Quote from Heatherlly on November 18, 2023, 11:06 am

As far as JKR goes, I don't treat her comments outside of the books as canon. As you said, she often contradicts herself, and I think (like all of us) her perception of characters shifts over time. I do accept additions that make sense to me (e.g. Dumbledore is gay), but I also think it's okay to ignore any of her comments you dislike/disagree with.

That's especially true when it comes to Snape, as we all know she's biased where he's concerned. She wrote a beautiful, compelling character and I'll always give her credit for that, but he was also an outlet for her personal grudge. That makes it hard (if not impossible) for her to see him as sympathetically as we do. Hell, that comment about "old shoes" is downright petty, definitely not something I'd take seriously.

Quote from Dark Angel on November 18, 2023, 3:07 am

Obviously, people can imagine him however they like I just don't think that he was ever meant as a conventionally handsome character with a large nose and crooked and yellowish teeth, otherwise why would people spent a fortune on nose jobs and a Hollywood smile? As an author described him, if we do see Snape as handsome, then he has the kind of beauty that is only noticed at second glance and I personally agree with that.

I don't think he was conventionally handsome either. I just draw the line at assuming he was ugly just because Harry says so. I also disagree that large noses are unattractive, though that may in part be a cultural thing. American culture is very similar to British in many ways, and I've known had a few American women who (like me) who often find larger/more prominent noses on men to be attractive.

Culture is also relevant in terms of Snape's teeth. Even if we do assume that Harry's description is accurate, having crooked or even yellow teeth wouldn't have been that big of a factor as far as attractiveness goes. Keep in mind that we're talking about a white English guy in the 90s… there's a whole stereotype about the British having bad teeth, and while it might be unkind, it certainly isn't unfounded.

This is where Americans and Brits actually differ, because we got into the whole whitening/straightening thing a lot sooner than they did. Of course, it's now normalized in both cultures, but "now" is the relevant word here. Even as recently as around 10-12 years ago, I recall a British friend mentioning Americans having "unnaturally white teeth" and how it freaked him out. 😂

The timeline of the books is 25-32 years, when crooked teeth would've been normal. It also would've been common for them to be somewhat discolored (yellowish), especially for someone who used tobacco and/or drank a lot of coffee or tea.

So yeah, it's more than likely that Snape's teeth were normal for that time, not something that would stand out to someone as unusual or ugly. Harry focuses on them because he's petty where Snape is concerned and deliberately looks for/exaggerates flaws, but that is personal bias, not objective fact.