Poll: Who do you think Severus Snape hated the most?
Select the person you think Snape hated the most, also explain the reason for it.
Himself.
I hate to say that because it's fucking tragic, but none of these people would've had such a detrimental effect on his life were it not for his own choices. Some of those choices weren't his fault (i.e. wanting to be in Slytherin), but all of them led to a terrible outcome (Lily's death).
Of course, that doesn't mean he didn't hate the others. He did, and justifiably so in most cases. But whatever they did, I don't think he could ignore the fact that he was the common denominator. If he'd handled this differently or that differently, Lily wouldn't have died.
That's the thing about James (and Harry later on). I do think memories of bullying bothered him, but much more than that, James/Harry are a stark reminder of everything he lost/his own failures. Same with Remus and Sirius to a lesser degree… I doubt he would've resented any of them as much were it not for what ultimately happened to Lily.
In that context, he has more direct reasons to hate Pettigrew and Voldemort. Even there though, they were the bullets, while Severus (however unintentionally) was the one who fired the gun (i.e. delivered the prophecy).
Don't get me wrong – I don't think he was responsible on the same level that they were. They acted knowingly and maliciously, while he made a terrible mistake. That's my perspective though, not his. I think he would hold himself equally responsible, if not more so. This could also explain why he didn't blame Dumbledore more for failing to keep her safe. If it wasn't for him (Severus) she wouldn't have needed protection in the first place.
Tobias? I know he was abusive, but I think he ranks much lower than the others. For all of Severus's dysfunction (especially as an adult) "daddy issues" seemed to be the least of his problems. 😂
@heatherlly, I do agree with some of your points regarding Snape hating himself for his choices and role he played in the Lily's death
Ultimately I think he hated James the most of all due to the following reasons:
- He was bullied from the Hogwarts express itself by the marauders led by James. A young child Severus was excited to go to Hogwarts and get away from his abusive father. James took away this excitement and made his life hell in this place. We can see from his demeanor in the SWM that marauders' bullying had done a number on him.
- James destroyed his credibility by claiming to save him from a fatal situation in the whooping willow. James was not silenced and he spread a story in his favour while Snape was silenced and not allowed justice.
- The infamous SWM where he suffered the worse humiliation in his life and lost his best friend, the trauma of it was carried by him till his death. Snape lost it when Harry saw the SWM and lost it again when Harry tried using Levicorpus against him. This confirms a PTSD from the SWM.
- James married Lily, the girl Snape loved and James won through lies and deceit.
- James trusted Peter with responsibility of secret keeper despite Dumbledore volunteering on Snape's behalf and got himself and Lily killed. Snape likely held James responsible in Lily's death by trusting wrong man over Albus Dumbledore and his failure to protect Lily. Following scene from the POA supports this hypothesis.
‘SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!’ Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. ‘Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck, you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he’d killed you! You’d have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black – now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!’
- His loathing was so potent that even the man's death could not quench it. He transferred all that loathing onto Harry. He bullied Harry because he thought of Harry as James 2.0 and this time as Professor he held the power over the Potter. This one scene from a fic I read perfectly explains Snape's thoughts in presence of Harry.
The boy's anger was more potent than any praise, any starry-eyed reverence; it set off a thrill that was almost like pleasure. He wanted him angry, wanted him scowling and sneering and yelling in his face. Let him be the who lost control, the one who made a fool of himself, while Snape stood over him the way he could never stand over his father.
So I conclude that it was James whom Snape hated the most followed by the other marauders. He also ranked himself in the hate list probably just below the marauders. He hated Tobias in the childhood but as @heatherlly put it, he never gave a second thought towards Tobias as an adult. He was never shown hating Lord Voldemort despite being Lily's killer and he didn't hate Albus Dumbledore despite failing in his promise to protect Lily and using him as a chess piece on the board.
@kris You laid out those points very well, and I can totally see where you're coming from. I do think James is at the top of the list of other people, a common denominator in so many pivotal/detrimental moments, just like Severus himself.
What really stands out to me (especially after reading your post) is the incredible amount of nuance involved. There are so many layers/different reasons for Severus to feel and react the way he does, to the point where the question itself is reductive. In other words, I don't think there was one person he hated most throughout the course of his life. Emotions are variable, not static, and I'm sure his feelings fluctuated depending on what he was going through/who he was dealing with at any given time. Hatred also manifests itself in different ways, which is especially notable in this case:
He was never shown hating Lord Voldemort despite being Lily's killer…
It's not that he didn't show it. It's that he couldn't show it, which is both the cruelest and most remarkable thing about his role as a double agent. He had to hide those feelings, bury them so deep that Voldemort, ostensibly the most powerful Legilimens in the world, couldn't detect even the slightest hint of his dislike. I don't think that worked like a light switch, something he could turn on and off at will. He would've had to condition himself to rigidly control and suppress those feelings at all times.
