn't I just say this?! My God, I failed so hard trying to explain myself.

[criedtherabbit.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I think the problem lies in the people you were trying to convince. They're reacting a little personally to any imagined Petunia-snark.

[wldcatsprstr-14.livejournal.com]

I honestly don't feel very strongly for either character but I feel that we know more about Snape than we do about Petunia and that what we know makes him a more sympathetic. I don't consider the hypothetical because it's not in the text. If it's not in the text (or implied in the text), then I don't see the point of arguing over it. So when people say "we don't know Petunia's background. She could have been abused as a child," I don't put much weight behind that because I honestly think that if JK felt it were truly important, she would have put it in the books.

[criedtherabbit.livejournal.com]

I don't consider the hypothetical because it's not in the text. If it's not in the text (or implied in the text), then I don't see the point of arguing over it. So when people say "we don't know Petunia's background. She could have been abused as a child," I don't put much weight behind that because I honestly think that if JK felt it were truly important, she would have put it in the books.

Yes, thank you. But I think we can easily infer that Petunia was not abused because (1) the way she is described versus the way other (clearly abused) children are described and (2) child-abuse is a big theme in Rowling's series. She would not hesitate to include this detail if that was the case.

Another major theme in Rowling's book is that we choose to become the people we are. Whether we are given a bad lot in life and become bad (Voldemort), we are given a bad lot in life and become good (Harry), we are given a good lot in life and become bad (Petunia), or we are given a good lot in life can become good (Lily). I mean, I absolutely oversimplified it, but I think that is the bare-bones of this theme. I have a suspicion that the reason Rowling only showed Petunia's motive in being terrible is to illustrate this point. Whereas, with Snape, she took a little more care in telling us about his tragic childhood and his conflicting emotions. Snape was set up to be an antihero, whereas while we did feel sorry for Petunia, the impression we are ultimately left with is that she could not overcome her jealousy and therefore became a bad person.

But...I'm just preaching to the choir.

[wldcatsprstr-14.livejournal.com]

HALLELUJAH! haha

[(Anonymous)]

Actually, I think most of them are reacting to the way Snape's poor behavior is just glossed over in an effort to say Petunia is the worst of the two. Especially in HP fandom where we have the Snapewives and a huge sector that loves to romanticize what is essentially a dysfunctional, abusive, unkind character because he's portrayed by Alan Rickman and/or because he was manipulated into doing the "right" thing in the end.

But yeah, okay, it's all because Petunia actually has this huge secret fanbase.

[criedtherabbit.livejournal.com]

I can only comment on what I've seen in this thread (which is what I was doing), as I'm not in the HP fandom. Those who are arguing that Snape is a more sympathetic character than Petunia are fully acknowledging that he's a dysfunctional, abusive and unkind character.

If you have an issue with those "Snapewives," as you call them, take it up with them. What's the point of doing so with people who aren't attempting to make a Saint of Snape, but are simply pointing out some very obvious differences between these two characters?

[hikari87.livejournal.com]

I always kind of thought that a lot of Petunia's behavior came from jealousy at Lily's being a witch and her not being, because I kind of got the impression that Lily was treated as more special by their parents for it and Petunia was mad. Not that it excuses her being mean to Harry, but I think she probably always had that feeling of being left out and nonspecial, which was why she tried to be all super normal: it was her way of overcompensating for not being special. You know, I think I am going to go write a fic about that now =D

[criedtherabbit.livejournal.com]

because I kind of got the impression that Lily was treated as more special by their parents for it and Petunia was mad

But that is simple sibling rivalry and is experienced by most siblings, magical and non-magical. Petunia was not neglected by her parents. She is never described as unkempt or thin, as Snape is. Clearly, Snape was neglected and abused. On the other hand, Petunia's parents -may- have paid Lily more attention. Who knows? Petunia is not the most reliable source, to be honest. We can see that from the way she describes Lily and James. Petunia is prone to hyperbole.
Yes, it's sad if her parents did show a little more preference for Lily. But I have a feeling that she still had a stable and loving home growing up. Besides, Lily was away at Hogwarts for most of the year, which means that Petunia got her parents attention 90% of the time. So even if they did shower their other daughter with a little more attention when she was at home, that was understandable.

Not that it excuses her being mean to Harry, but I think she probably always had that feeling of being left out and nonspecial, which was why she tried to be all super normal: it was her way of overcompensating for not being special.
Yes, I think you're right on the money there. But the difference between Snape and Petunia is that Snape has legitimate grievances with his caretaker. Petunia suffers from what most of us do: we can all think to a time when our parents should have acted differently/better in some situation. Most of us do not use these grudges as an excuse to abuse our wards.

You know, I think I am going to go write a fic about that now
You should. Good luck. :)