Bit of a niche topic (though I imagine most people are at least vaguely familiar with the Harry Potter series, even if only through the movies), but someone may find it interesting. I’m going to assume readers will at least recognise character names without needing additional context.
(A version is also posted on MuggleNet)
Upon revisiting “The Prince’s Tale” (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” – chapter 33) alongside listening to the Alohomora podcast (episodes 340 and 346), I was struck by the reminder that Snape was never told about Voldemort’s Horcruxes. But it seems Snape did know about Ring Composition given the memories he chose to give to Harry.
A work has Ring Composition when there is a pattern of connections (elements that repeat, either straight or inverted) between particular scenes/chapters over the course of it, most importantly between the start & end and the middle (sometimes called the pivot, or turning point, of the story). For example, a hypothetical 9-chapter story will have connections in a pattern like this:
The structure will not necessarily follow this pattern perfectly — in this example, chapter 3 may also have connections to chapter 6 or chapter 8. This structure can apply at many levels: from (to take a completely random example) the whole of a 7-book series about a boy wizard; to a single novel; to even an individual chapter. As I’m about to explain, sometimes even within part of a chapter.
Snape gives his story through 20 memories1 (in chronological order, with the possible exception of #19). I’ll briefly summarise them here — the chapter is worth a (re-)read if you want more detail/context — and will otherwise refer to them by number:
- Snape meets Lily and Petunia (p. 532-)
- Snape and Lily discuss the magical world (p. 534-)
- Petunia and Lily argue on platform 9 ¾ (p. 536-)
- Snape & Lily clash with James & Sirius on the train (p. 538-)
- Snape et al. are sorted (p. 539-)
- Lily and Snape argue about their respective unpleasant housemates (p. 540-)
- A summary of Snape’s Worst Memory2 (p. 541-; see “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” – chapter 28 for the full memory)
- Snape tries to apologise to Lily (p. 542-)
- A desperate Snape approaches Dumbledore for help (p. 542-)
- Dumbledore convinces a grieving Snape to protect Harry (p. 544-)
- Snape is unimpressed with first-year Harry (p. 545-)
- Snape shows Dumbledore his Dark Mark reappearing (p. 545-)
- Snape helps Dumbledore with the Ring Horcrux curse (p. 546-)
- Snape complains about Dumbledore trusting Harry (p. 548-)
- Dumbledore reveals that Harry must die to defeat Voldemort (p. 550-)
- Dumbledore’s portrait gives the “7 Potters” plan (p. 552-)
- Snape secretly passes the “7 Potters” plan to Mundungus (p. 552-)
- During the “7 Potters” battle, Snape (accidentally) hits George (p. 552-)
- Snape cries over a letter from Lily to Sirius3 (p. 552-)
- Snape sets out to take the Sword of Gryffindor to Harry (p. 553-)
Here are the connections/parallels that I noticed within Snape’s memories. There are likely to be others that I’ve missed4 — feel free to comment with any that you find.
- #1 & #20:
- Snape has a plan that involves spying on a Potter (or a soon-to-be-Potter) from behind some bushes (Lily in #1; Harry in #20).
- #2 & #20:
- Snape tries to be polite about muggleborns (lying to Lily that her heritage won’t matter at Hogwarts in #2; demanding Phineas Nigellus not use “mudblood” in #20).
- #3 & #19:
- Snape noses into other people’s rooms (Petunia in #3; Sirius in #19) and reads their mail.
- #4 & #18:
- Characters are travelling (by train in #4; by broomstick in #18).
- Snape is cutting (with words in #4; with a spell in #18) towards a prankster associated with Lupin (James — a fellow marauder — in #4; George — Lupin’s decoy “Harry” — in #18).
- #5 & #16 & #17:
- A rough-looking character plays an important role (the Sorting Hat in #5; Mundungus Fletcher in #16 & #17).
- Snape keeps things secret (his dismay at Lily being sorted into Gryffindor in #5; his involvement in the “7 Potters” plan in #16 & #17).
- #6 & #15:
- Characters are appalled (Lily at the behaviour of Snape’s wannabe-Death-Eater friends in #6; Snape at Dumbledore’s plan (to allow Voldemort to kill Harry at “the right moment”) in #15).
- Snape reveals that someone “fancies” Lily (James in #6; himself in #15).
- Characters don’t respect the efforts made on their behalf (in #6, Snape states his belief that James saved his life only out of self-preservation; in #15, Snape accuses Dumbledore of using him as a spy under false pretences).
- #7 & #8 & #14: (Note: some of these connections are based on memory #7 as presented in Deathly Hallows, some involve details from the original, complete version in Order of the Phoenix)
- Characters are quizzed about their lessons (the Marauder-era students take an O.W.L. exam in #7; Snape asks what Harry has been learning with Dumbledore in #14).
