Just a few days ago, beloved actor Alan Rickman died (January 14th, 2016). While he had many roles, more than I had realized, I think that my generation will always remember him best for his role as Severus Snape in the movie adaptations of JK Rowling's Harry Potter series.
I was introduced to Harry Potter when I was in the first grade. I can remember my mother looking for a book I might be interested in. We were in a Meijer or WalMart or something like that, and there was a whole stand dedicated to Harry Potter. She remembered my cousins talking about it (they are four and two years older than me), so she picked up a paperback copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I still have that copy. As many of you undoubtedly know, it is the third book in the series, and was then the latest book in the series. In less than a week (keep in mind, I was only in the first grade!), I had mentally devoured the book and made my mom go back for the first two.
From my earliest days, Professor Snape was, without a doubt, an unlikeable character. The one who was the meanest, for no apparent reason. The teacher that always required more of his students than they could give. The teacher who played favorites in such an obvious way you couldn't understand how he hadn't been reprimanded. And I remember the night following the release of the sixth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. (Spoiler Alert Ahead!).
I had started reading that very night, after waiting in line at a local bookstore for hours until midnight came and they could release my pre-ordered copy. I was so exhausted that I had to put off finishing it until the next night. Near the end of the book, I was sitting on the couch with Mom while she watched TV. I suddenly began screaming, ranting, using language I probably should NOT have used in front of my mother. I literally slide to the floor, half-threw the book (a sacrilege that still makes me shudder, years later), and began to curse Snape and Alan Rickman, just for playing the character. I had just read the account of Dumbledore's death at Snape's hand, and I was incensed. I rewatched every movie, seething with dislike of an actor who played his character so well.
Today, however, Severus Snape is one of my favorite characters from any novel series. Why is that? Well, read the title of this post. He is the subject of the greatest love story my generation will ever read. When the seventh book came out, I was still seething with my hatred of Snape and anything connected with him. Then, I reached the scene everyone knows about: shortly after being attacked by Voldemort, Snape gives Harry memories to view in the Pensieve. These memories tell a story that resonates across time and space, and suddenly everything about Snape is so much clearer!
Since Alan Rickman's death, many tributes have been posted. Co-stars and fans from many of his films have taken to social media and outpoured love and support. Just recently, a radio station in my hometown area (WNCI, 97.9) posted this video to their Facebook page: http://www.wnci.com/onair/raven-56442/watch-someone-put-snapes-harry-potter-14281618/
Watch the video, and my next thoughts will make perfect sense. I'll begin by summarizing Snape's story.
To tell the story, you have to know about Snape's childhood. His mother, a pureblood witch, fell in love with a muggle. Snape, forced to live between the two worlds, is an outsider and "freak." He encounters Lily Evans one day with her sister. Lily, being a muggle-born witch, is as yet unaware that her powers are anything special. Her sister fears her powers, and shuns her for it. Snape, however, quickly befriends Lily and shares his secret with her. They both receive their Hogwarts letters at age 11 and attend the Sorting Hat ceremony. Lily is immediately sorted into Gryffindor, and Snape into Slytherin.
During their years at Hogwarts, Snape and Lily remain fast friends. Lily, however, falls for the charismatic, if trouble-making, James Potter, who cannot stand Snape and bullies him endlessly. Eventually, it leads to an end of their friendship, because Snape harbors deeper feelings for Lily than she does for him.
Years later, Snape has joined Voldemort during his first rise to power. He hears a prophecy given, and informs Voldemort. The prophecy is about Voldemort and his eventual demise, centered around a boy born at the end of July to parents that denied Voldemort three times. Voldemort, considering the prophecy, decides the child mentioned must be Lily and James's son, Harry, and sets out to kill the entire family. Snape, having learned this, is distraught, and begs Dumbledore to protect them.
The protection fails, and Snape is the first one to come upon the Potter house after the fateful attack. The scene in the book is heart-wrenching enough, but Rickman's portrayal is even more touching. Snape is agonized, tormented by the death of his only love, a love that has spanned decades and been kept smoldering from afar. Snape agrees to help Dumbledore protect Harry, who has Lily's eyes, on the condition that no one can know.
