The Snapeist Characters in Other Media

#1 · May 4, 2023, 7:08 pm

Severus Snape is one of the most recognizable characters from the Harry Potter series, apart from Harry Potter himself, due to his characterization and role as a grey character. It's common for people to associate one character from one medium with another from another medium, and Snape is no exception.

Who do you think are the Snapeist (or the most Snape-like) characters in different franchises, and why? This can be a single character from a franchise of your choice, or this can be a handful of characters that have certain traits.

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#2 · May 4, 2023, 10:49 pm

Since my mind is on Naruto right now, the combination of character proposed is Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha and Obito Uchiha.

Sasuke represents the teen Snape, a genius outcast who drifted away from his best friend in search of power (went to Orochimaru who has similarities with Voldemort). He later feel deeper into his hatred and vengeance which ties up with Snape getting Dark progressively.

Itachi represents the adult Snape, a double agent who was loyal to Konoha(Dumbledore), who sacrificed himself for his brother Sasuke and Konoha (Harry and Hogwarts), misunderstood to be evil, a brave and self-sacrificing hero. Even the use of Itachi by Danzo is somewhat similar to Snape's use by Dumbledore.

Obito represents the love part of Snape. Obito like Snape had a childhood best friend Rin whom they both loved unrequited. They both changed after death of the girl, Obito got dark and Snape got light. They both had hands in death of people they loved(Snape with Lily and Dumbledore, Obito with Minato and Kushina). Both were forgiven by the protagonists for their evil and even admired by Harry and Naruto.

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#3 · May 5, 2023, 12:17 am

This quote perfectly sums up Snape.

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#4 · June 5, 2023, 9:05 am

Quote from SanctuaryAngel on June 5, 2023, 9:05 am

Regina Mills / The Evil Queen

(Once Upon A Time)

I feel like the journeys of both Severus and Regina mirror in some ways, not only their personalities but their upbringing and path from darkness to light, all cascading from the moment they lost their loved one.

As an only child, Regina was emotionally abused by her mother Cora who intended for Regina to take the mantle as Queen from King Leopold - Snow White's father. But Regina - once young and innocent - fell in love with a stable boy, hiding her forbidden love from her mother until the day he was discovered, and he was killed in front of her.

With a now hardened heart from the murder and the grooming of 'love is weakness', she married King Henry and took the throne. But she lived in a loveless marriage, forced to watch her husband care for his daughter's happiness more than her own.

I won't delve too much into her history, because it's complicated, but the similarities are this -

Out of an unforeseen event, their respective loved ones were murdered

There was a turning point in their youth when dark magic enticed them to follow that path when an event causes them to want to change their ways

Both with shared jealousy of those who made them unhappy (Snow/James)

Both enticed by a dark sorcerer

Both began their long path to redemption, but a very lonely one.

Both have a prominent child in their lives - Regina with her son, Henry, who is determined to earn his love (He still sees her as the Evil Queen - long story). Severus with Harry, Lily's son, whom he dedicates his life to protect, yet still sees him as evil anyway.

Both are seen as outcasts at a time and cast away.

Both try and do the right thing, but are seen as evil anyway

Both lived a path of a loveless life, scorned by their past, which hardened their hearts

Both gave their lives for 'a greater good'

Both consumed in guilt and shame for their past actions

Both have a snarky, cunning, bitter, cruel, antagonistic personality, but are also intelligent, self-sacrificing, selfless later in their arc, brave, ambitious and loyal to their cause.

Both dabble in potions and complicated magic

Both have an abusive parent

Both were an only child (For Regina, she discovers she has a half-sister, but much later in her story)

Both had a parent who did not protect them from such abuse from the other parent

I do headcanon Severus and Regina to be besties in an AU life, because they have a lot in common.

Regina Mills / The Evil Queen

(Once Upon A Time)

I feel like the journeys of both Severus and Regina mirror in some ways, not only their personalities but their upbringing and path from darkness to light, all cascading from the moment they lost their loved one.

As an only child, Regina was emotionally abused by her mother Cora who intended for Regina to take the mantle as Queen from King Leopold - Snow White's father. But Regina - once young and innocent - fell in love with a stable boy, hiding her forbidden love from her mother until the day he was discovered, and he was killed in front of her.

