The fraternal twin of the Stepford Smiler. The Stepford Snarker has intense feelings of sadness, anger, numbness, loneliness, or other negative emotions, but, for whatever reason, wants to hide these feelings from the people around them. Whereas the Stepford Smiler hides these feelings by acting sweet and happy, the Snarker hides them by being snide and sarcastic. They often put on an outward appearance of being very jaded and bitter (though some may maintain a brighter disposition when in a better mood, snarking only when upset), and make sarcastic comments about everything and everybody, but those that are able to break their shell find that they're actually deeply hurt. If they're able to heal, they'll not necessarily stop being sarcastic — it may just be a part of their personality — but they'll hopefully find a way to express their feelings to their loved ones, rather than solely hiding them with their quips.
In addition, they may be an example of The Snark Knight, but don't always have to be. While the Snark Knight is antisocial and sarcastic because of discontent with their surroundings, the Stepford Snarker doesn't have to be anti-social. They could have many friends and even an optimistic view of the world itself, so long as they still hide their bad moods with snark. A staple of the Jerkass Woobie and frequently seen in Goths. Closely related to Sugar-and-Ice Personality, Tsundere, Broken Bird, and Defrosting Ice Queen, all of whom might use this sort of snark as a way of masking their inner sweetness. Compare/contrast Sad Clown, who is less rude and more ridiculous. Compare Hidden Heart of Gold (which emphasises hidden kindness rather than brokenness) and Sour Outside, Sad Inside (which is crueller on the outside). If the negative emotion is embarrassment and they're under 18, they're also an Easily Embarrassed Youngster, while a Stepford Snarker mentor figure might be a Mentor in Sour Armor.
