Eileen and Tobias Background Imagination
Quote from comet on March 18, 2024, 10:40 amHas anyone imagined how Eileen and Tobias got married?
Based on these clues, I thought Eileen had married him.
1. Judging from the news that Eileen and Tobias' marriage appeared in the newspaper, the Prince family must have been quite wealthy or famous. Otherwise, there would be no way in the newspaper that a simple ordinary witch's marriage to a muggle would be reported. This is because even among pure-blood families, there were poor families like the Weasley family.
2. So why did Eileen marry a working-class man? If she can imagine a compelling reason, it is possible that Tobias was not poor to begin with.
3. After World War II, Britain's external influence was reduced due to the liberation of its colonies. Since the 1960s, it has been pushed out by Germany, Japan, and other newly emerging countries. In the 70s, political circles tried to revive the economy, but the results were not good for both the Conservative and Labor parties. The period of the 60s and 70s is called 'The British disease', which refers to the decline of the British economy. During this period, representative industrial cities such as Liverpool declined. Spinner's End in Cockworth is also said to be named after such a run-down area.
If you look at British history, Tobias was probably the owner of a factory in the area, but he may have gone bankrupt.
4.The clue that led to this idea was that Petunia knew the name of the Snape family who lived in the next village. Petunia also knew about his son Severus. So it was strange. He may have had a reputation for being a drunkard and someone who misbehaved with his family, but so far there has never been any talk of him actually being a drunkard or someone who misbehaves with those around him. And it is also awkward that Severus' existence is known to the children of the neighboring village simply because a man named Tobias is a bastard. So, “What if he became famous for another reason?” That's why I thought it would be easier to understand if Petunia knew Snape's family and their son.
=To estimate, he married Eileen and ran a factory, but went bankrupt due to the economic downturn and was unable to pay his workers at all. So his name became widely known, and stories about his son also spread. If Tobias had been one of the original workers, Petunia might not have known the Snape family very well. That would explain why Eileen married Tobias. For that reason, it makes sense that Tobias hates everything, including magic. The reason is that magic itself is by no means omnipotent. (Gamp's law of elemental transmutation) And the Wizarding World website says that Tobias and Eileen were married and that the Prince family may have abandoned Eileen, so Tobias' dislike of magic for this reason is more understandable than the religious reasons sometimes given in fanfiction. Magic was of no help to a poor family, and even the wizarding family abandoned Eileen for marrying a muggle.<For this reason, it seemed like the couple's fight was understandable.
I thought of this reason. In fact, if Tobias hates Eileen because she is a witch, she would not have taught her magic to her son because her use of magic was the cause of family discord. And in the book, when Severus returns home during vacation, he kills Fly with a spell, so it seems that Snape's house itself is registered as a house where a wizard family lives.
If anyone has imagined the story of Eileen and Tobias before their marriage, please leave a comment~
Has anyone imagined how Eileen and Tobias got married?
Based on these clues, I thought Eileen had married him.
1. Judging from the news that Eileen and Tobias' marriage appeared in the newspaper, the Prince family must have been quite wealthy or famous. Otherwise, there would be no way in the newspaper that a simple ordinary witch's marriage to a muggle would be reported. This is because even among pure-blood families, there were poor families like the Weasley family.
2. So why did Eileen marry a working-class man? If she can imagine a compelling reason, it is possible that Tobias was not poor to begin with.
3. After World War II, Britain's external influence was reduced due to the liberation of its colonies. Since the 1960s, it has been pushed out by Germany, Japan, and other newly emerging countries. In the 70s, political circles tried to revive the economy, but the results were not good for both the Conservative and Labor parties. The period of the 60s and 70s is called 'The British disease', which refers to the decline of the British economy. During this period, representative industrial cities such as Liverpool declined. Spinner's End in Cockworth is also said to be named after such a run-down area.
If you look at British history, Tobias was probably the owner of a factory in the area, but he may have gone bankrupt.
4.The clue that led to this idea was that Petunia knew the name of the Snape family who lived in the next village. Petunia also knew about his son Severus. So it was strange. He may have had a reputation for being a drunkard and someone who misbehaved with his family, but so far there has never been any talk of him actually being a drunkard or someone who misbehaves with those around him. And it is also awkward that Severus' existence is known to the children of the neighboring village simply because a man named Tobias is a bastard. So, “What if he became famous for another reason?” That's why I thought it would be easier to understand if Petunia knew Snape's family and their son.
=To estimate, he married Eileen and ran a factory, but went bankrupt due to the economic downturn and was unable to pay his workers at all. So his name became widely known, and stories about his son also spread. If Tobias had been one of the original workers, Petunia might not have known the Snape family very well. That would explain why Eileen married Tobias. For that reason, it makes sense that Tobias hates everything, including magic. The reason is that magic itself is by no means omnipotent. (Gamp's law of elemental transmutation) And the Wizarding World website says that Tobias and Eileen were married and that the Prince family may have abandoned Eileen, so Tobias' dislike of magic for this reason is more understandable than the religious reasons sometimes given in fanfiction. Magic was of no help to a poor family, and even the wizarding family abandoned Eileen for marrying a muggle.<For this reason, it seemed like the couple's fight was understandable.
I thought of this reason. In fact, if Tobias hates Eileen because she is a witch, she would not have taught her magic to her son because her use of magic was the cause of family discord. And in the book, when Severus returns home during vacation, he kills Fly with a spell, so it seems that Snape's house itself is registered as a house where a wizard family lives.
If anyone has imagined the story of Eileen and Tobias before their marriage, please leave a comment~
![](https://alwayssnape.com/wp-content/uploads/avatars/1/1680886325-bpfull.png)
Quote from Heatherlly on March 18, 2024, 2:26 pmThese are interesting theories, though the idea that Tobias was wealthy is implausible at best. There's just no evidence for it, particularly in a culturally specific context.
1.) Having a wedding announcement in the newspaper would've been relatively standard, not an indicator of wealth. I don't know how prevalent it is today (haven't looked at a newspaper in ages), but back then, the majority of couples would've been featured, regardless of income.
2.) It's worth noting that Eileen was described as unattractive, so we can infer that her options were limited. She probably chose Tobias because he was the best she could do, not because he had anything significant going for him like wealth or good looks.
3.) What you said about British history is true, but that does nothing to prove that Tobias ever owned a factory. Statistically speaking, it's much more likely that he worked in one before it shut down, which is further evidenced by the poverty/living conditions of the Snape family. It's important to remember that during economic downturns, it's ordinary, working-class people who suffer most. If Tobias had had enough wealth/status to own a factory, he would certainly have taken a hit, but it's unlikely that he would've fallen into abject poverty.
4.) The Evans family didn't live in a different village. They lived close by, albeit in a somewhat nicer area. In other words, they were the Snapes' neighbors for all intents and purposes, which naturally made them the subject of local gossip. Petunia knew about Snape because she'd seen him around the neighborhood, and I'm sure she heard her parents and/or other neighbors talking trash about his family. That really has no connection to wealth or fame… people are just nosy, especially toward those they disapprove of.
Beyond that…
You said:
In fact, if Tobias hates Eileen because she is a witch, she would not have taught her magic to her son because her use of magic was the cause of family discord.