With a now hardened heart from the murder and the grooming of 'love is weakness', she married King Henry and took the throne. But she lived in a loveless marriage, forced to watch her husband care for his daughter's happiness more than her own.

I won't delve too much into her history, because it's complicated, but the similarities are this -

Out of an unforeseen event, their respective loved ones were murdered
There was a turning point in their youth when dark magic enticed them to follow that path when an event causes them to want to change their ways
Both with shared jealousy of those who made them unhappy (Snow/James)
Both enticed by a dark sorcerer
Both began their long path to redemption, but a very lonely one.
Both have a prominent child in their lives - Regina with her son, Henry, who is determined to earn his love (He still sees her as the Evil Queen - long story). Severus with Harry, Lily's son, whom he dedicates his life to protect, yet still sees him as evil anyway.
Both are seen as outcasts at a time and cast away.
Both try and do the right thing, but are seen as evil anyway
Both lived a path of a loveless life, scorned by their past, which hardened their hearts
Both gave their lives for 'a greater good'
Both consumed in guilt and shame for their past actions
Both have a snarky, cunning, bitter, cruel, antagonistic personality, but are also intelligent, self-sacrificing, selfless later in their arc, brave, ambitious and loyal to their cause.
Both dabble in potions and complicated magic
Both have an abusive parent
Both were an only child (For Regina, she discovers she has a half-sister, but much later in her story)
Both had a parent who did not protect them from such abuse from the other parent

I do headcanon Severus and Regina to be besties in an AU life, because they have a lot in common.

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#5 · June 5, 2023, 11:31 am

Omg! A fellow OUAT fan!

I honestly never thought of this comparison! But probably because Regina’s life does improve later on and she has people who care for her. Snape literally had no one and his love was one-sided.

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#6 · June 5, 2023, 11:42 am

Quote from Dark Angel on June 5, 2023, 11:42 am
Snape Heathcliff Comparison
I found this interesting comparison which was written prior to DH. Some good points are raised but I have to say that Heathcliff is much crueler and more vindictive than Snape, at least that’s my opinion. Snape never goes as far as Heathcliff and he never seeks revenge against Lily for choosing James over him (that is why I don’t see him as an incel)

“I beheld his black eyes withdraw suspiciously under their brows…”

Sounds like something one might say about our beloved Severus, doesn’t it? Except the speaker here is not talking about Snape and his “glinting,” “black” eyes. No, this is what Lockwood states upon first seeing Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. Both Emily Bronte and JKR make frequent use of eye descriptions to help characterize the people they have created. Therefore, it only follows suit that Heathcliff and Snape have much more in common than their eyes.

Both Snape and Heathcliff find themselves in a place where they do not traditionally belong. Heathcliff, orphaned at a young age, is taken in by the Earnshaws. He quickly becomes the favorite of Mr. Earnshaw, but is mistreated after his death by Hindley (Mr. Earnshaw’s son, who lost his father’s favor to Heathcliff). Heathcliff disappears for a number of years and returns with money, something that was denied to orphan boys in the 19th century. Through a series of Machiavellian maneuvers, he comes to own the Heights and the Grange, although he looses them in the end. Sound at all familiar? Snape also has a socially unfavorable background: he is a half blood, and yet he is sorted into Slytherin house (reminiscent of Heathcliff’s adoption). Snape is mistreated in school, constantly taunted by the Marauders (JKR’s equivalent of Hindley, although Snape never appears to have had the upper hand). After graduation Snape fades away for a while. We know he became a Death Eater, and in this way he erases his half-blood past (although it comes back to haunt him in the form of a potions book belonging the Half-Blood Prince). He comes to work at Hogwarts, and is generally the picture of Machiavelli’s Prince. He is still missing something, however: the DADA position. In HBP, he is finally given the position, only to be driven away from Hogwarts. Anyone thinking Hogwarts = Heights, DADA position = Grange? I certainly am.

