Throughout the Harry Potter series Severus Snape’s character has developed greatly in regard to the important themes. Snape’s character helps us understand the historical trauma referenced in the series, a major theme imposed by J.K. Rowling. Snape is a confusing character because Harry has an instant hatred for him, and yet Snape is supposed to be the good guy. Rowling leads us to believe that Snape is the good guy, but also directs us toward the belief that he is still loyal to Lord Voldemort. Once a death eater, Snape is wisely distrusted by a large portion of the wizarding world. It is believed that death eaters are loyal for life, and therefore Snape must still be loyal to his former master. However, Snape claims to have switched sides. In fact, he is trusted by Albus Dumbledore, which is a great honor. Dumbledore gives Snape a second chance and has him work as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix. Since Snape is working directly with Voldemort, Harry has a lot of difficulty trusting him.
Snape’s character is complex and iconic. He is an iconic character because of the way the wizarding community treats him with distrust. Historically, people have not trusted those who switch sides. This is especially true if they were on the bad side first. In former historical traumas such as the holocaust, there was a general feeling of distrust. It was difficult to know who was on your side and who was against you. Snape’s character is constantly changing; at one moment he will appear to be doing good, while at the next he may seem untrustworthy. Harry’s opinion of Snape changes considerably throughout the series. Rowling uses a lot of symbolism in order to further develop his character. For example, in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Rowling uses her mastery of languages to create an appropriate name for the village where Snape lives and grew up. She names the town Spinner’s End. The word “Spinner” is symbolic of a spider spinning a web. Snape is spinning a web of his own in regard to the plot. He is always smooth talking his way out of situations and getting other characters to do his bidding. He has a way of persuading people.
Rowling’s representation of Severus Snape has greatly affected by interpretation of the series’ plot. This is especially true of the first time I read the series. I was constantly unsure about Snape because I was getting mixed messages about him based on his interactions with the other characters. In most of the individual books Snape would seem like the bad guy until the very end of the book when Rowling would let the reader in on the truth. Snape helps create a lot of the mystery in the series.
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