It's a stark contrast with how he behaves toward Harry, but it's not necessarily an indication that he hated James more than Voldemort or vice versa. It comes down to what he was able to express, and in Harry's case, he could afford to lose his shit from time to time. The same obviously isn't true for Voldemort… the tiniest slip could've easily lost the war/gotten himself and others killed.
I think this is one of the reasons why his reactions toward Harry can be so extreme. Yes, he has plenty of James-related trauma, and I'm not dismissing that, but he's also forced to suppress negative feelings toward a lot of other people. He can't go around screaming at Voldemort, can't attack Wormtail for betraying Lily's location. He has to toe the line with Dumbledore, etc. Harry is different, the one person he can go off on without negative repercussions.
A lot of that has to do with James. Of course it does. But I think it's bigger than that, a level of anger that goes beyond his feelings toward a single person. When he's raging at Harry, he's raging at James, himself, Voldemort, Wormtail, the entire situation, etc. He might choose to focus on James when losing his shit, but it's also safe territory. Whatever else he might be feeling, he doesn't have the luxury of acknowledging it aloud.
Anyway, this is a bit of a ramble. The point I'm trying to make is, it's difficult to judge what Severus is feeling based on his words/actions. He (through necessity or otherwise) is a character who hides much more than he reveals.
@heatherlly, I agree that he would have hated Voldemort while having to hide that hatred under his occulomency.
But one thing that Snape didn't hide was expressing his opinion on the matters which he disliked and people he hated. He many times expressed that he hated Harry because he was arrogant, attention seeking, rule breaker, lazy and untalented. He disliked Hermione for being an insufferable know-it-all. He openly expressed his disdain of Sirius and Lupin. He took out his frustrations on Wormtail while he was sent by Voldemort in the Spinner's End to spy on him. He argued with Dumbledore over his decisions related to the war, Harry and himself. Only by Voldemort's side that he had hidden his true feelings related to his hatred of Voldemort and his cause.
He hated pity above all else and that's why he lashed out with the word 'mudblood', he downplayed his home condition to Lily and he wanted Dumbledore's word to not tell Harry anything because he didn't want pity from James Potter's son.
I agree, though in most of those cases, he still showed a great deal of restraint. For example, he was condescending toward Wormtail, but he could never express why he hated him so much. Same with Remus and Sirius… his dislike might've been obvious, but he continued to suppress many of the reasons for that dislike. And while I agree that he showed his displeasure with Dumbledore, there was always a limit, a line he wouldn't/couldn't cross.
I it wasn't trying to claim that he hid all his feelings, only that he was rarely (if ever) able to express them without reservation. That (at least partially) is why I think he used Harry as a scapegoat. A lot of it did have to do with James, as mentioned, but more than that, I think he needed an outlet for all of his frustrations.
Totally agree with you about the pity thing. Severus is an extraordinarily proud person, often to his own detriment, which goes back to his feelings toward Remus and Sirius. He could never admit that (for good reason) he was afraid of Remus, or that Sirius's actions caused him serious, long-lasting trauma. He may express those feelings in other ways, but what he hides is much more significant than what he reveals.
He hated Hermione for being an insufferable know-it-all.
I don't think he hated Hermione, certainly not for the reason you stated. She annoyed him, primarily due to her relationship with Harry, but "hate" is a strong word. Hermione wasn't responsible for the trauma he suffered, nor was she a direct reminder of that trauma like Harry was. She doesn't belong in the same category as people he actually hated (James, Wormtail, etc). There just isn't enough reason for it.
@heatherlly, I totally agree about the Hermione thing, ended up using wrong word for it. I think he found her irritating and annoying but he didn't hate her, she got caught up in crossfire of Severus' hatred of Harry.
Also agree that he couldn't openly express many things without giving something about himself up.
And Harry was a convenient outlet for his hatred of James, below him in power dynamic so he could get away with it.
Definitely!
I have more thoughts on Hermione, but I'll create a separate thread for that. Short version is that I think he would've liked her (or at least found her tolerable) were it not for the Harry connection.
I think there is a persuasive argument for saying that Snape hated himself. I chose Lord Voldemort, because if not for the Dark Lord's craving for power, sowing discord and pure blood supremacism, and murderous desire to kill Harry at any cost, Severus Snape may well have recovered in time from the numerous other people that attacked him or let him down. His entire life was chained to that of Voldemort, who was, of course, responsible for his premature death.
I voted for the James Potter for the reasons mentioned by @kris but I kinda place Snape himself on the hate list on equal footing with James for the reason mentioned by @heatherlly.