Their motives also share an uncanny resemblance. Snape, like Heathcliff, is fueled by vengeance. Snape despises Harry because he is James’s son. Likewise, Heathcliff tortures Hareton and Catherine, punishing them for the deeds of the father (or, in Catherine’s case, mother).

This leads me to wonder if Snape -- while capable of cold vengeance and deception -- is also capable of all-consuming, passionate love. I am thinking of Lily in particular, the wife of Snape’s enemy. If Snape and Lily were in love, then their relationship would mirror the relationship Catherine and Heathcliff share. Both are forbidden (social class getting in the way of one, house rivalries getting in the way of the other), unlikely (at least Edgar Linton and James Potter would find it so), and end in marriages to the enemy. This would not suggest that James loves Lily any less than we are led to believe in canon. After all, even knowing how his wife feels about Heathcliff, Edgar Linton still looks forward to death so he can be with her. Lily does not love James any less, either. Catherine has two personalities, one of which loves Linton, the other of which loves Heathcliff. We already have suggestions in cannon that there is more to Lily than we expect. Her excellence in both potions and charms (granted, her excellence in charms is implied) could foreshadow a duel personality, much like Catherine’s.

If Snape was Lily’s Heathcliff, this would shine new light on Snape’s relationship with Harry. Edgar Linton tells his daughter that she should not go to the Heights because Heathcliff hates him. Edgar is not aware of the vengeance Heathcliff has pledged on Catherine. While Edgar thinks his daughter will be mistreated because of Heathcliff’s hatred of Edgar, it is really Heathcliff’s overwhelming love for Catherine and her subsequent decision to marry Edgar (Heathcliff does not appear to blame Edgar for Catherine’s decision) that puts Edgar’s daughter in a nasty position. Snape hates Harry, presumably because of James. However, Snape paid off his life debt to James in PS/SS. This is interesting considering Snape resented James for saving him despite their long-standing hatred for each other. Wouldn’t the absence of the life debt eliminate Snape’s need for revenge? Perhaps Snape has been particularly nasty to Harry for the last 5 years not because of the father, but because of the mother.

In Wuthering Heights, there is a discrepancy between the reader’s perception of Heathcliff and who Heathcliff actually is. Critic Joyce Carol Oates suggests that Isabella, Heathcliff’s wife, is in the same position as the reader. Like the reader, Isabella sees Heathcliff as a romantic hero. She is willing to leave her family and run away with Heathcliff into the night because of the love she has for him (or the person she perceives him to be). She sees him as a man who can be changed by love. Likewise, the reader rationalizes his vengeful behavior by blaming it on lost love. Both Isabella and the reader are incorrect, however. Heathcliff is vengeful because that is the way he is. Heathcliff is vengeful long before he lost Catherine (he pledged vengeance on Hindley before the Lintons were introduced), and he continues to be vengeful after. He seeks vengeance on Catherine for leaving him for a more affluent man, but vengeance does not become a part of his nature because of her actions.

JKR plays a similar trick on the reader in regards to Snape. The reader rationalizes his behavior towards Harry by placing the blame on James, Tobias Snape, etc. We start to believe that Snape is a product of teasing, an abusive household (although this is never stated explicitly in canon), etc. Is this really the case, however? Snape might resent his past, and seek vengeance on those who made his past Hell, but he is not the Snape we all know because of his past. He is Snape because that is who he is. It has nothing to do with anyone else.

In Wuthering Heights, several characters compare Heathcliff to the devil, implying that he is incapable of love. That is obviously not the case; he merely fails to express his love in a traditional way. We should also not be led to believe that Snape is incapable of love (whether or not he had anything going on with Lily). He is. Dumbledore’s confidence in Snape is evidence of this. Dumbledore would NEVER trust anyone who was incapable of love because love is the difference between Voldemort and everyone else (even the Death Eaters). Love did not change Snape, but that does not mean it was never an integral part of his life. Love of any kind will not change Snape, but that does not mean it is not in his future (as I suspect it is).

Snape and Heathcliff

Severus Snape is very similar to Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. I don’t know if this has been confirmed as of yet but its absolutely true. You have the initial similarities like being in love with a dead woman for many, many years but it’s certainly deeper than that.