A decade later, when Harry attends Hogwarts, Snape's apparent dislike for the boy is obvious. Year after year after year, the back-and-forth antagonisms between the two grow progressively stronger. Until the final moments.
In the end, to wrap up this recounting, we learn that Snape has loved Lily since they were children. Every part of his being since then has been focused on her happiness, her safety, and, when that failed, the safety of the only thing left connected to her: Harry. Snape's final words in the movie: "Harry, you have your mother's eyes."
Why is this the greatest love story of my generation? Let me tell you.
We are bombarded with romances in today's world. A variety of novels and movies, fictitious and non-fictitious, supernatural, cinematic, etc. etc. etc. have been created to cater to this theme. In the end, in almost every one, the guy "gets the girl" or the girl "gets the guy" or the girl chooses the sweet guy over the arrogant jock she's with for the majority of the movie. This is the only story I've heard that doesn't end happily.
Snape makes a choice, a conscious decision, to let Lily go. Their friendship changes and fades from what it used to be, but he does it because it will make Lily happy. He lets her choose someone else because she will be happy, and he can't bring himself to be selfish enough to take that from her.
In his darkest hours, when he is twisted by darkness and hatred, surrounded by it from all sides, his love for Lily still commands him. He goes against the will of one of the most powerful, and undoubtedly the evilest, wizard ever known to try to protect her. He risks his life, his safety, to protect her and her family. He essentially sells himself in an attempt to keep her safe. When she dies, he is broken. Physically, mentally, and emotionally broken. Tears aren't even enough to express his anguish.
Did he stop? Did he break down completely?
No.
He went on, in his own way, to protect the only thing left in the world that was still tied to Lily: her son. Every time he looks at Harry, he sees Lily's eyes. Eyes that he dreamt of for years, eyes that still pierce his soul. Harry, who looks so much like his father, bears Lily's eyes. Snape appears to hate Harry, to hate his resemblance to James, but there are hints everywhere that something more was going on. In the movie, the first time Snape sees Harry, there is a look of confusion on his face. He had never actually seen Harry before then, and he immediately makes eye contact and is surprised. Silently, behind-the-scenes, he works tirelessly to protect Harry, even when it isn't obvious. He pushes Harry to his breaking points, he seeks to strengthen him, and he seeks to bring out of Harry those qualities that made him love Lily so much.
In the end, Snape makes sacrifices for Harry and Dumbledore that don't seem humanly possible to make. He gives EVERYTHING to see to the boy's protection, to see that the greatest threat to Harry will, eventually, be destroyed. We see in his memories that Snape's patronus, an expression of his soul and personality, an incarnation of utter happiness, is a doe, the same as Lily's. When Dumbledore questions this, saying, "Lily? Even after all these years?", Snape responds, quite simply, "Always." He never loved anyone else, never sacrificed anything else, for anyone. Even what he does for Harry, he does because of a deep, unbreakable loyalty to Lily. In the end, he dies for her, knowing full well that it is coming.
Snape's love for Lily was purer than anything we are shown in today's romantic literature and movies. Was it a happy ending? No. Snape didn't get the girl. He went years probably without ever seeing her, and was the first to find her corpse. But, he never loved another. Everything he did, he did to make sure that Lily, not he, was safe, happy, and strong. He loved her from afar, because loving her from afar let him see her as happy as she could possibly be. His love was unrequited, but he thrived in it. It was the single motivating force in his life, even at the darkest points. Snape's love for Lily was stronger than the darkness, stronger than fear, stronger even than death.
Not all endings are happy. Looking at this story, it makes us feel sorrow and sadness. But it also makes us see that there is more than just the obvious in any situation. That everyone has a past that helps motivate them, that helps sustain them, that helps them BE, in the present. Snape didn't go crazy and stalk Lily, he didn't try to force her to choose him. He respected her choice, even though it didn't make him happy. He respected her choice, and kept loving her.