- Characters are keeping their distance after a previous experience was painful (Harry doesn’t want to re-watch James & Sirius being bullies in #7; Dumbledore in #14 believes Voldemort is staying well away from Harry’s mind after trying to possess him at the Ministry of Magic).
- Snape (in #7) is unaware of his surroundings, due to being too absorbed in reviewing his exam paper; whereas Dumbledore (in #14) is cautious of his, checking that he and Snape are alone before discussing sensitive topics. #7 and #14 both occur under trees (a beech tree on the grounds, and the edge of the Forbidden Forest respectively).
- Snape regrets a choice, but is not able to fix or change it (he calls Lily a mudblood in #7, and tries to apologise in #8, but she is unwilling to give him another chance; he doesn’t want to kill Dumbledore, but Dumbledore holds him to his word in #14).
- #9 & #13:
- Each of Snape and Dumbledore turn to the other in desperate need of help (Snape in #9 trying to protect Lily from Voldemort; Dumbledore in #13 after being cursed by the Ring Horcrux).
- There is anger at someone’s selective protectiveness (Snape in #9 wants to protect Lily, but doesn’t care about James or Harry; Dumbledore in #13 wants to preserve Draco’s soul — by not letting him become a murderer — but is indifferent towards Snape’s).
- Great things are asked of Snape, at first generally (“And what will you give me in return, Severus?” from #9), and later specifically (in #13 he is asked to kill Dumbledore before he is killed by either the curse, Draco, or another of Voldemort’s followers).
- There are echoes in pieces of dialog between Snape and Dumbledore:
- “Don’t kill me!” / “That was not my intention.” from #9.
- “Are you intending to let him kill you?” / “Certainly not. You must kill me.” from #13.
- #10 & #12:
- Dumbledore in #10 insists that Voldemort will return; Snape displays his re-appearing Dark Mark in #12, proving that Voldemort is regaining power.
- Snape shows determination and courage to continue his path (in #10 despite Lily’s death; in #12 despite Voldemort’s impending return).
- Dumbledore questions Snape about his feelings (in #10 whether he is remorseful; in #12 whether he will succumb to fear).
- Dumbledore gets in a pointed jab at Snape (in #10 asking him if he remembers Lily’s eyes; in #12 musing about sorting too soon, implying Snape should be a Gryffindor).
- #11:
- The central pivot — though a very short scene — expresses a truth universally acknowledged: Snape hates Harry, because he sees James, and doesn’t look for Lily; and Dumbledore doesn’t take that seriously enough.
- Combined with #1 and #19, we get Snape summarised: It’s all for Lily, and Harry is not Lily.
The pivot also represents the first entry in the second half of Snape’s life story: the first half is about him meeting, befriending, falling-out with, and eventually grieving Lily; the second half is about him working with Dumbledore to defeat Voldemort. It ultimately presents Snape as a fairly pitiable figure: coming from a difficult home life; bullied at school; lost his only friend (and the only girl he loved); and spent the rest of his (too short) life doing difficult and dangerous work for no recognition or reward.
Except that it pays to remember that this is Snape’s story as he tells it. We should also remember that he’s left a lot of things out: whether he was a bully alongside his proto-Death-Eater friends; all the horrible things he probably did as a Death Eater; the years of bullying students as Britain’s most obnoxious Potions teacher (it’s not just Harry — Snape already has a bad reputation before Harry even gets to Hogwarts). While Dumbledore probably believed Snape was trying to redeem himself (in helping defeat Voldemort), I’m of the opinion it was purely for revenge. Always.
Note that I am analysing the book version of Snape’s memories. The film version uses a different collection of scenes, forming more of a montage narrated by key pieces of dialogue. It’s clearly chosen for cinematic affect, and I suspect (though I haven’t gone over it in any detail) that it includes snippets of some scenes where Snape wasn’t even present.
I’m impressed by the way that, the first time we encounter “Snape’s Worst Memory” in Order of the Phoenix, we believe it’s the worst because of being bullied by James and Sirius. By the time we revisit the memory in Deathly Hallows, we realise it’s the worst because it’s where Lily gave up on him.
I find this particular memory a bit of an oddity. Some have said it shows Snape grieving Dumbledore, but it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Dumbledore at all. Given that Dumbledore’s death must have happened between memories #15 (last conversation with Dumbledore) and #16 (first conversation with Dumbledore’s portrait), and that Snape (as Dumbledore’s killer) would have been barred from Grimmauld Place fairly swiftly, it seems like it occurs out of order. Maybe it’s not a memory Snape intended to include, but he was unable to control his dying thoughts (finally acknowledging Lily’s eyes in Harry and remembering seeing them as a family in the photograph).
It’s worth noting that different people analysing a work for Ring Composition could apply the structure differently — it’s rarely perfect, as I said earlier — matching different parts together, and choosing a different chapter/scene/etc. as the pivot. Doing so could draw out an alternative meaning from the piece, as well as giving new insights and perspectives.
Thought Attempts 