They were both reviled from the very beginning and were poorly treated by the other children apart from one young girl. The bond that Heathcliff and Cathy had with each other especially when they were young is very reflective of the bond between Severus and Lily. This friendship appeared to end after harshly spoken, hurtful words, just inverted as it was Severus who hurt Lily, not the other way round.

Severus joined the death eaters to win Lily back, seduced by the belief that if he had power and prestige he would be more appealing to her. The reasoning is flawed at best but, nonetheless, it is what happened. By comparison, Heathcliff left to better and improve himself, gaining wealth and, subsequently, influence before he returned to effectively bid for Cathy’s affections, Cathy by this point having moved on and married Linton.

Regardless of the power that both men had, they were never really viewed differently by the main players of their time who always saw them as being the uncouth boys they had been before. The exercise was effectively redundant, it didn’t change much of anything in the grand scheme of things.

Cathy died, leaving behind a child. Lily died, leaving behind a child and both Heathcliff and Severus were emotionally devestated. Heathcliff screamed for Cathy to “be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss where I cannot find you! Oh god! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” Can you see Severus saying something similar? I sure as hell can. (on a side note, yes, I remembered that qoute completely from memory as I have actually performed that speech).

The two characters were fairly unkind before but after the deaths of the loves of their lives, they spiralled into a seemingly never-ending cycle of hate, malice and cruelty. Poor Hareton gets it big time, much like Harry did. Both Heathcliff and Severus continue to love Cathy and Lily respectively and their love for these ghosts becomes a central, focal point of their lives. In terms of their legacies, it is that which becomes the thing for which they are remembered for by we as the reader.

In terms of personality, both Heathcliff and Severus were particularly unkind and could never really be considered to be wholesome, good people. They both had key choices to be made that could have improved their lives and they both chose to continue down a dark and twisted path which, ultimately, is what creates the misery on their lives. They mourn their loss but they never move on, a natural part of grief. Severus’ patronus is Lily’s doe and this it shall stay. Always.

I’m not saying they are exact carbon copies of each other because they aren’t. Severus demonstrates remarkable bravery and a commitment to protect the students under his care as best as he could while maintaining the facade that allowed him to later slink back into Voldemort’s grace. His cruelty was vindictive and yes, sometimes, it would have been personal. His enduring love for Lily is a pure force that drives him to continue putting his life on the line and fighting for the light. Severus posesses the ability to feel his own version of warmth towards others (look at Albus and Draco if you want examples) whereas, by contrast, Heathcliff is nothing like that. He ruined his marriage because she wasn’t Cathy and he wandered in his home like a wraith, frequently lashing out at the subjugated Hareton. Despite all of that, he was still a better father figure for Hareton than Hindley had ever been.

There are key differences between the two characters but, on the whole, I feel that, in part, Severus’ character and story must have been based partly on Heathcliff.

Snape Heathcliff Comparison
I found this interesting comparison which was written prior to DH. Some good points are raised but I have to say that Heathcliff is much crueler and more vindictive than Snape, at least that’s my opinion. Snape never goes as far as Heathcliff and he never seeks revenge against Lily for choosing James over him (that is why I don’t see him as an incel)

“I beheld his black eyes withdraw suspiciously under their brows…”

Sounds like something one might say about our beloved Severus, doesn’t it? Except the speaker here is not talking about Snape and his “glinting,” “black” eyes. No, this is what Lockwood states upon first seeing Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. Both Emily Bronte and JKR make frequent use of eye descriptions to help characterize the people they have created. Therefore, it only follows suit that Heathcliff and Snape have much more in common than their eyes.

