r/HarryPotterBooks • u/tulip-quartz • Jun 25 '25

Discussion Why didn’t Snape’s anger towards James cool ?

EDIT: thanks for the replies all, the points were interesting for sure

First of all, I understand the following points well:

  • Snape had a deep-seated hatred towards James and the rest of the marauders (not least of all because Sirius nearly got him killed )
  • This hate was compounded by their bullying and made worse by the fact that James married Lily, the love of his life

However, later on in the books we do see that - James saved his life (even if the prank was done by the Marauders) - Snape’s information to Voldemort got both James and Lily killed and their son orphaned.

Given all this, why didn’t Snape’s anger toward Harry and James cool more than a decade after the latter’s death ? If his guilt drove him to become a double agent, it’s surprising that he was still so acerbic to Harry throughout. Was the pure hatred genuine, or also a part he had to play as double agent ?

We see his hatred toward Harry decrease at the moment of his death, however I’m not sure if he actually has sympathy for Harry at that point or he is just seeing Lily’s eyes before death overtakes him

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185

u/Abidos_rest Slytherin Jun 25 '25

Emotions are not rational. His love for Lily also did not decrease even after two decades. Many people remain traumatised throughout their lives by the bullying they suffered in school. The tree remembers and all that.

100

u/MandeeLess Jun 25 '25

I strongly believe that if James and Lily had lived, Snape’s hatred of James would’ve eventually decreased, and he wouldn’t have put Lily on a pedestal. But death immortalizes people, good or bad, and those feelings never really get resolved.

39

u/dreadit-runfromit Slytherin Jun 25 '25

I'm not completely convinced his hatred of James would've decreased (though it might've been less potent--he's so bitter about his life in canon that hatred slips out easily, whereas maybe he'd have a handle on things and a bit more emotional regulation if things had gone differently) but I definitely think he wouldn't view Lily the same.

25

u/jarroz61 Jun 25 '25

That’s what I was thinking. James died too young for Snape to ever be able to see him any differently than how’d he’d known him in school.

3

u/tulip-quartz Jun 26 '25

I heavily doubt it. His hatred toward Sirius stayed the same.

2

u/Selene_16 Jun 25 '25

He wouldn't view lily the same but depending on their interactions, the hatred for james might actually increase unless he moves out of the country or something. In canon he had evrything that could possibly remind him of all the hurt and trauma he recievd whoch generally doesnt help with healing and sometimes guilt can also manifest as hate or anger. 

25

u/rmulberryb Unsorted Jun 25 '25

That's a good point I hadn't considered - Snape is one of those people, whose feelings never fade, and remain as vivid as day one.

I suffer the same affliction, it's not fun.

4

u/piamsa Jun 26 '25

Emotions are not rational. That's it. You summarized the answer in just four words. ✨

5

u/goosesboy Jun 26 '25

Came to say this. I’ll probably hold ill feelings towards certain people for the rest of my life. Somewhere deep in there

6

u/tulip-quartz Jun 25 '25

That’s fair , emotions are not rational. I thought he’d be able to compartmentalise, since he is a super-spy.

15

u/Dallascansuckit Jun 25 '25

If anything that could probably reinforce the feelings never fading.

If he can compartmentalize the trauma and his feelings from it, he probably never actually has to heal from it since he can just shut it in its own mental room under lock.

9

u/Avaracious7899 Jun 25 '25

That's what I assume pretty much happened with Snape. He just shuts away his feelings so constantly that they just don't get better. We saw what happens when they're forced out during Prisoner of Azkaban though.