Eileen didn't need Tobias to like or approve of magic. I think she would've taught it to Severus regardless. It's not like she could stop him from becoming a wizard, and even if she could, why would she want to? To please Tobias? I don't buy that, especially since magic is far more than just a hobby. It was quite literally part of who she and Severus were.
You said:
And in the book, when Severus returns home during vacation, he kills Fly with a spell, so it seems that Snape's house itself is registered as a house where a wizard family lives.
Where did this happen? I don't remember that part.
These are interesting theories, though the idea that Tobias was wealthy is implausible at best. There's just no evidence for it, particularly in a culturally specific context.
1.) Having a wedding announcement in the newspaper would've been relatively standard, not an indicator of wealth. I don't know how prevalent it is today (haven't looked at a newspaper in ages), but back then, the majority of couples would've been featured, regardless of income.
2.) It's worth noting that Eileen was described as unattractive, so we can infer that her options were limited. She probably chose Tobias because he was the best she could do, not because he had anything significant going for him like wealth or good looks.
3.) What you said about British history is true, but that does nothing to prove that Tobias ever owned a factory. Statistically speaking, it's much more likely that he worked in one before it shut down, which is further evidenced by the poverty/living conditions of the Snape family. It's important to remember that during economic downturns, it's ordinary, working-class people who suffer most. If Tobias had had enough wealth/status to own a factory, he would certainly have taken a hit, but it's unlikely that he would've fallen into abject poverty.
4.) The Evans family didn't live in a different village. They lived close by, albeit in a somewhat nicer area. In other words, they were the Snapes' neighbors for all intents and purposes, which naturally made them the subject of local gossip. Petunia knew about Snape because she'd seen him around the neighborhood, and I'm sure she heard her parents and/or other neighbors talking trash about his family. That really has no connection to wealth or fame… people are just nosy, especially toward those they disapprove of.
Beyond that…
You said:
In fact, if Tobias hates Eileen because she is a witch, she would not have taught her magic to her son because her use of magic was the cause of family discord.
Eileen didn't need Tobias to like or approve of magic. I think she would've taught it to Severus regardless. It's not like she could stop him from becoming a wizard, and even if she could, why would she want to? To please Tobias? I don't buy that, especially since magic is far more than just a hobby. It was quite literally part of who she and Severus were.
You said:
And in the book, when Severus returns home during vacation, he kills Fly with a spell, so it seems that Snape's house itself is registered as a house where a wizard family lives.
Where did this happen? I don't remember that part.
Quote from comet on March 18, 2024, 2:33 pmQuote from Heatherlly on March 18, 2024, 2:26 pmThese are interesting theories, though the idea that Tobias was wealthy is implausible at best. There's just no evidence for it, particularly in a culturally specific context.
1.) Having a wedding announcement in the newspaper would've been relatively standard, not an indicator of wealth. I don't know how prevalent it is today (haven't looked at a newspaper in ages), but back then, the majority of couples would've been featured, regardless of income.
2.) It's worth noting that Eileen was described as unattractive, so we can infer that her options were limited. She probably chose Tobias because he was the best she could do, not because he had anything significant going for him like wealth or good looks.
3.) What you said about British history is true, but that does nothing to prove that Tobias ever owned a factory. Statistically speaking, it's much more likely that he worked in one before it shut down, which is further evidenced by the poverty/living conditions of the Snape family. It's important to remember that during economic downturns, it's ordinary, working-class people who suffer most. If Tobias had had enough wealth/status to own a factory, he would certainly have taken a hit, but it's unlikely that he would've fallen into abject poverty.
4.) The Evans family didn't live in a different village. They lived close by, albeit in a somewhat nicer area. In other words, they were the Snapes' neighbors for all intents and purposes, which naturally made them the subject of local gossip. Petunia knew about Snape because she'd seen him around the neighborhood, and I'm sure she heard her parents and/or other neighbors talking trash about his family. That really has no connection to wealth or fame… people are just nosy, especially toward those they disapprove of.
Beyond that…
You said:
In fact, if Tobias hates Eileen because she is a witch, she would not have taught her magic to her son because her use of magic was the cause of family discord.
Eileen didn't need Tobias to like or approve of magic. I think she would've taught it to Severus regardless. It's not like she could stop him from becoming a wizard, and even if she could, why would she want to? To please Tobias? I don't buy that, especially since magic is far more than just a hobby. It was quite literally part of who she and Severus were.
You said:
And in the book, when Severus returns home during vacation, he kills Fly with a spell, so it seems that Snape's house itself is registered as a house where a wizard family lives.
Where did this happen? I don't remember that part.
When Harry happened to see Snape's memory. That scene appears after the couple's fight scene, and then the memory of Snape trying to ride a broom and failing. I remember pointing my wand at the ceiling and using magic.
Quote from Heatherlly on March 18, 2024, 2:26 pmThese are interesting theories, though the idea that Tobias was wealthy is implausible at best. There's just no evidence for it, particularly in a culturally specific context.
1.) Having a wedding announcement in the newspaper would've been relatively standard, not an indicator of wealth. I don't know how prevalent it is today (haven't looked at a newspaper in ages), but back then, the majority of couples would've been featured, regardless of income.
2.) It's worth noting that Eileen was described as unattractive, so we can infer that her options were limited. She probably chose Tobias because he was the best she could do, not because he had anything significant going for him like wealth or good looks.
3.) What you said about British history is true, but that does nothing to prove that Tobias ever owned a factory. Statistically speaking, it's much more likely that he worked in one before it shut down, which is further evidenced by the poverty/living conditions of the Snape family. It's important to remember that during economic downturns, it's ordinary, working-class people who suffer most. If Tobias had had enough wealth/status to own a factory, he would certainly have taken a hit, but it's unlikely that he would've fallen into abject poverty.
4.) The Evans family didn't live in a different village. They lived close by, albeit in a somewhat nicer area. In other words, they were the Snapes' neighbors for all intents and purposes, which naturally made them the subject of local gossip. Petunia knew about Snape because she'd seen him around the neighborhood, and I'm sure she heard her parents and/or other neighbors talking trash about his family. That really has no connection to wealth or fame… people are just nosy, especially toward those they disapprove of.
Beyond that…
You said:
In fact, if Tobias hates Eileen because she is a witch, she would not have taught her magic to her son because her use of magic was the cause of family discord.
Eileen didn't need Tobias to like or approve of magic. I think she would've taught it to Severus regardless. It's not like she could stop him from becoming a wizard, and even if she could, why would she want to? To please Tobias? I don't buy that, especially since magic is far more than just a hobby. It was quite literally part of who she and Severus were.
You said:
And in the book, when Severus returns home during vacation, he kills Fly with a spell, so it seems that Snape's house itself is registered as a house where a wizard family lives.
Where did this happen? I don't remember that part.
When Harry happened to see Snape's memory. That scene appears after the couple's fight scene, and then the memory of Snape trying to ride a broom and failing. I remember pointing my wand at the ceiling and using magic.
Quote from comet on March 18, 2024, 2:53 pmQuote from Heatherlly on March 18, 2024, 2:26 pmThese are interesting theories, though the idea that Tobias was wealthy is implausible at best. There's just no evidence for it, particularly in a culturally specific context.
