Does Severus have daddy issues or mommy issues?
Severus comes from a dysfunctional home, and trauma in such environments often has one main figure but several peripheral ones. Clearly, the focus of his issues is Tobias, who is a violent figure. We can also assume that his father is one of the main reasons he developed a disdain and dislike for Muggles and the Muggle world in general, as he associated everything related to it with something negative. This could explain why he had such anxiety not only about fitting into the magical world but also about being sorted into a house that was considered opposed to the acceptance of Muggle culture.
I also always say that his upbringing context must be taken into account—he didn’t come from a good neighborhood, or a comfortable area with resources and social welfare. He was raised in a very poor and vulnerable social context, so it’s logical that for him, the Muggle world represented being at the very bottom of the social ladder and, at the same time, symbolized violence and a lack of basic necessities.
The fact that we know his father was a violent man, and yet Severus does not express physical violence himself but is rather sly when he wants to hurt someone—that he acts from the shadows and always tries to contain himself—says a lot about how trauma shaped his personal expression in relation to others. Also, the fact that he clearly has more conflicts with men than with women—especially with men who have a very heteronormative behavior, who exhibit a hegemonic, dominant, and aggressive masculinity—could be interpreted as a reflection of his rejection of everything that reminds him of that abusive paternal figure, identifying that type of masculinity as something negative, while also seeing it as a threat.
But the father is not the only negligent one, and we know that victims can also be abusive without ceasing to be victims, or they can be imperfect victims. I believe Eileen also played a role in his personal issues. There are many versions of Eileen, but the most widespread is that of the abused woman who adored her son and who was his only emotional support. However, one thing that is rarely talked about—since it’s a taboo because it’s often interpreted as questioning victims of gender violence, even though it isn’t, because we’re not delegitimizing what they went through—is that violence within a couple, when there are children involved, doesn’t only affect the woman—it affects the children, too.
And women don’t have to put on a brave face or try to pretend nothing is happening. Many try, to protect their children, but even so, it doesn’t work, because children are not blind. I don’t rule out the possibility that Eileen had her moments of maternal affection, but she probably also had her moments as a traumatized and abused woman who couldn’t get out of bed or manage her own trauma properly and wasn’t capable—or didn’t have the strength—to be a support system for her son.
That, of course, adds to the fact that the abuse came from someone supposedly “inferior” to her. That she could have easily knocked him out, that she had tools to defend herself but had fallen into learned helplessness and the cycle of violence that often affects these types of victims, and simply didn’t see herself as capable. And that also breeds a lot of anger and resentment and long-term consequences.
I bring this up because it’s very common that, even though the main hatred or trauma children feel in these households is directed toward the abuser, the violent figure, over time they also develop internalized resentment toward the other adult who was supposed to take care of them. Because even if you know your mother was a victim, she was also an adult, and she was supposed to protect you, she was supposed to get you out of there—and she didn’t. And even if you understand why she didn’t, even if you know she couldn’t, that doesn’t mean you stop resenting her actions.
So to me, Severus not only has daddy issues, but could very well have mommy issues as well, from this angle. It’s not far-fetched. In fact, it’s completely logical and realistic, especially if we assume that Eileen never left Tobias—not even when Severus went to Hogwarts and she knew her son would be in a place where he’d be fed and sheltered and she could have run away. She stayed, as many victims do, and it wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that Severus, as he grew up—and especially as he fell deeper and deeper into that Slytherin purist sphere—began to resent his mother more and more. Or even blamed her for the fact that they could have had a better life, but she chose to live in misery.
So I’d say both, but clearly, the main and foundational source of his trauma and anger issues is his father.
prguitarman
ellievsbear
germansingergirl
