That is a very good question. I hadn't really thought much about it, but I think I largely agree with supes_
As a boy, I could definitely see him saying "mum," because I doubt he was always so stiff and uptight. And as a teenager, I can see him calling her "mother."
But as an adult, I can fully see him calling his mother "Eileen." For one thing, I think that Snape tends to call people he has a great deal of respect for by their given names.
Also, though, I have the feeling that if his father was as abusive to him as he apparently was to Eileen, it could be very likely that he'd have demanded respect from Snape and actually made him address him as "father." If that were the case, calling his mother by her given name could be a way of saying, "I hate him, but I love you, and I will not call you by anything that would insinuate you being on the same level as him."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-02-11 04:05 am (UTC)As a boy, I could definitely see him saying "mum," because I doubt he was always so stiff and uptight. And as a teenager, I can see him calling her "mother."
But as an adult, I can fully see him calling his mother "Eileen." For one thing, I think that Snape tends to call people he has a great deal of respect for by their given names.
Also, though, I have the feeling that if his father was as abusive to him as he apparently was to Eileen, it could be very likely that he'd have demanded respect from Snape and actually made him address him as "father." If that were the case, calling his mother by her given name could be a way of saying, "I hate him, but I love you, and I will not call you by anything that would insinuate you being on the same level as him."