1.) Having a wedding announcement in the newspaper would've been relatively standard, not an indicator of wealth. I don't know how prevalent it is today (haven't looked at a newspaper in ages), but back then, the majority of couples would've been featured, regardless of income.
2.) It's worth noting that Eileen was described as unattractive, so we can infer that her options were limited. She probably chose Tobias because he was the best she could do, not because he had anything significant going for him like wealth or good looks.
3.) What you said about British history is true, but that does nothing to prove that Tobias ever owned a factory. Statistically speaking, it's much more likely that he worked in one before it shut down, which is further evidenced by the poverty/living conditions of the Snape family. It's important to remember that during economic downturns, it's ordinary, working-class people who suffer most. If Tobias had had enough wealth/status to own a factory, he would certainly have taken a hit, but it's unlikely that he would've fallen into abject poverty.
4.) The Evans family didn't live in a different village. They lived close by, albeit in a somewhat nicer area. In other words, they were the Snapes' neighbors for all intents and purposes, which naturally made them the subject of local gossip. Petunia knew about Snape because she'd seen him around the neighborhood, and I'm sure she heard her parents and/or other neighbors talking trash about his family. That really has no connection to wealth or fame… people are just nosy, especially toward those they disapprove of.
Beyond that…
You said:
In fact, if Tobias hates Eileen because she is a witch, she would not have taught her magic to her son because her use of magic was the cause of family discord.
Eileen didn't need Tobias to like or approve of magic. I think she would've taught it to Severus regardless. It's not like she could stop him from becoming a wizard, and even if she could, why would she want to? To please Tobias? I don't buy that, especially since magic is far more than just a hobby. It was quite literally part of who she and Severus were.
You said:
And in the book, when Severus returns home during vacation, he kills Fly with a spell, so it seems that Snape's house itself is registered as a house where a wizard family lives.
Where did this happen? I don't remember that part.
To be honest, I came up with this idea because it was difficult to estimate the population of the village. Considering that the village probably had quite a few working-class residents other than the Snape family, "Only Tobias is such a mess that rumors spread about his son." <It was difficult to understand. And the problem is that Eileen not being pretty doesn't seem to be a problem for her marriage. Because in the wizarding world, people who are neither pretty nor good-looking form relationships (Filch and Irma). Also, there was an atmosphere of romance between Draco and Pansy before Astoria suddenly appeared, and Viktor Krum's mother was described as unpretty. And Neville and Luna are not handsome either. So it was easier to think about it because if it weren't for money, Eileen's choice would have been difficult to understand. Aside from the money, I've also seen other people's theories and speculations that the reason Eileen fell in love with Tobias was originally because he was an intellectual and she fell for it and married him. And my grandfather once ran a factory that went bankrupt and became a beggar, so I thought it would be understandable if this was the reason.
And Tobias in fanfiction is often shown to be a severe magic hater, which was a rebuttal to that. Tobias often saw Eileen being abused for deceiving him and marrying her even though she was a witch. The hatred is so severe that people even kill their families for religious or other reasons. The fact that Eileen was actually mistreated because she was discovered to be a witch was never mentioned in the official story, so there was room to imagine various reasons. If you don't like magic, you can just say that, but since Tobias says he "hates everything," it seems like there are a lot of complicated reasons.
Quote from Heatherlly on March 18, 2024, 2:26 pmThese are interesting theories, though the idea that Tobias was wealthy is implausible at best. There's just no evidence for it, particularly in a culturally specific context.
1.) Having a wedding announcement in the newspaper would've been relatively standard, not an indicator of wealth. I don't know how prevalent it is today (haven't looked at a newspaper in ages), but back then, the majority of couples would've been featured, regardless of income.
2.) It's worth noting that Eileen was described as unattractive, so we can infer that her options were limited. She probably chose Tobias because he was the best she could do, not because he had anything significant going for him like wealth or good looks.
3.) What you said about British history is true, but that does nothing to prove that Tobias ever owned a factory. Statistically speaking, it's much more likely that he worked in one before it shut down, which is further evidenced by the poverty/living conditions of the Snape family. It's important to remember that during economic downturns, it's ordinary, working-class people who suffer most. If Tobias had had enough wealth/status to own a factory, he would certainly have taken a hit, but it's unlikely that he would've fallen into abject poverty.
4.) The Evans family didn't live in a different village. They lived close by, albeit in a somewhat nicer area. In other words, they were the Snapes' neighbors for all intents and purposes, which naturally made them the subject of local gossip. Petunia knew about Snape because she'd seen him around the neighborhood, and I'm sure she heard her parents and/or other neighbors talking trash about his family. That really has no connection to wealth or fame… people are just nosy, especially toward those they disapprove of.
Beyond that…
You said:
In fact, if Tobias hates Eileen because she is a witch, she would not have taught her magic to her son because her use of magic was the cause of family discord.
Eileen didn't need Tobias to like or approve of magic. I think she would've taught it to Severus regardless. It's not like she could stop him from becoming a wizard, and even if she could, why would she want to? To please Tobias? I don't buy that, especially since magic is far more than just a hobby. It was quite literally part of who she and Severus were.
You said:
And in the book, when Severus returns home during vacation, he kills Fly with a spell, so it seems that Snape's house itself is registered as a house where a wizard family lives.
Where did this happen? I don't remember that part.
To be honest, I came up with this idea because it was difficult to estimate the population of the village. Considering that the village probably had quite a few working-class residents other than the Snape family, "Only Tobias is such a mess that rumors spread about his son." <It was difficult to understand. And the problem is that Eileen not being pretty doesn't seem to be a problem for her marriage. Because in the wizarding world, people who are neither pretty nor good-looking form relationships (Filch and Irma). Also, there was an atmosphere of romance between Draco and Pansy before Astoria suddenly appeared, and Viktor Krum's mother was described as unpretty. And Neville and Luna are not handsome either. So it was easier to think about it because if it weren't for money, Eileen's choice would have been difficult to understand. Aside from the money, I've also seen other people's theories and speculations that the reason Eileen fell in love with Tobias was originally because he was an intellectual and she fell for it and married him. And my grandfather once ran a factory that went bankrupt and became a beggar, so I thought it would be understandable if this was the reason.
And Tobias in fanfiction is often shown to be a severe magic hater, which was a rebuttal to that. Tobias often saw Eileen being abused for deceiving him and marrying her even though she was a witch. The hatred is so severe that people even kill their families for religious or other reasons. The fact that Eileen was actually mistreated because she was discovered to be a witch was never mentioned in the official story, so there was room to imagine various reasons. If you don't like magic, you can just say that, but since Tobias says he "hates everything," it seems like there are a lot of complicated reasons.
![](https://alwayssnape.com/wp-content/uploads/avatars/1/1680886325-bpfull.png)
Quote from Heatherlly on March 19, 2024, 4:52 amConsidering that the village probably had quite a few working-class residents other than the Snape family, "Only Tobias is such a mess that rumors spread about his son." <It was difficult to understand.
Yeah, but how do we know that the Snapes were the only family that were gossiped about? Because Petunia didn't mention other families? There's a reason for that, and quite a good one from a writer's perspective. Writers generally don't include information unless it's relevant to the story.
