the big picture in xf and hp
May. 7th, 2003 11:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pauraque_bkOn the Harem list, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
maidenjedi wrote:
Marita, unlike Diana and Scully, knows what is at stake. She knows better than anyone, except maybe Cassandra Spender. She's conducted tests and been the subject of them.
...
CSM is a lot like her in this way, I think. He sees the very big picture, that to save anyone is going to take sacrifices that some people (Bill Mulder) aren't willing to make.
I quite agree with all of this, and I think it applies to both Marita and CSM. It also struck me that these things could be said of Snape as well.
Snape also sees the big picture, when frequently others don't. He's seen the Voldemort conflict from both ends, and is still playing both sides of the fence to a certain extent (we're led to believe that he's loyal to Dumbledore, but as with Marita, we don't know his true loyalties for certain, or even if he has any).
Though Snape certainly can be petty, his complaints start to make sense when taken together. For example, in PoA, he says something that I think is very telling -- that they're not doing Harry any favours by failing to discipline him. It sounds like he's thinking even farther ahead than the defeat of Voldemort -- it won't necessarily help to be rid of Voldemort if they're then left with a young wizard more powerful than Voldemort was, who has violent impulses, no sense of discipline, no respect for authority, has never been asked to control himself, and is willing to kill for revenge. The idea of Harry as a Dark wizard has been done plenty in fic, and I don't think Snape's apparent fear of that outcome is unfounded.
Marita sees the big picture too, very much so, for the reasons Maidenjedi mentioned. However, Snape and Marita both lack the confidence and self-righteousness that we see in both Voldemort and CSM (as well as Dumbledore and Mulder). CSM, particularly, was dead sure he was in the right, and no matter what actions he took, he thought it was for the world's own good. I see some of that in Voldemort too. But Snape and Marita are realists; they don't see themselves as the heroes of their own movies, as many of the people around them clearly do. They don't see themselves as inherently Right -- they're aware of their own fallibility, and are just doing their best to keep their heads above water and do what they can to stop the massive destruction that is imminent in both their respective universes. But they're very much tangled up in personal conflicts and fears. Their stories aren't epics -- they're only human -- and that's probably why they're both so interesting to me.
maidenjedi also wrote:
She can't go and lead a normal life, not knowing what she knows.
Again, true. And again, true of Snape. I doubt that Snape will survive Book Seven, but if he does, he'll be in much the same position as Marita would be if the colonists were defeated, the conspiracy dismantled, and she was left standing. What else would there be to do? I think Snape is quite literally living to see Voldemort defeated, and once that's done, I don't think he'd want to keep teaching, or have anything to do with any of the people involved in the struggle. It's hard to say what he would do... we don't really know what his interests are, since he's basically been forced into his current position. Marita may have genuinely wanted to pursue public service, but she could hardly go back to that. She's presumably in hiding after "The Truth", but when there's no one left to hide from, what next?
Hm. Bleak futures for Snape and Marita. Poor kids. This probably explains why I was so taken with the vignette wherevaznetti put them together.
maidenjedi wrote:Marita, unlike Diana and Scully, knows what is at stake. She knows better than anyone, except maybe Cassandra Spender. She's conducted tests and been the subject of them.
...
CSM is a lot like her in this way, I think. He sees the very big picture, that to save anyone is going to take sacrifices that some people (Bill Mulder) aren't willing to make.
I quite agree with all of this, and I think it applies to both Marita and CSM. It also struck me that these things could be said of Snape as well.
Snape also sees the big picture, when frequently others don't. He's seen the Voldemort conflict from both ends, and is still playing both sides of the fence to a certain extent (we're led to believe that he's loyal to Dumbledore, but as with Marita, we don't know his true loyalties for certain, or even if he has any).
Though Snape certainly can be petty, his complaints start to make sense when taken together. For example, in PoA, he says something that I think is very telling -- that they're not doing Harry any favours by failing to discipline him. It sounds like he's thinking even farther ahead than the defeat of Voldemort -- it won't necessarily help to be rid of Voldemort if they're then left with a young wizard more powerful than Voldemort was, who has violent impulses, no sense of discipline, no respect for authority, has never been asked to control himself, and is willing to kill for revenge. The idea of Harry as a Dark wizard has been done plenty in fic, and I don't think Snape's apparent fear of that outcome is unfounded.
Marita sees the big picture too, very much so, for the reasons Maidenjedi mentioned. However, Snape and Marita both lack the confidence and self-righteousness that we see in both Voldemort and CSM (as well as Dumbledore and Mulder). CSM, particularly, was dead sure he was in the right, and no matter what actions he took, he thought it was for the world's own good. I see some of that in Voldemort too. But Snape and Marita are realists; they don't see themselves as the heroes of their own movies, as many of the people around them clearly do. They don't see themselves as inherently Right -- they're aware of their own fallibility, and are just doing their best to keep their heads above water and do what they can to stop the massive destruction that is imminent in both their respective universes. But they're very much tangled up in personal conflicts and fears. Their stories aren't epics -- they're only human -- and that's probably why they're both so interesting to me.
maidenjedi also wrote:She can't go and lead a normal life, not knowing what she knows.
Again, true. And again, true of Snape. I doubt that Snape will survive Book Seven, but if he does, he'll be in much the same position as Marita would be if the colonists were defeated, the conspiracy dismantled, and she was left standing. What else would there be to do? I think Snape is quite literally living to see Voldemort defeated, and once that's done, I don't think he'd want to keep teaching, or have anything to do with any of the people involved in the struggle. It's hard to say what he would do... we don't really know what his interests are, since he's basically been forced into his current position. Marita may have genuinely wanted to pursue public service, but she could hardly go back to that. She's presumably in hiding after "The Truth", but when there's no one left to hide from, what next?
Hm. Bleak futures for Snape and Marita. Poor kids. This probably explains why I was so taken with the vignette where
vaznetti put them together.