And so I ask...Will this be the greatest love story we have ever seen?
Always.
I was introduced to Harry Potter when I was in the first grade. I can remember my mother looking for a book I might be interested in. We were in a Meijer or WalMart or something like that, and there was a whole stand dedicated to Harry Potter. She remembered my cousins talking about it (they are four and two years older than me), so she picked up a paperback copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I still have that copy. As many of you undoubtedly know, it is the third book in the series, and was then the latest book in the series. In less than a week (keep in mind, I was only in the first grade!), I had mentally devoured the book and made my mom go back for the first two.
From my earliest days, Professor Snape was, without a doubt, an unlikeable character. The one who was the meanest, for no apparent reason. The teacher that always required more of his students than they could give. The teacher who played favorites in such an obvious way you couldn't understand how he hadn't been reprimanded. And I remember the night following the release of the sixth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. (Spoiler Alert Ahead!).
I had started reading that very night, after waiting in line at a local bookstore for hours until midnight came and they could release my pre-ordered copy. I was so exhausted that I had to put off finishing it until the next night. Near the end of the book, I was sitting on the couch with Mom while she watched TV. I suddenly began screaming, ranting, using language I probably should NOT have used in front of my mother. I literally slide to the floor, half-threw the book (a sacrilege that still makes me shudder, years later), and began to curse Snape and Alan Rickman, just for playing the character. I had just read the account of Dumbledore's death at Snape's hand, and I was incensed. I rewatched every movie, seething with dislike of an actor who played his character so well.
Today, however, Severus Snape is one of my favorite characters from any novel series. Why is that? Well, read the title of this post. He is the subject of the greatest love story my generation will ever read. When the seventh book came out, I was still seething with my hatred of Snape and anything connected with him. Then, I reached the scene everyone knows about: shortly after being attacked by Voldemort, Snape gives Harry memories to view in the Pensieve. These memories tell a story that resonates across time and space, and suddenly everything about Snape is so much clearer!
Since Alan Rickman's death, many tributes have been posted. Co-stars and fans from many of his films have taken to social media and outpoured love and support. Just recently, a radio station in my hometown area (WNCI, 97.9) posted this video to their Facebook page: http://www.wnci.com/onair/raven-56442/watch-someone-put-snapes-harry-potter-14281618/
Watch the video, and my next thoughts will make perfect sense. I'll begin by summarizing Snape's story.
To tell the story, you have to know about Snape's childhood. His mother, a pureblood witch, fell in love with a muggle. Snape, forced to live between the two worlds, is an outsider and "freak." He encounters Lily Evans one day with her sister. Lily, being a muggle-born witch, is as yet unaware that her powers are anything special. Her sister fears her powers, and shuns her for it. Snape, however, quickly befriends Lily and shares his secret with her. They both receive their Hogwarts letters at age 11 and attend the Sorting Hat ceremony. Lily is immediately sorted into Gryffindor, and Snape into Slytherin.
During their years at Hogwarts, Snape and Lily remain fast friends. Lily, however, falls for the charismatic, if trouble-making, James Potter, who cannot stand Snape and bullies him endlessly. Eventually, it leads to an end of their friendship, because Snape harbors deeper feelings for Lily than she does for him.
Years later, Snape has joined Voldemort during his first rise to power. He hears a prophecy given, and informs Voldemort. The prophecy is about Voldemort and his eventual demise, centered around a boy born at the end of July to parents that denied Voldemort three times. Voldemort, considering the prophecy, decides the child mentioned must be Lily and James's son, Harry, and sets out to kill the entire family. Snape, having learned this, is distraught, and begs Dumbledore to protect them.
The protection fails, and Snape is the first one to come upon the Potter house after the fateful attack. The scene in the book is heart-wrenching enough, but Rickman's portrayal is even more touching. Snape is agonized, tormented by the death of his only love, a love that has spanned decades and been kept smoldering from afar. Snape agrees to help Dumbledore protect Harry, who has Lily's eyes, on the condition that no one can know.