That's a good thing to remember when trying to understand a particular scene. You're not seeing a complete picture, only what the author felt was relevant. In other words, we can't know if the neighbors also gossiped about say, the Smith family or the Jones family. Those characters wouldn't be involved in the story, so there's no reason to bring them up.
Because in the wizarding world, people who are neither pretty nor good-looking form relationships (Filch and Irma).
I wasn't saying that less attractive people couldn't form relationships. I said that based on that criteria, it's unlikely that Eileen had a lot of contenders to choose from. That would explain her settling for someone less than ideal, especially if she was dealing with extenuating circumstances and felt she had no other choice. Relationships, even for more attractive people, are often more complicated than falling in love and/or choosing the best candidate. For example, Eileen might have been lonely or desperate to escape her family, to the point that she was willing to accept the first man who showed interest in her. It could've also been a shotgun wedding of sorts, a marriage that only happened because Eileen got pregnant. Echoing back to my earlier point, Tobias's wealth or lack thereof wouldn't have had any relevance in these scenarios.
And my grandfather once ran a factory that went bankrupt and became a beggar, so I thought it would be understandable if this was the reason.
Did this happen in South Korea? If so, I suspect this is a cultural difference. Admittedly, I don't know much about Korea during that time (would love to learn more), but in England during the mid 20th century, it's unlikely that a rich factory owner would've fallen that far, especially in such a relatively short time.
That said…
If you prefer to think of Tobias as having been wealthy/owning a factory at some point, there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with assuming that he was Eileen's first choice, nor that she had legitimate reasons to see him as an ideal partner. I just think it's important to acknowledge that this is personal fanon, not canon. As far as the latter is concerned, there really isn't much (if anything) to back it up.
Considering that the village probably had quite a few working-class residents other than the Snape family, "Only Tobias is such a mess that rumors spread about his son." <It was difficult to understand.
Yeah, but how do we know that the Snapes were the only family that were gossiped about? Because Petunia didn't mention other families? There's a reason for that, and quite a good one from a writer's perspective. Writers generally don't include information unless it's relevant to the story.
That's a good thing to remember when trying to understand a particular scene. You're not seeing a complete picture, only what the author felt was relevant. In other words, we can't know if the neighbors also gossiped about say, the Smith family or the Jones family. Those characters wouldn't be involved in the story, so there's no reason to bring them up.
Because in the wizarding world, people who are neither pretty nor good-looking form relationships (Filch and Irma).
I wasn't saying that less attractive people couldn't form relationships. I said that based on that criteria, it's unlikely that Eileen had a lot of contenders to choose from. That would explain her settling for someone less than ideal, especially if she was dealing with extenuating circumstances and felt she had no other choice. Relationships, even for more attractive people, are often more complicated than falling in love and/or choosing the best candidate. For example, Eileen might have been lonely or desperate to escape her family, to the point that she was willing to accept the first man who showed interest in her. It could've also been a shotgun wedding of sorts, a marriage that only happened because Eileen got pregnant. Echoing back to my earlier point, Tobias's wealth or lack thereof wouldn't have had any relevance in these scenarios.
And my grandfather once ran a factory that went bankrupt and became a beggar, so I thought it would be understandable if this was the reason.
Did this happen in South Korea? If so, I suspect this is a cultural difference. Admittedly, I don't know much about Korea during that time (would love to learn more), but in England during the mid 20th century, it's unlikely that a rich factory owner would've fallen that far, especially in such a relatively short time.
That said…
If you prefer to think of Tobias as having been wealthy/owning a factory at some point, there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with assuming that he was Eileen's first choice, nor that she had legitimate reasons to see him as an ideal partner. I just think it's important to acknowledge that this is personal fanon, not canon. As far as the latter is concerned, there really isn't much (if anything) to back it up.
Quote from Naaga on March 19, 2024, 5:44 amThere's also my answer to a discussion, linked here, some points are relevant for this post.
https://alwayssnape.com/forum/topic/snape-daily-discussion-thread/?part=12#postid-6045
I'll try my attempt at Eileen's backstory and how come she came to marry Tobias Snape.
Our first mention of Eileen Prince came in Half-Blood Prince book.
‘Right!’ said Hermione, red patches blazing in her cheeks as she pulled a very old piece of newsprint out of her pocket and slammed it down on the table in front of Harry. ‘Look at that! Look at the picture!’
Harry picked up the crumbling piece of paper and stared at the moving photograph, yellowed with age; Ron leaned over for a look, too. The picture showed a skinny girl of around fifteen. She was not pretty; she looked simultaneously cross and sullen, with heavy brows and a long, pallid face. Underneath the photograph was the caption: Eileen Prince, Captain of the Hogwarts Gobstones Team.
‘So?’ said Harry, scanning the short news item to which the picture belonged; it was a rather dull story about inter-school competitions.
‘Her name was Eileen Prince. Prince, Harry.’
Eileen was a popular girl, taking part in inter-school Gobstones competitions, captain of Hogwarts Gobstones Team and good enough to get a photo in the newspaper. She was noted as not pretty, her looks are similar to Severus Snape except for her nose. She was concurrently the President of the Hogwarts Gobstone Club, written by JKR in Gobstones article of Wizarding World website.
‘No – no – Harry, I didn’t mean that!’ she said hastily, looking around to check that they were not being overheard. ‘It’s just that I was right about Eileen Prince once owning the book. You see … she was Snape’s mother!’
‘I thought she wasn’t much of a looker,’ said Ron. Hermione ignored him.
‘I was going through the rest of the old Prophets and there was a tiny announcement about Eileen Prince marrying a man called Tobias Snape, and then later an announcement saying that she’d given birth to a –’
‘– murderer,’ spat Harry.‘Well … yes,’ said Hermione. ‘So … I was sort of right. Snape must have been proud of being “half a Prince”, you see? Tobias Snape was a Muggle from what it said in the Prophet.’
Here, we get a Daily Prophet announcement of her marriage with Tobias Snape, it was recognised in wizarding world.
I can only speculate how come she went on to marry Tobias. Most likely reason it being a love marriage. Eileen met the muggle man Tobias who showed interest in plain, sullen girl. WizWitches often find muggles interesting, so Eileen was taken in by Tobias.
Princes by their name sound like an important name, yet there is no mention of them in Sacred 28. Most likely reason, being they were half-bloods marriage either muggleborns or muggles. Perhaps they were once prominent family in a decline like Gaunts. There are many parallels noted between Tom Riddle and Severus Snape, so I choose to believe the latter.
Eileen unlike Merope, lives around after her marriage and son's birth. I am not an expert on socio-economic conditions of UK around 60s and 70s, but apparently there was inflation and rise of unemployment during that period. I headcanon Tobias being a ex-soldier, fought during Korean war in 1950-53, he suffered trauma from losing friends and loss.
Tobias knew about Eileen being a witch as far as I know, there are many stories which has Tobias not knowing about Eileen being a witch till Severus showed accidental magic. The announcement of marriage in Daily Prophet most likely meant that Tobias knew about Eileen.
Ex-soldier get PTSD, which was not a recognised or well known condition at that period. Tobias got military retirement, settled in industrial area of Cokeworth. With rising unemployment, his PTSD and inflation, Tobias came to resent Eileen, believing magic could've fixed his troubles yet Eileen doesn't do enough for him and turned to alcohol and progressive became abusive taking his trauma out on his son, where Tobias saw his efforts as disciplining his son.
