Alan Rickman, the famous actor who played some of Hollywood’s most infamous villains, died last Thursday morning from cancer. I do not know about Rickman’s religious beliefs or if he even had any, but I do know that one of Rickman’s most famous characters does have a good deal to teach us about faith.
Gentle Reader, I submit to you this truth: we are all Severus Snape.
Character Summary
Severus was born into an unhappy home, the son of witch and her “muggle” husband. His best friend was a muggle-born wizard named Lily Evans. In Lily, Severus found a true friend, a true love. However, fate never seemed to have Snape’s best interest in heart.
When the two arrived at Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they were sorted into rival houses, which would eventually destroy their friendship. Worse for Severus, he began to be bullied by two other young boys, one of whom, James Potter, would eventually marry Lily.
The loss of Lily, the abuse of others, the feelings of isolation and betrayal—it became too much for Snape and he began to pursue an burgeoning interest in the Dark Arts, which led him to join up with Lord Voldemort, a powerful Dark Wizard who led his followers in a war against other wizards in a quest to purge the world of muggles and muggle-born wizards.
In the end, Snape defected from Voldemort’s Death Eaters because he loved Lily too much to see her hurt. However, despite his best efforts, Lily did indeed die. Once again, facing loss, Snape vowed to protect Lily’s son, Harry Potter, for the rest of his life.
Character Flaws
Snape faced a lot of relational failure in his life. His family was dysfunctional, and his only friend was lost to his greatest rival. Compounded by his own sense of inferiority because he wasn’t a pure-blood wizard and the constant bullying he faced, Snape was filled with such bitterness and resentment that his path to darkness had been paved for a long time. And yet, he never stopped loving Lily, and it was that love that eventually pulled him back from the brink only to have his heart broken again upon her death.
However, the real tragedy of Severus’ life isn’t that he lost Lily. It’s that he lost out on life. The bitterness and anger, the quiet, sullen rage that he had nursed for years were never dealt with. Even though he abandoned the Death Eaters and swore his true allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix and to Dumbledore himself, Snape was never able to escape the darkness that thrived within his own heart. Though dedicated to protecting Harry Potter, he nonetheless verbally abused him and made his life as difficult as possible. Why? Because Harry reminded Snape so very much of his father, James Potter, who had made Snape’s own childhood so miserable. Was Snape a victim? Yes, but then he became a victimizer.
He died heroically, in the end, and Harry honored him as a hero, going so far as to name one of his sons after him, but was that enough to atone for the undeserved bitterness that he had hurled at Harry for seven years?
Let’s let author J.K. Rowling—tweets pulled from a discussion with fans about whether Snape was a hero/villain—add in her thoughts:
Snape died for Harry out of love for Lily. Harry paid him tribute in forgiveness and gratitude. https://t.co/MPXBgUApa3
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 27, 2015
That's not true, I'm afraid. Snape projected his hatred and jealousy of James onto Harry. https://t.co/5jzNHlfSe0
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 27, 2015
This morning I've been thinking a lot about the appeal of simple dichotomies in our messy world, then you raise Snape! Highly appropriate.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 27, 2015
Snape is all grey. You can't make him a saint: he was vindictive & bullying. You can't make him a devil: he died to save the wizarding world
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 27, 2015
No, not a rant; I'm thoughtful, not upset! Snape deserves both admiration and disapprobation, like most of us. https://t.co/okYVt9WFsf
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 27, 2015
And now I’d like to wrap this up with some…
Spiritual Analysis
I like that last tweet from JKR: Snape deserves a bit of praise and a bit of disapproval, as we all do. It’s a nice sentiment, but it only hints at the deeper, darker reality. There is good in all of us, but it’s not a substantial amount. It’s a remainder, a torn scrap of goodness, it’s all that remains of what God imparted to our first parents, Adam and Eve, at Creation. Call it the “image of God” or a remnant of “eternity”, there’s a tiny bit of good within us, calling out, desperate to be united with its Source.
The problem for that bit of good is the absolute deluge of darkness, selfishness, and downright evil within us. For that matter, it’s not just that there’s darkness within us; it’s that darkness is being generated by own our own selfish heart and the selfish world around us. Evil is pervasive and powerful, and unless the bit of good within us is connected to the Source of all good, it will eventually be snuffed out.
Snape’s bit of good was nearly done in by his bitterness and resentment, but it was reawakened by his love and sense of duty to Lily. Sadly, that love wasn’t strong enough to draw all of the poison from Snape’s soul, and so he took his pain out on others, namely Harry.
We have the chance to be freed from our darkness and to have our hearts freed from the selfishness that would have us produce more darkness and evil in our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Jesus came for this purpose, to become sin so that we might be freed from its power. Unless we accept what He has done for us and surrender our lives to Him, we will never know true and eternal freedom. We will be forever bound to the darkness, no matter how hard we try to crawl back into the light. Our darkened hearts will weigh us down and ultimately keep us in the shadows.
If we take anything away from Snape’s tragic life and death, let it be that no matter how strong a positive force like love might be, unless that force, that love, comes to us from God, it will not be enough to free us from our past and give us an eternal future.
Rachel Blom says
Love this post Phil! I was a huge fan of Alan Rickman, especially his portrayal of Snape. I though he captured that dichotomy brilliantly. And yes, there’s much to recognize in Snape…about how we can let the hurt of the past become our future, and even end up doing to others what was done to us. To me, the biggest lesson is about not letting bitterness take root in our hearts. If we don’t let God heal us and take away that bitterness, we will end up passing it on…just like Snape.
Phil Schneider says
Thanks, Rachel! I completely agree! Anything that can separate us from God, can prevent us from receiving His love, will consume us and those around us if we don’t surrender it to Him.