Severus Snape and Elphaba from “Wicked” Have More in Common Than You Think
“Are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?” Glinda from Wicked asks this question when speaking to the citizens of Oz about Elphaba, the feared Wicked Witch of the West. The same question can be asked about Snape and his role in the wizarding world. Was he always destined to be a villain in others’ eyes? Or did his surroundings create his troubled origin story, like Elphaba’s? Despite these characters’ complexity, we know that they both tried to do good. Keep reading to learn what they have in common!
They are both protective with a strong sense of justice.
The first thing that sticks out about Snape’s and Elphaba’s characters is that all their choices were to help someone else. Snape stopped being a Death Eater in exchange for Dumbledore keeping Lily safe. His Death Eater past, however, forever marked him as a Slytherin turned bad. While seemingly cold, Snape watches over Harry and begs Dumbledore to protect him, even getting angry at Dumbledore’s true plan to fulfill the prophecy. After killing Dumbledore, Snape accepts being labeled a villain because he knows he respected Dumbledore’s last wish. His choices were made at the sacrifice of his name, and Dumbledore knew this when he said, “That I shall never reveal the best of you, Severus?”
Elphaba from Wicked has a similar origin story. After unexpectedly being offered a place at Shiz University as a student, she stays only to watch over her younger sister, despite other students calling her weird and disgustingly green. When a campaign promoting the message that “animals should be seen and not heard” starts sweeping throughout Oz, she takes a stand on behalf of the animal professors in protest, which labels her as difficult and embarrassing. After being tricked into helping this horrid campaign, she refuses to continue and has the villainous actions of others blamed on her, creating her false reputation of being wicked. Like Snape, all her actions were to help others at the sacrifice of her reputation.
They are never truly accepted by others.
Elphaba and Snape both endured bullying during their childhoods, taunts and all, for being different. In Wicked, Elphaba was despised by her parents since birth for her “wicked” green skin and odd magical powers. Snape’s home life was also a neglected one. Their experiences growing up led Snape and Elphaba to think they were unworthy of love and would never be truly accepted by others. They both felt sorrow as outcasts and saw the world through a detailed lens. While they did care about what others thought, they did not let this get the best of them. They stayed authentic to themselves and found comfort in the fact that their strength made them a powerful witch or wizard in their respective worlds.
They both have a complicated love life.
Both characters loved someone who held a different social standing than them. Snape was in love with Lily, an admired Gryffindor who ended up with James Potter, and Elphaba loved Fiyero, a prince who began his time at Shiz University liking Glinda. Lily and Fiyero had a sweet fondness toward Snape and Elphaba but not a love deemed acceptable by others. We know from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows – Part 2 that Snape is the only Death Eater to produce a Patronus – a doe representing his everlasting love for Lily – and he does so to help Harry find and destroy a Horcrux. In Wicked, Elphaba finds a kindred heart in Fiyero. They both feel strongly about protecting the animals in Oz, even if it means stealing a caged lion cub from a classroom. They go through many trials and tribulations to end up together.
Snape and Elphaba had people rooting against them their whole lives, but they have one thing in common: resilience. They never give up or cower away from trying to help humanity, even if others don’t see it that way. A lot can be learned from the witches and wizards whose actions are misunderstood. Were they born wicked, or was wickedness thrust upon them?
What do you think? Are there other similarities between Snape and Elphaba?