Both Snape and Heathcliff find themselves in a place where they do not traditionally belong. Heathcliff, orphaned at a young age, is taken in by the Earnshaws. He quickly becomes the favorite of Mr. Earnshaw, but is mistreated after his death by Hindley (Mr. Earnshaw’s son, who lost his father’s favor to Heathcliff). Heathcliff disappears for a number of years and returns with money, something that was denied to orphan boys in the 19th century. Through a series of Machiavellian maneuvers, he comes to own the Heights and the Grange, although he looses them in the end. Sound at all familiar? Snape also has a socially unfavorable background: he is a half blood, and yet he is sorted into Slytherin house (reminiscent of Heathcliff’s adoption). Snape is mistreated in school, constantly taunted by the Marauders (JKR’s equivalent of Hindley, although Snape never appears to have had the upper hand). After graduation Snape fades away for a while. We know he became a Death Eater, and in this way he erases his half-blood past (although it comes back to haunt him in the form of a potions book belonging the Half-Blood Prince). He comes to work at Hogwarts, and is generally the picture of Machiavelli’s Prince. He is still missing something, however: the DADA position. In HBP, he is finally given the position, only to be driven away from Hogwarts. Anyone thinking Hogwarts = Heights, DADA position = Grange? I certainly am.

Their motives also share an uncanny resemblance. Snape, like Heathcliff, is fueled by vengeance. Snape despises Harry because he is James’s son. Likewise, Heathcliff tortures Hareton and Catherine, punishing them for the deeds of the father (or, in Catherine’s case, mother).

This leads me to wonder if Snape -- while capable of cold vengeance and deception -- is also capable of all-consuming, passionate love. I am thinking of Lily in particular, the wife of Snape’s enemy. If Snape and Lily were in love, then their relationship would mirror the relationship Catherine and Heathcliff share. Both are forbidden (social class getting in the way of one, house rivalries getting in the way of the other), unlikely (at least Edgar Linton and James Potter would find it so), and end in marriages to the enemy. This would not suggest that James loves Lily any less than we are led to believe in canon. After all, even knowing how his wife feels about Heathcliff, Edgar Linton still looks forward to death so he can be with her. Lily does not love James any less, either. Catherine has two personalities, one of which loves Linton, the other of which loves Heathcliff. We already have suggestions in cannon that there is more to Lily than we expect. Her excellence in both potions and charms (granted, her excellence in charms is implied) could foreshadow a duel personality, much like Catherine’s.

If Snape was Lily’s Heathcliff, this would shine new light on Snape’s relationship with Harry. Edgar Linton tells his daughter that she should not go to the Heights because Heathcliff hates him. Edgar is not aware of the vengeance Heathcliff has pledged on Catherine. While Edgar thinks his daughter will be mistreated because of Heathcliff’s hatred of Edgar, it is really Heathcliff’s overwhelming love for Catherine and her subsequent decision to marry Edgar (Heathcliff does not appear to blame Edgar for Catherine’s decision) that puts Edgar’s daughter in a nasty position. Snape hates Harry, presumably because of James. However, Snape paid off his life debt to James in PS/SS. This is interesting considering Snape resented James for saving him despite their long-standing hatred for each other. Wouldn’t the absence of the life debt eliminate Snape’s need for revenge? Perhaps Snape has been particularly nasty to Harry for the last 5 years not because of the father, but because of the mother.

In Wuthering Heights, there is a discrepancy between the reader’s perception of Heathcliff and who Heathcliff actually is. Critic Joyce Carol Oates suggests that Isabella, Heathcliff’s wife, is in the same position as the reader. Like the reader, Isabella sees Heathcliff as a romantic hero. She is willing to leave her family and run away with Heathcliff into the night because of the love she has for him (or the person she perceives him to be). She sees him as a man who can be changed by love. Likewise, the reader rationalizes his vengeful behavior by blaming it on lost love. Both Isabella and the reader are incorrect, however. Heathcliff is vengeful because that is the way he is. Heathcliff is vengeful long before he lost Catherine (he pledged vengeance on Hindley before the Lintons were introduced), and he continues to be vengeful after. He seeks vengeance on Catherine for leaving him for a more affluent man, but vengeance does not become a part of his nature because of her actions.

JKR plays a similar trick on the reader in regards to Snape. The reader rationalizes his behavior towards Harry by placing the blame on James, Tobias Snape, etc. We start to believe that Snape is a product of teasing, an abusive household (although this is never stated explicitly in canon), etc. Is this really the case, however? Snape might resent his past, and seek vengeance on those who made his past Hell, but he is not the Snape we all know because of his past. He is Snape because that is who he is. It has nothing to do with anyone else.