‘How are things at your house?’ Lily asked.
A little crease appeared between his eyes.
‘Fine,’ he said.
‘They’re not arguing any more?’
‘Oh, yes, they’re arguing,’ said Snape.
He picked up a fistful of leaves and began tearing them apart, apparently unaware of what he was doing. ‘But it won’t be that long and I’ll be gone.’
‘Doesn’t your dad like magic?’
‘He doesn’t like anything, much,’ said Snape.
Lily knew something was wrong in Snape household, cares enough to ask about his parents. Snape is deflecting and confessed that his parents often argue and his father doesn't like anything much and Pottermore mentioned his father using belt on him, thus being physically abusive.
Next mention in timeline comes from OOTP, but it could've been before previous scene of young Severus meeting Lily.
Snape staggered – his wand flew upwards, away from Harry – and suddenly Harry’s mind was teeming with memories that were not his: a hook-nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in a corner.
Snape inherited his hook nose from his father. Eileen was noted as cowering so Tobias was abusive to her as well. Young Severus cried in corner because of the dysfunctional family dynamics between his father and mother.
Next mention of Eileen in our timeline came in The Prince's Tale.
And the scene reformed. Harry looked around: he was on platform nine and three-quarters, and Snape stood beside him, slightly hunched, next to a thin, sallow-faced, sour-looking woman who greatly resembled him. Snape was staring at a family of four a short distance away. The two girls stood a little apart from their parents. Lily seemed to be pleading with her sister; Harry moved closer to listen.
Snape's mother apparently cared enough for him to take him to King's Cross, her demeanor was noted to haven't changed since her age of 15, yet Snape was looking at Evans family and couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts and get rid of his muggle clothes. Things weren't all right in Snape household and young Severus couldn't wait any longer to leave it behind.
We can't say what happened to Eileen after this scene. She could've died, could've moved to hospital, moved out from Spinner's End, all of these are up for speculation and I hope I have covered Eileen's backstory and her relationship with Tobias into this while trying my take on Tobias Snape's behaviour.
There's also my answer to a discussion, linked here, some points are relevant for this post.
https://alwayssnape.com/forum/topic/snape-daily-discussion-thread/?part=12#postid-6045
I'll try my attempt at Eileen's backstory and how come she came to marry Tobias Snape.
Our first mention of Eileen Prince came in Half-Blood Prince book.
‘Right!’ said Hermione, red patches blazing in her cheeks as she pulled a very old piece of newsprint out of her pocket and slammed it down on the table in front of Harry. ‘Look at that! Look at the picture!’
Harry picked up the crumbling piece of paper and stared at the moving photograph, yellowed with age; Ron leaned over for a look, too. The picture showed a skinny girl of around fifteen. She was not pretty; she looked simultaneously cross and sullen, with heavy brows and a long, pallid face. Underneath the photograph was the caption: Eileen Prince, Captain of the Hogwarts Gobstones Team.
‘So?’ said Harry, scanning the short news item to which the picture belonged; it was a rather dull story about inter-school competitions.
‘Her name was Eileen Prince. Prince, Harry.’
Eileen was a popular girl, taking part in inter-school Gobstones competitions, captain of Hogwarts Gobstones Team and good enough to get a photo in the newspaper. She was noted as not pretty, her looks are similar to Severus Snape except for her nose. She was concurrently the President of the Hogwarts Gobstone Club, written by JKR in Gobstones article of Wizarding World website.
‘No – no – Harry, I didn’t mean that!’ she said hastily, looking around to check that they were not being overheard. ‘It’s just that I was right about Eileen Prince once owning the book. You see … she was Snape’s mother!’
‘I thought she wasn’t much of a looker,’ said Ron. Hermione ignored him.
‘I was going through the rest of the old Prophets and there was a tiny announcement about Eileen Prince marrying a man called Tobias Snape, and then later an announcement saying that she’d given birth to a –’
‘– murderer,’ spat Harry.‘Well … yes,’ said Hermione. ‘So … I was sort of right. Snape must have been proud of being “half a Prince”, you see? Tobias Snape was a Muggle from what it said in the Prophet.’
Here, we get a Daily Prophet announcement of her marriage with Tobias Snape, it was recognised in wizarding world.
I can only speculate how come she went on to marry Tobias. Most likely reason it being a love marriage. Eileen met the muggle man Tobias who showed interest in plain, sullen girl. WizWitches often find muggles interesting, so Eileen was taken in by Tobias.
Princes by their name sound like an important name, yet there is no mention of them in Sacred 28. Most likely reason, being they were half-bloods marriage either muggleborns or muggles. Perhaps they were once prominent family in a decline like Gaunts. There are many parallels noted between Tom Riddle and Severus Snape, so I choose to believe the latter.
Eileen unlike Merope, lives around after her marriage and son's birth. I am not an expert on socio-economic conditions of UK around 60s and 70s, but apparently there was inflation and rise of unemployment during that period. I headcanon Tobias being a ex-soldier, fought during Korean war in 1950-53, he suffered trauma from losing friends and loss.
Tobias knew about Eileen being a witch as far as I know, there are many stories which has Tobias not knowing about Eileen being a witch till Severus showed accidental magic. The announcement of marriage in Daily Prophet most likely meant that Tobias knew about Eileen.
Ex-soldier get PTSD, which was not a recognised or well known condition at that period. Tobias got military retirement, settled in industrial area of Cokeworth. With rising unemployment, his PTSD and inflation, Tobias came to resent Eileen, believing magic could've fixed his troubles yet Eileen doesn't do enough for him and turned to alcohol and progressive became abusive taking his trauma out on his son, where Tobias saw his efforts as disciplining his son.
‘How are things at your house?’ Lily asked.
A little crease appeared between his eyes.
‘Fine,’ he said.
‘They’re not arguing any more?’
‘Oh, yes, they’re arguing,’ said Snape.
He picked up a fistful of leaves and began tearing them apart, apparently unaware of what he was doing. ‘But it won’t be that long and I’ll be gone.’
‘Doesn’t your dad like magic?’
‘He doesn’t like anything, much,’ said Snape.
Lily knew something was wrong in Snape household, cares enough to ask about his parents. Snape is deflecting and confessed that his parents often argue and his father doesn't like anything much and Pottermore mentioned his father using belt on him, thus being physically abusive.
Next mention in timeline comes from OOTP, but it could've been before previous scene of young Severus meeting Lily.
Snape staggered – his wand flew upwards, away from Harry – and suddenly Harry’s mind was teeming with memories that were not his: a hook-nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in a corner.
Snape inherited his hook nose from his father. Eileen was noted as cowering so Tobias was abusive to her as well. Young Severus cried in corner because of the dysfunctional family dynamics between his father and mother.
Next mention of Eileen in our timeline came in The Prince's Tale.
And the scene reformed. Harry looked around: he was on platform nine and three-quarters, and Snape stood beside him, slightly hunched, next to a thin, sallow-faced, sour-looking woman who greatly resembled him. Snape was staring at a family of four a short distance away. The two girls stood a little apart from their parents. Lily seemed to be pleading with her sister; Harry moved closer to listen.
