| musesong @ 2003-07-06 10:48:00 |
Issues of Faith
Mood: 
thoughtful
Seems that Snape has moved on to the Vatican on his holiday. Not some discussion on faith between he and Remus.
His final remark struck me as quite telling.
I am still quite new to reading NA so unsure whether this is a theme has surfaced before.
Comments:
| babytyggeryss @ July 6 2003, 03:38:42 UTC |
That last response is Severus Snape in one sentence. There are no words.
His conversation with Remus is very heart-wrenching. A man who, openly, has little or no faith in anything or anyone and a man who still believes in the hearts people.
In the plus column, I love the puppy-love sub-thread between Sirius and Remus. *fan girl moment*
| hp_snape @ July 6 2003, 04:24:09 UTC |
As another player of Snape, I can relate well to this thread. Yet it is also an interesting point of difference between our interpretations of the character.
hp_snape
| notapipe @ July 6 2003, 04:26:23 UTC |
As great as Lupin is, he's being rather hypocritical. He suggests that Snape ought to allow others to have [faith], but at the same time is a steadfast advocate of saying the name "Voldemort". It's not just the imposistion of one's views on others, we always choose to impose certian views and not others (such as "murder is wrong", "Weird Sisters suck" or "Red is the coolest color"), but the fact that Lupin rejects one shelter and not the other. From Snape's POV, the muggle religious faith is nothing more than a silly comfort made up by those who don't want to acknowledge the power of reality, and probably is seen as hurtful if you take in his last comment. From Lupin's POV, "You-Know-Who" is a silly name made up out of fear for those who don't want to confront Voldemort as a real entity but as as some caricature, and is seen as hurtful and empowering to Voldemort. There is a difference of intensity, as religion is much farther reaching and comforting than the name YKW, but the essence is the same.
I think Lupin defending Muggle spirituality at all is rather interesting. I'll ignore the cynical argument from skepticism and focus on the "faith in something bigger" part. Let's suppose that Lupin has a reason for defending Catholicism (not in particular, but Muggle religion in general) beyond "religions deserve respect" (though that may be the stated reason). This may be a bit informed by Snape's final comment, but Lupin appears to be defending not just religion, but idealism in general. And now my train of thought is dead, but the destination feels nice.
| snowballjane @ July 6 2003, 05:12:44 UTC |
Quote spot: "assembled, astonished and disturbed..."
It's Rilke, right? (and oh, the loneliness of that poem...)
| musesong @ July 6 2003, 05:48:29 UTC Wel spotted |
potions_master headings always seem to be meaningful.
The Last Supper
They are assembled, astonished and disturbed
round him, who like a sage resolved his fate,
and now leaves those to whom he most belonged,
leaving and passing by them like a stranger.
The loneliness of old comes over him
which helped mature him for his deepest acts;
now will he once again walk through the olive grove,and those who love him still will flee before his sight.
To this last supper he has summoned them,
and (like a shot that scatters birds from trees)
their hands draw back from reaching for the loaves
upon his word: they fly across to him;
they flutter, frightened, round the supper table
searching for an escape. But he is present
everywhere like an all-pervading twilight-hour.
Rainer Maria Rilke, On seeing Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper", Milan 1904.