In Wuthering Heights, several characters compare Heathcliff to the devil, implying that he is incapable of love. That is obviously not the case; he merely fails to express his love in a traditional way. We should also not be led to believe that Snape is incapable of love (whether or not he had anything going on with Lily). He is. Dumbledore’s confidence in Snape is evidence of this. Dumbledore would NEVER trust anyone who was incapable of love because love is the difference between Voldemort and everyone else (even the Death Eaters). Love did not change Snape, but that does not mean it was never an integral part of his life. Love of any kind will not change Snape, but that does not mean it is not in his future (as I suspect it is).

Snape and Heathcliff

Severus Snape is very similar to Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. I don’t know if this has been confirmed as of yet but its absolutely true. You have the initial similarities like being in love with a dead woman for many, many years but it’s certainly deeper than that.

They were both reviled from the very beginning and were poorly treated by the other children apart from one young girl. The bond that Heathcliff and Cathy had with each other especially when they were young is very reflective of the bond between Severus and Lily. This friendship appeared to end after harshly spoken, hurtful words, just inverted as it was Severus who hurt Lily, not the other way round.

Severus joined the death eaters to win Lily back, seduced by the belief that if he had power and prestige he would be more appealing to her. The reasoning is flawed at best but, nonetheless, it is what happened. By comparison, Heathcliff left to better and improve himself, gaining wealth and, subsequently, influence before he returned to effectively bid for Cathy’s affections, Cathy by this point having moved on and married Linton.

Regardless of the power that both men had, they were never really viewed differently by the main players of their time who always saw them as being the uncouth boys they had been before. The exercise was effectively redundant, it didn’t change much of anything in the grand scheme of things.

Cathy died, leaving behind a child. Lily died, leaving behind a child and both Heathcliff and Severus were emotionally devestated. Heathcliff screamed for Cathy to “be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss where I cannot find you! Oh god! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” Can you see Severus saying something similar? I sure as hell can. (on a side note, yes, I remembered that qoute completely from memory as I have actually performed that speech).

The two characters were fairly unkind before but after the deaths of the loves of their lives, they spiralled into a seemingly never-ending cycle of hate, malice and cruelty. Poor Hareton gets it big time, much like Harry did. Both Heathcliff and Severus continue to love Cathy and Lily respectively and their love for these ghosts becomes a central, focal point of their lives. In terms of their legacies, it is that which becomes the thing for which they are remembered for by we as the reader.

In terms of personality, both Heathcliff and Severus were particularly unkind and could never really be considered to be wholesome, good people. They both had key choices to be made that could have improved their lives and they both chose to continue down a dark and twisted path which, ultimately, is what creates the misery on their lives. They mourn their loss but they never move on, a natural part of grief. Severus’ patronus is Lily’s doe and this it shall stay. Always.

I’m not saying they are exact carbon copies of each other because they aren’t. Severus demonstrates remarkable bravery and a commitment to protect the students under his care as best as he could while maintaining the facade that allowed him to later slink back into Voldemort’s grace. His cruelty was vindictive and yes, sometimes, it would have been personal. His enduring love for Lily is a pure force that drives him to continue putting his life on the line and fighting for the light. Severus posesses the ability to feel his own version of warmth towards others (look at Albus and Draco if you want examples) whereas, by contrast, Heathcliff is nothing like that. He ruined his marriage because she wasn’t Cathy and he wandered in his home like a wraith, frequently lashing out at the subjugated Hareton. Despite all of that, he was still a better father figure for Hareton than Hindley had ever been.

There are key differences between the two characters but, on the whole, I feel that, in part, Severus’ character and story must have been based partly on Heathcliff.

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#7 · June 5, 2023, 12:01 pm

Quote from Dark Angel on June 5, 2023, 11:31 am

Omg! A fellow OUAT fan!

I honestly never thought of this comparison! But probably because Regina’s life does improve later on and she has people who care for her. Snape literally had no one and his love was one-sided.

Oh, definitely! Their lives definitely take different turns, but both lived lives of loneliness and darkness, filled with guilt over lost loves and being seen as evil in the times when they are not. Regina definitely got the happier path.

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