Snape's mother apparently cared enough for him to take him to King's Cross, her demeanor was noted to haven't changed since her age of 15, yet Snape was looking at Evans family and couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts and get rid of his muggle clothes. Things weren't all right in Snape household and young Severus couldn't wait any longer to leave it behind.
We can't say what happened to Eileen after this scene. She could've died, could've moved to hospital, moved out from Spinner's End, all of these are up for speculation and I hope I have covered Eileen's backstory and her relationship with Tobias into this while trying my take on Tobias Snape's behaviour.
Quote from comet on March 19, 2024, 6:02 amQuote from Heatherlly on March 19, 2024, 4:52 amConsidering that the village probably had quite a few working-class residents other than the Snape family, "Only Tobias is such a mess that rumors spread about his son." <It was difficult to understand.
Yeah, but how do we know that the Snapes were the only family that were gossiped about? Because Petunia didn't mention other families? There's a reason for that, and quite a good one from a writer's perspective. Writers generally don't include information unless it's relevant to the story.
That's a good thing to remember when trying to understand a particular scene. You're not seeing a complete picture, only what the author felt was relevant. In other words, we can't know if the neighbors also gossiped about say, the Smith family or the Jones family. Those characters wouldn't be involved in the story, so there's no reason to bring them up.
Because in the wizarding world, people who are neither pretty nor good-looking form relationships (Filch and Irma).
I wasn't saying that less attractive people couldn't form relationships. I said that based on that criteria, it's unlikely that Eileen had a lot of contenders to choose from. That would explain her settling for someone less than ideal, especially if she was dealing with extenuating circumstances and felt she had no other choice. Relationships, even for more attractive people, are often more complicated than falling in love and/or choosing the best candidate. For example, Eileen might have been lonely or desperate to escape her family, to the point that she was willing to accept the first man who showed interest in her. It could've also been a shotgun wedding of sorts, a marriage that only happened because Eileen got pregnant. Echoing back to my earlier point, Tobias's wealth or lack thereof wouldn't have had any relevance in these scenarios.
And my grandfather once ran a factory that went bankrupt and became a beggar, so I thought it would be understandable if this was the reason.
Did this happen in South Korea? If so, I suspect this is a cultural difference. Admittedly, I don't know much about Korea during that time (would love to learn more), but in England during the mid 20th century, it's unlikely that a rich factory owner would've fallen that far, especially in such a relatively short time.
That said…
If you prefer to think of Tobias as having been wealthy/owning a factory at some point, there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with assuming that he was Eileen's first choice, nor that she had legitimate reasons to see him as an ideal partner. I just think it's important to acknowledge that this is personal fanon, not canon. As far as the latter is concerned, there really isn't much (if anything) to back it up.
1997 currency crisis < This is it. 1980 Japan alone has not yet recovered from the damage caused by the bubble economy, and 97~01 Korea suffered from unemployment and bankruptcy during the IMF crisis. For now, we have endured it safely, but the big problem was that Korea and Japan had rapid economic growth without a foundation. There are differences in the timing and reasons why Japan and Korea experienced economic crises, but what they have in common is that they grew so rapidly that no one noticed the problem until it grew.
I was curious about how other people imagined the two people met. Certainly, if have a lot of discussions like this as a fan, will be able to learn a lot of different opinions. I thought it would be beneficial.
Quote from Heatherlly on March 19, 2024, 4:52 amConsidering that the village probably had quite a few working-class residents other than the Snape family, "Only Tobias is such a mess that rumors spread about his son." <It was difficult to understand.
Yeah, but how do we know that the Snapes were the only family that were gossiped about? Because Petunia didn't mention other families? There's a reason for that, and quite a good one from a writer's perspective. Writers generally don't include information unless it's relevant to the story.
That's a good thing to remember when trying to understand a particular scene. You're not seeing a complete picture, only what the author felt was relevant. In other words, we can't know if the neighbors also gossiped about say, the Smith family or the Jones family. Those characters wouldn't be involved in the story, so there's no reason to bring them up.
Because in the wizarding world, people who are neither pretty nor good-looking form relationships (Filch and Irma).
I wasn't saying that less attractive people couldn't form relationships. I said that based on that criteria, it's unlikely that Eileen had a lot of contenders to choose from. That would explain her settling for someone less than ideal, especially if she was dealing with extenuating circumstances and felt she had no other choice. Relationships, even for more attractive people, are often more complicated than falling in love and/or choosing the best candidate. For example, Eileen might have been lonely or desperate to escape her family, to the point that she was willing to accept the first man who showed interest in her. It could've also been a shotgun wedding of sorts, a marriage that only happened because Eileen got pregnant. Echoing back to my earlier point, Tobias's wealth or lack thereof wouldn't have had any relevance in these scenarios.
And my grandfather once ran a factory that went bankrupt and became a beggar, so I thought it would be understandable if this was the reason.
Did this happen in South Korea? If so, I suspect this is a cultural difference. Admittedly, I don't know much about Korea during that time (would love to learn more), but in England during the mid 20th century, it's unlikely that a rich factory owner would've fallen that far, especially in such a relatively short time.
That said…
If you prefer to think of Tobias as having been wealthy/owning a factory at some point, there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with assuming that he was Eileen's first choice, nor that she had legitimate reasons to see him as an ideal partner. I just think it's important to acknowledge that this is personal fanon, not canon. As far as the latter is concerned, there really isn't much (if anything) to back it up.
1997 currency crisis < This is it. 1980 Japan alone has not yet recovered from the damage caused by the bubble economy, and 97~01 Korea suffered from unemployment and bankruptcy during the IMF crisis. For now, we have endured it safely, but the big problem was that Korea and Japan had rapid economic growth without a foundation. There are differences in the timing and reasons why Japan and Korea experienced economic crises, but what they have in common is that they grew so rapidly that no one noticed the problem until it grew.
I was curious about how other people imagined the two people met. Certainly, if have a lot of discussions like this as a fan, will be able to learn a lot of different opinions. I thought it would be beneficial.
Quote from comet on March 19, 2024, 6:22 amQuote from Naaga on March 19, 2024, 5:44 amThere's also my answer to a discussion, linked here, some points are relevant for this post.
https://alwayssnape.com/forum/topic/snape-daily-discussion-thread/?part=12#postid-6045
I'll try my attempt at Eileen's backstory and how come she came to marry Tobias Snape.
Our first mention of Eileen Prince came in Half-Blood Prince book.
‘Right!’ said Hermione, red patches blazing in her cheeks as she pulled a very old piece of newsprint out of her pocket and slammed it down on the table in front of Harry. ‘Look at that! Look at the picture!’
Harry picked up the crumbling piece of paper and stared at the moving photograph, yellowed with age; Ron leaned over for a look, too. The picture showed a skinny girl of around fifteen. She was not pretty; she looked simultaneously cross and sullen, with heavy brows and a long, pallid face. Underneath the photograph was the caption: Eileen Prince, Captain of the Hogwarts Gobstones Team.
‘So?’ said Harry, scanning the short news item to which the picture belonged; it was a rather dull story about inter-school competitions.
‘Her name was Eileen Prince. Prince, Harry.’
