Snape and Muggle Prejudice
We know that Snape was prejudiced against muggles in his childhood and teenage days. Do you think same held true for him before his death? Why or why not?
If I recall correctly, Snape got angry when Phineas Nigellus called Hermione Granger a 'Mudblood' in Book 7.
Quote from mmlf on July 12, 2023, 2:36 amIf I recall correctly, Snape got angry when Phineas Nigellus called Hermione Granger a 'Mudblood' in Book 7.
I mean prejudice against muggles. There is difference between prejudice against muggles and muggleborns. Characters like Hagrid, so called good guys were prejudiced against muggles, not muggleborns.
I don't know if prejudiced is the word I would use. But I don't think he would have been overly fond of them.
Considering the upbringing he had, and his preference for his mother's side of the family, it's fair to assume he prefers his wizarding relations.
At the same time, he continued to reside in Spinner's End. Maybe he lived there as he believed that he didn't deserve anything better than his neglected childhood home. But it's likely that he at the very least tolerates the muggles he's surrounded by, regardless of what feelings he harbours for them.
It might be worthy to note that although he did revisit Spinner's End, which is confirmed to be a muggle dwelling, it's incredibly outdated by muggle standards. There's no sign of any modern muggle technology, I consider that another indication of his preference for magic. I don't believe Severus would have been without the means to at least update the lighting and put a TV on the wall.
I don't believe Severus' distaste for muggles to be anywhere near a Death Eater level. I see it as Severus considering wizards superior to muggles, but not in an overtly loud way. Maybe more like a disinterest.
I agree, my headcanon is Snape still held belief that wizards are superior to muggles but he won't be vocal about it or wants them dead. He mostly lives like a pure-blood wizard, wears full wizarding robes and seems typical pure-blood at first glance.
I think his living in Spinners End is not a proof of his muggle acceptance, his home area was described in a way that probably keeps him alone. He also spent 9 out of 12 months in Hogwarts and I think he spent the rest of three months somewhere else like at Malfoys for most of days.
So, I mean that Snape's opinion of muggles is no worse than the likes of Hagrid, McGonagall, Harry etc. and better than Death Eaters like Lucius, Bellatrix and of course, Voldemort.
I wouldn't really say the word prejudice, but I do think Severus developed a certain mindset about Muggles because of his life at home.
It's hinted to in the text in the chapter of The Prince's Tale in The Deathly Hallows that his relationship with his muggle father, Tobias, wasn't the best. As for any kid, your first interpretations about people and the world is always going to be your parents! And as Severus tells Lily, his dad doesn't like much of anything, even magic. So this tells me that the mindset Severus develops about muggles all stems from his relationship with his father, which is even hinted to be abusive.
This sadly leads us to how he deals with Petunia as a person too. Even if she is Lily's sister, Petunia is a muggle, and that already gives him a certain mindset about her. However, Petunia's treatment towards Severus doesn't help change this for him. If she acted friendly towards him instead of criticizing him for how he dressed or where he lives, then it could have gone differently between them. However, it only leads to further implementing the idea that muggles will treat him terribly and don't know any better.
Hence, already having bad mindsets/examples of muggles, Severus instead clings to his identity as a wizard. To him it's the only thing he has left, but even that can be a bit shaky with how everything went down for him at Hogwarts.
However, I don't think he would ever act on it. Not like Voldy and other Death Eaters. Sure, he may have a certain mindset about them, but if anything, he just doesn't have an interest in them. As others have said, he just considers wizards superior to muggles, but in the end, they are all still people.
