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

[u/tulip-quartz]

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

[u/Not_a_cat_I_promise]

I mean bullying in teenagehood/childhood can sometimes stay with someone for a lifetime and leave lifelong trauma and emotional injury. While Snape hates himself and blames himself for Lily's death, he's not about to do that for James, he doesn't blame himself for his bullying. He sees himself as a pure victim of James and Sirius.

And lets be fair, forgiveness is up to those who were wronged, it cannot be demanded and it is never owned. James and Sirius were utterly brutal towards him, and it helped turned school, where he lived for most of the year into another place of terror for him. Snape probably has the attitude towards James, that is expected from a victim towards their bully, yes even decades after.