Eileen was a popular girl, taking part in inter-school Gobstones competitions, captain of Hogwarts Gobstones Team and good enough to get a photo in the newspaper. She was noted as not pretty, her looks are similar to Severus Snape except for her nose. She was concurrently the President of the Hogwarts Gobstone Club, written by JKR in Gobstones article of Wizarding World website.
‘No – no – Harry, I didn’t mean that!’ she said hastily, looking around to check that they were not being overheard. ‘It’s just that I was right about Eileen Prince once owning the book. You see … she was Snape’s mother!’
‘I thought she wasn’t much of a looker,’ said Ron. Hermione ignored him.
‘I was going through the rest of the old Prophets and there was a tiny announcement about Eileen Prince marrying a man called Tobias Snape, and then later an announcement saying that she’d given birth to a –’
‘– murderer,’ spat Harry.‘Well … yes,’ said Hermione. ‘So … I was sort of right. Snape must have been proud of being “half a Prince”, you see? Tobias Snape was a Muggle from what it said in the Prophet.’
Here, we get a Daily Prophet announcement of her marriage with Tobias Snape, it was recognised in wizarding world.
I can only speculate how come she went on to marry Tobias. Most likely reason it being a love marriage. Eileen met the muggle man Tobias who showed interest in plain, sullen girl. WizWitches often find muggles interesting, so Eileen was taken in by Tobias.
Princes by their name sound like an important name, yet there is no mention of them in Sacred 28. Most likely reason, being they were half-bloods marriage either muggleborns or muggles. Perhaps they were once prominent family in a decline like Gaunts. There are many parallels noted between Tom Riddle and Severus Snape, so I choose to believe the latter.
Eileen unlike Merope, lives around after her marriage and son's birth. I am not an expert on socio-economic conditions of UK around 60s and 70s, but apparently there was inflation and rise of unemployment during that period. I headcanon Tobias being a ex-soldier, fought during Korean war in 1950-53, he suffered trauma from losing friends and loss.
Tobias knew about Eileen being a witch as far as I know, there are many stories which has Tobias not knowing about Eileen being a witch till Severus showed accidental magic. The announcement of marriage in Daily Prophet most likely meant that Tobias knew about Eileen.
Ex-soldier get PTSD, which was not a recognised or well known condition at that period. Tobias got military retirement, settled in industrial area of Cokeworth. With rising unemployment, his PTSD and inflation, Tobias came to resent Eileen, believing magic could've fixed his troubles yet Eileen doesn't do enough for him and turned to alcohol and progressive became abusive taking his trauma out on his son, where Tobias saw his efforts as disciplining his son.
‘How are things at your house?’ Lily asked.
A little crease appeared between his eyes.
‘Fine,’ he said.
‘They’re not arguing any more?’
‘Oh, yes, they’re arguing,’ said Snape.
He picked up a fistful of leaves and began tearing them apart, apparently unaware of what he was doing. ‘But it won’t be that long and I’ll be gone.’
‘Doesn’t your dad like magic?’
‘He doesn’t like anything, much,’ said Snape.
Lily knew something was wrong in Snape household, cares enough to ask about his parents. Snape is deflecting and confessed that his parents often argue and his father doesn't like anything much and Pottermore mentioned his father using belt on him, thus being physically abusive.
Next mention in timeline comes from OOTP, but it could've been before previous scene of young Severus meeting Lily.
Snape staggered – his wand flew upwards, away from Harry – and suddenly Harry’s mind was teeming with memories that were not his: a hook-nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in a corner.
Snape inherited his hook nose from his father. Eileen was noted as cowering so Tobias was abusive to her as well. Young Severus cried in corner because of the dysfunctional family dynamics between his father and mother.
Next mention of Eileen in our timeline came in The Prince's Tale.
And the scene reformed. Harry looked around: he was on platform nine and three-quarters, and Snape stood beside him, slightly hunched, next to a thin, sallow-faced, sour-looking woman who greatly resembled him. Snape was staring at a family of four a short distance away. The two girls stood a little apart from their parents. Lily seemed to be pleading with her sister; Harry moved closer to listen.
Snape's mother apparently cared enough for him to take him to King's Cross, her demeanor was noted to haven't changed since her age of 15, yet Snape was looking at Evans family and couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts and get rid of his muggle clothes. Things weren't all right in Snape household and young Severus couldn't wait any longer to leave it behind.
We can't say what happened to Eileen after this scene. She could've died, could've moved to hospital, moved out from Spinner's End, all of these are up for speculation and I hope I have covered Eileen's backstory and her relationship with Tobias into this while trying my take on Tobias Snape's behaviour.
Oh, looking at the setting as a war veteran, I remember a fanfiction I once saw where the main character, a Russian professor, was trying to come see Snape, and Tobias said "commies!" and he started hitting the main character. Haha, the main character couldn't stand it so he knocked Tobias out.
Quote from Naaga on March 19, 2024, 5:44 amThere's also my answer to a discussion, linked here, some points are relevant for this post.
https://alwayssnape.com/forum/topic/snape-daily-discussion-thread/?part=12#postid-6045
I'll try my attempt at Eileen's backstory and how come she came to marry Tobias Snape.
Our first mention of Eileen Prince came in Half-Blood Prince book.
‘Right!’ said Hermione, red patches blazing in her cheeks as she pulled a very old piece of newsprint out of her pocket and slammed it down on the table in front of Harry. ‘Look at that! Look at the picture!’
Harry picked up the crumbling piece of paper and stared at the moving photograph, yellowed with age; Ron leaned over for a look, too. The picture showed a skinny girl of around fifteen. She was not pretty; she looked simultaneously cross and sullen, with heavy brows and a long, pallid face. Underneath the photograph was the caption: Eileen Prince, Captain of the Hogwarts Gobstones Team.
‘So?’ said Harry, scanning the short news item to which the picture belonged; it was a rather dull story about inter-school competitions.
‘Her name was Eileen Prince. Prince, Harry.’
Eileen was a popular girl, taking part in inter-school Gobstones competitions, captain of Hogwarts Gobstones Team and good enough to get a photo in the newspaper. She was noted as not pretty, her looks are similar to Severus Snape except for her nose. She was concurrently the President of the Hogwarts Gobstone Club, written by JKR in Gobstones article of Wizarding World website.
‘No – no – Harry, I didn’t mean that!’ she said hastily, looking around to check that they were not being overheard. ‘It’s just that I was right about Eileen Prince once owning the book. You see … she was Snape’s mother!’
‘I thought she wasn’t much of a looker,’ said Ron. Hermione ignored him.
‘I was going through the rest of the old Prophets and there was a tiny announcement about Eileen Prince marrying a man called Tobias Snape, and then later an announcement saying that she’d given birth to a –’
‘– murderer,’ spat Harry.‘Well … yes,’ said Hermione. ‘So … I was sort of right. Snape must have been proud of being “half a Prince”, you see? Tobias Snape was a Muggle from what it said in the Prophet.’
Here, we get a Daily Prophet announcement of her marriage with Tobias Snape, it was recognised in wizarding world.
I can only speculate how come she went on to marry Tobias. Most likely reason it being a love marriage. Eileen met the muggle man Tobias who showed interest in plain, sullen girl. WizWitches often find muggles interesting, so Eileen was taken in by Tobias.