A decade later, when Harry attends Hogwarts, Snape's apparent dislike for the boy is obvious. Year after year after year, the back-and-forth antagonisms between the two grow progressively stronger. Until the final moments.
In the end, to wrap up this recounting, we learn that Snape has loved Lily since they were children. Every part of his being since then has been focused on her happiness, her safety, and, when that failed, the safety of the only thing left connected to her: Harry. Snape's final words in the movie: "Harry, you have your mother's eyes."
Why is this the greatest love story of my generation? Let me tell you.
We are bombarded with romances in today's world. A variety of novels and movies, fictitious and non-fictitious, supernatural, cinematic, etc. etc. etc. have been created to cater to this theme. In the end, in almost every one, the guy "gets the girl" or the girl "gets the guy" or the girl chooses the sweet guy over the arrogant jock she's with for the majority of the movie. This is the only story I've heard that doesn't end happily.
Snape makes a choice, a conscious decision, to let Lily go. Their friendship changes and fades from what it used to be, but he does it because it will make Lily happy. He lets her choose someone else because she will be happy, and he can't bring himself to be selfish enough to take that from her.
In his darkest hours, when he is twisted by darkness and hatred, surrounded by it from all sides, his love for Lily still commands him. He goes against the will of one of the most powerful, and undoubtedly the evilest, wizard ever known to try to protect her. He risks his life, his safety, to protect her and her family. He essentially sells himself in an attempt to keep her safe. When she dies, he is broken. Physically, mentally, and emotionally broken. Tears aren't even enough to express his anguish.
Did he stop? Did he break down completely?
No.
He went on, in his own way, to protect the only thing left in the world that was still tied to Lily: her son. Every time he looks at Harry, he sees Lily's eyes. Eyes that he dreamt of for years, eyes that still pierce his soul. Harry, who looks so much like his father, bears Lily's eyes. Snape appears to hate Harry, to hate his resemblance to James, but there are hints everywhere that something more was going on. In the movie, the first time Snape sees Harry, there is a look of confusion on his face. He had never actually seen Harry before then, and he immediately makes eye contact and is surprised. Silently, behind-the-scenes, he works tirelessly to protect Harry, even when it isn't obvious. He pushes Harry to his breaking points, he seeks to strengthen him, and he seeks to bring out of Harry those qualities that made him love Lily so much.
In the end, Snape makes sacrifices for Harry and Dumbledore that don't seem humanly possible to make. He gives EVERYTHING to see to the boy's protection, to see that the greatest threat to Harry will, eventually, be destroyed. We see in his memories that Snape's patronus, an expression of his soul and personality, an incarnation of utter happiness, is a doe, the same as Lily's. When Dumbledore questions this, saying, "Lily? Even after all these years?", Snape responds, quite simply, "Always." He never loved anyone else, never sacrificed anything else, for anyone. Even what he does for Harry, he does because of a deep, unbreakable loyalty to Lily. In the end, he dies for her, knowing full well that it is coming.
Snape's love for Lily was purer than anything we are shown in today's romantic literature and movies. Was it a happy ending? No. Snape didn't get the girl. He went years probably without ever seeing her, and was the first to find her corpse. But, he never loved another. Everything he did, he did to make sure that Lily, not he, was safe, happy, and strong. He loved her from afar, because loving her from afar let him see her as happy as she could possibly be. His love was unrequited, but he thrived in it. It was the single motivating force in his life, even at the darkest points. Snape's love for Lily was stronger than the darkness, stronger than fear, stronger even than death.
Not all endings are happy. Looking at this story, it makes us feel sorrow and sadness. But it also makes us see that there is more than just the obvious in any situation. That everyone has a past that helps motivate them, that helps sustain them, that helps them BE, in the present. Snape didn't go crazy and stalk Lily, he didn't try to force her to choose him. He respected her choice, even though it didn't make him happy. He respected her choice, and kept loving her.
And so I ask...Will this be the greatest love story we have ever seen?
Always.