I can just imagine the gasps at the title of this one. Literary murder? Is Ruth going to try and trash JK. Rowlings???
Heck no. I am a big fan of JKR, and will forever love her for creating one Severus Snape. I wasn't happy she snuffed him, but you can't have everything.
But, she did get away with something.
Mary-Sueism. Yep. That's right. One of her most beloved characters is a flaming Mary-Sue.
And that character is the indomitable Hermione Granger.
Don't believe me? Hermione is a Mary Sue. She's smarter than everyone else, does better magic, fearlessly faces death for her friends time and time again, and grows into a very beautiful witch. Yes, she does. The proof of that is that Fenrir the werewolf takes a second look at her when in the Forest of Dean. It's the only reference, other than the Triwizard Ball classic "blossoming beauty" scene when she enters all dolled up and everyone is amazed that they never noticed how gorgeous she was before. However did they miss that?
But, my claim isn't just based on my opinion, oh no. I actually researched it and have solid evidence that Hermione Granger is little miss perfect with no flaws. She's made mistakes, but she is solid Sue in character.
The great thing is, you can come to the same conclusion I did using this little test:
UNIVERSAL MARY SUE LITMUS TEST
This has to be one of the most awesome character development tools online. I love it. The way it works is simple. Just put in all of Hermione's characteristics according to the books and get the results. The only variable is you have to try and do it from JKR's viewpoint and not your own. So there's going to be a few assumptions.
Now, I have to add, JKR has proved that having a Mary-Sue/Marty-Stu character or two isn't necessarily a bad thing at all. Harry Potter was a flaming Marty-Stu as well. He had the coolest wand, the lightning bolt shaped scar, was the focus of the most powerful, dangerous wizard in existence, overcame all kinds of magical dilemmas, was courageous, was the Hope of the wizarding world, was a secret Horcrux and most of all, didn't need therapy after growing up with the Dursleys and living under a staircase the first formative years of his life.
How Stu can you get?
Of the golden trio, it was Ronald Weasley who was the Non-Stu. He was jealous, petty, thoughtless, and annoying, just like most people. I think this is the real reason a lot of people don't like the idea of him with the perfect Hermione Granger in the epilogue.
He's too ordinary to deserve her marvelousness.
If you have time, visit that Universal Mary Sue Litmus test and put in a few of your favorite literary characters. A lot of our beloved authors got away with creating characters that are just too good to be true.
And that's why we call it Fiction.
LOL! I rolled reading this!
ReplyDeleteI always thought that Ron became a bit of Mary Stu at the end there. I cringed everytime during the last movie Hermione said "That's right Ron" when he came up with an answer.
I love the series, love the story, and Flove the characters. Thank goodness those that have the talent and the muse put their work out there for us to enjoy though.
Though, I don't know if I would call Severus Snape a Mary Stu....maybe the evil Mary Stu?? Have you ever thought about his character.
Need a cruel professor to persecute the young hero?
Severus Snape!
Need a mean Head of House to compete against every year in school competitions?
Severus Snape!
Need a Deatheater connected to the story so we could see the other side of the conflict?
Severus Snape!
Need an Order of the Phoenix member to be a double agent?
Severus Snape!
Need a Headmaster to persecute the school but not to such an extent that students are irrevocably damaged?
Severus Snape!
Need a school mate of Lily and Harry's to show aspects of Harry's parents' childhood from a not so rosy point of view?
Severus Snape!
Need an unrequited love affair to turn one of the characters into a martyr?
Severus Snape!
I'm almost surprised that he didn't end up holding some kind of connection to the Ministry....it was really the only thing left he wasn't involved in....LOL!
PS. No wonder he became such a worldwide phenomina of a character, there were so many aspects to his character that no one could truly get a handle on it.
Bless you Alan Rickman!
Yes, Ron did turn to mush by the end of the series. Peter Pettigrew was sort of redeemed too, when he hesitated to kill Harry. I bet if he knew what that hand was going to do to him, the series would have ended right there. XD Peter would have offed him.
DeleteActually, I was thinking of Snape as a kind of Anti-Stu. He was an antagonist throughout the series then flipped the script at the end, thus causing resounding cries around the world, "He really was a good guy!"
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how to identify that type of character, but he was better at being a mean bastard than anyone else in the series. Voldermort was a big pain in the keister wanting to kill Harry, but he had a goal and was doing what he could to reach it. Snape was plain ornery.
Looking at your list, Snape could possibly be considered a Marty-Stu, albeit a dark, nasty one. But as always, Lurve lifted him up to hero status and redemption.
I still hate JKR snuffed him. :)