Princes by their name sound like an important name, yet there is no mention of them in Sacred 28. Most likely reason, being they were half-bloods marriage either muggleborns or muggles. Perhaps they were once prominent family in a decline like Gaunts. There are many parallels noted between Tom Riddle and Severus Snape, so I choose to believe the latter.
Eileen unlike Merope, lives around after her marriage and son's birth. I am not an expert on socio-economic conditions of UK around 60s and 70s, but apparently there was inflation and rise of unemployment during that period. I headcanon Tobias being a ex-soldier, fought during Korean war in 1950-53, he suffered trauma from losing friends and loss.
Tobias knew about Eileen being a witch as far as I know, there are many stories which has Tobias not knowing about Eileen being a witch till Severus showed accidental magic. The announcement of marriage in Daily Prophet most likely meant that Tobias knew about Eileen.
Ex-soldier get PTSD, which was not a recognised or well known condition at that period. Tobias got military retirement, settled in industrial area of Cokeworth. With rising unemployment, his PTSD and inflation, Tobias came to resent Eileen, believing magic could've fixed his troubles yet Eileen doesn't do enough for him and turned to alcohol and progressive became abusive taking his trauma out on his son, where Tobias saw his efforts as disciplining his son.
‘How are things at your house?’ Lily asked.
A little crease appeared between his eyes.
‘Fine,’ he said.
‘They’re not arguing any more?’
‘Oh, yes, they’re arguing,’ said Snape.
He picked up a fistful of leaves and began tearing them apart, apparently unaware of what he was doing. ‘But it won’t be that long and I’ll be gone.’
‘Doesn’t your dad like magic?’
‘He doesn’t like anything, much,’ said Snape.
Lily knew something was wrong in Snape household, cares enough to ask about his parents. Snape is deflecting and confessed that his parents often argue and his father doesn't like anything much and Pottermore mentioned his father using belt on him, thus being physically abusive.
Next mention in timeline comes from OOTP, but it could've been before previous scene of young Severus meeting Lily.
Snape staggered – his wand flew upwards, away from Harry – and suddenly Harry’s mind was teeming with memories that were not his: a hook-nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark-haired boy cried in a corner.
Snape inherited his hook nose from his father. Eileen was noted as cowering so Tobias was abusive to her as well. Young Severus cried in corner because of the dysfunctional family dynamics between his father and mother.
Next mention of Eileen in our timeline came in The Prince's Tale.
And the scene reformed. Harry looked around: he was on platform nine and three-quarters, and Snape stood beside him, slightly hunched, next to a thin, sallow-faced, sour-looking woman who greatly resembled him. Snape was staring at a family of four a short distance away. The two girls stood a little apart from their parents. Lily seemed to be pleading with her sister; Harry moved closer to listen.
Snape's mother apparently cared enough for him to take him to King's Cross, her demeanor was noted to haven't changed since her age of 15, yet Snape was looking at Evans family and couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts and get rid of his muggle clothes. Things weren't all right in Snape household and young Severus couldn't wait any longer to leave it behind.
We can't say what happened to Eileen after this scene. She could've died, could've moved to hospital, moved out from Spinner's End, all of these are up for speculation and I hope I have covered Eileen's backstory and her relationship with Tobias into this while trying my take on Tobias Snape's behaviour.
Oh, looking at the setting as a war veteran, I remember a fanfiction I once saw where the main character, a Russian professor, was trying to come see Snape, and Tobias said "commies!" and he started hitting the main character. Haha, the main character couldn't stand it so he knocked Tobias out.
![](https://alwayssnape.com/wp-content/uploads/avatars/1/1680886325-bpfull.png)
Quote from Heatherlly on March 19, 2024, 9:04 amQuote from comet on March 19, 2024, 6:02 amI was curious about how other people imagined the two people met. Certainly, if you have a lot of discussions like this as a fan, you will be able to learn a lot of different opinions. I thought it would be beneficial.
It is beneficial! Please don't take my counterpoints as criticism – I loved reading your analysis, and I enjoy discussing and debating different possibilities.
Also, thanks for sharing that info about Korea and Japan. I don't know as much about that part of the world as I should – that's definitely something I need to work on.
Quote from comet on March 19, 2024, 6:02 amI was curious about how other people imagined the two people met. Certainly, if you have a lot of discussions like this as a fan, you will be able to learn a lot of different opinions. I thought it would be beneficial.
It is beneficial! Please don't take my counterpoints as criticism – I loved reading your analysis, and I enjoy discussing and debating different possibilities.
Also, thanks for sharing that info about Korea and Japan. I don't know as much about that part of the world as I should – that's definitely something I need to work on.
Quote from comet on March 19, 2024, 9:27 amQuote from Heatherlly on March 19, 2024, 9:04 amQuote from comet on March 19, 2024, 6:02 amI was curious about how other people imagined the two people met. Certainly, if you have a lot of discussions like this as a fan, you will be able to learn a lot of different opinions. I thought it would be beneficial.
It is beneficial! Please don't take my counterpoints as criticism – I loved reading your analysis, and I enjoy discussing and debating different possibilities.
Also, thanks for sharing that info about Korea and Japan. I don't know as much about that part of the world as I should – that's definitely something I need to work on.
Something felt strange, so I translated what I wrote, but the translated result was different from what I intended...
I was curious about how other people imagined the two people met. Certainly, if have a lot of discussions like this as a fan, will be able to learn a lot of different opinions. I thought it would be beneficial.
↑This is what I originally intended, but I wonder if “you” was inserted twice in the middle. There is a problem with what I wrote at the beginning. I never added the word “you” when I wrote it. sorry. Why did... Damn translator... "당신/너(you)"I didn't even put this kind of content, but why did that come out....
I edited the original text first. I'll have to take a closer look and write next time. I'm really sorry if you felt uncomfortable while reading this post. The comment below was not written aimed at Heatherlly, but for all members, but for some reason, I entered an incorrect letter that I did not include, so it feels like a quarrel, so I'm really sorry.
Quote from Heatherlly on March 19, 2024, 9:04 amQuote from comet on March 19, 2024, 6:02 amI was curious about how other people imagined the two people met. Certainly, if you have a lot of discussions like this as a fan, you will be able to learn a lot of different opinions. I thought it would be beneficial.
It is beneficial! Please don't take my counterpoints as criticism – I loved reading your analysis, and I enjoy discussing and debating different possibilities.
Also, thanks for sharing that info about Korea and Japan. I don't know as much about that part of the world as I should – that's definitely something I need to work on.
Something felt strange, so I translated what I wrote, but the translated result was different from what I intended...
I was curious about how other people imagined the two people met. Certainly, if have a lot of discussions like this as a fan, will be able to learn a lot of different opinions. I thought it would be beneficial.
↑This is what I originally intended, but I wonder if “you” was inserted twice in the middle. There is a problem with what I wrote at the beginning. I never added the word “you” when I wrote it. sorry. Why did... Damn translator... "당신/너(you)"I didn't even put this kind of content, but why did that come out....
I edited the original text first. I'll have to take a closer look and write next time. I'm really sorry if you felt uncomfortable while reading this post. The comment below was not written aimed at Heatherlly, but for all members, but for some reason, I entered an incorrect letter that I did not include, so it feels like a quarrel, so I'm really sorry.