The cold behaviour, joy-sucking looks, and a stern attitude of Severus Snape made him the living nightmare of any student alive, be it a wizard or a Muggle.
Snape always had a rather shady past, and one of the main reasons was because he was a Death Eater, causing a lot of mistrust, especially in the Order of the Phoenix.
Here’s what you need to know why Snape became a Death Eater when he could never think of upsetting Lily Evans, whom he loved dearly.
Why did Snape become a Death Eater?
Severus Snape is one of the most powerful characters of the series because it requires immense courage and guts to conspire and work against the most dangerous being Voldemort. The exact time when he became a Death Eater was not clear, but it is speculated that he officially became a Death Eater (with the Dark Mark on his hand) between leaving the school in 1978 and hearing the prophecy in 1980.
Here are five major reasons why Snape became a Death Eater:
- Disturbed childhood
- Encounters with Muggles
- End of his friendship with Lily Evans
- A sense of belonging
- Obsession with Dark Arts
You can find out how the Death Eaters’ name came about here.
Disturbed Childhood
Sour memories and disturbed childhood often impact a person’s personality to develop negative traits in their character. Similarly, Snape’s life at his home was a gloomy one. His father was a Muggle who often abused Snape, which makes him more drawn toward her mother’s family and related people, which are wizards and witches.
As for his mother, who was a witch, he was often neglected by her and left alone. This loneliness and coldness from his parents developed his cruel manners and rude attitude, which are highly praised among the Death Eaters.
Encounters with Muggles
Snape did not interact much with Muggles. However, the few he had were enough to make him agree with Voldemort’s idea of pure-blood supremacy. The first Muggle he came across in his life was his father, who was the worst influence one could ever have.
This was similar to Voldemort, who also had negative experiences with Muggles which further made him sympathise with Voldemort.
The second was Petunia, Lily’s sister, who was always insulting and disrespectful towards Snape and even Lily.
On the other hand, Snape used to live in a poor neighbourhood in Spinner’s End, which was described as a poverty-stricken neighbourhood.
Coming from such a background, this could have given him the impression that wizards could make this world a better place.
The end of his friendship with Lily Evans
When Lily and Snape went to Hogwarts, they were sorted into Gryffindor and Slytherin respectively, which have a long history of being great rivals.
With time, their relationship grew apart, and they became friends with others. Lily befriended James Potter and Snape with his fellow Slytherins, most of whom became Death Eaters in the later years.
The constant bullying and taunts from James and his friends create further bitterness in Snape’s personality, making him a sour, angry man ready for revenge.
A sense of belonging
When he joined the Death Eaters, Snape was hardly in his early 20s.
He was young, badly mistreated at home and Hogwarts by the hands of Marauders.
This feeling of being an outcast forced him to find a place where he felt wanted, powerful, and most importantly, valued. He found all these things among his friends who became Death Eaters in the following years, motivating him to do the same.
Obsession with Dark Arts
Even by Death Eater standards, Snape was a prodigy at dark magic, and it was the only thing he liked learning about.
“Snape’s always been fascinated by the Dark Arts; he was famous for it at school. Slimy, oily, greasy-haired kid, he was,” Sirius added… “Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in the seventh year, and he was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters.” (Sirius to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley)
It is very likely that Snape was intrigued by Dark Magic from an academic standpoint, not necessarily from the sadistic perspective like the other Death Eaters.
Conclusion
Snape becoming a part of Voldemort’s army makes sense with all the trauma he went through in his childhood, and even in his school life.
With such a dark background and an equally darker present, we believe that he would have gone to all the limits to get accepted and welcomed.
Besides, human beings are inclined toward picking up the political and social views of the people around us. Unfortunately, Snape had friends like Lucius, Avery, and Mulciber to build his beliefs and impact his actions.
Nevertheless, he still made the ultimate sacrifice by being Dumbledore’s spy, and eventually killing him as part of their grand plan.
This is slightly different from how Peter Pettigrew became a Death Eater, which you can find out more here.
Are you passionate about Harry Potter and want to earn some flexible income?
