Chap. 21 Summary

[Caius Marcius]

No: HPFGUIDX 6102

Chapter 21: The House-Elf Liberation Front

In contrast to the high tension of the immediately prior chapter, Chapter 21
maintains a more relaxed pace.  It opens with an exhilarated Harry, fresh
from his success in the first Triwizards task and his reconciliation with
Ron, speaking excitedly with Ron and Hermione on his way to the Owlery. .He
relates to them what Sirius told him of Karkaroff's  Death Eater background.
Harry prepares an energized Pigwidgeon to take a message to Sirius.Ron is
highly enthused  (perhaps in partial compensation for their finally-resolved
quarrel) -about Harry's chances to win the tournament outright, while
Hermione sounds a more cautionary tone. Harry sends Pigwidgeon off to Sirius
with a detailed description of his battle with the Horntail They then make
their way to Gryffindor's "Surprise Party," in his honor

Harry, now having proven that he is worthy of competing beside the other
three tournament champions, enters Gryffindor's common room in triumph, with
the acclaim of his comrades resounding in his ears. Mountains of
refreshments are on hand, the air is "thick with stars and sparks," and the
room is decorated with banners of Harry zooming around the dragon.  Harry's
happiness soars. The only discordant note to this otherwise joyous
celebration is that unsettling golden egg, his clue for the second task,
which does not promise to yield its secrets too easily. When it is pried
open, it proves to be empty, while emitting a most horrendous and
earsplitting noise.  But it's only - for now -  a momentary distraction. As
the celebration continues, Fred and George confess to Hermione that they're
able to access the house-elves kitchen (through a hidden entrance concealed
in a painting of a bowl of fruit). Hermione seems especially intrigued,
leading to some mild teasing from George, and a mild reprimand from Fred.
Poor Neville abruptly changes into a large canary, thanks to custard creams
hexed by the Weasley twins.  Harry, at nearly 1 a.m., finally makes his way
to bed, placing his animated model Hungarian Horntail on the table beside
his bed before retiring.  He muses as he closes his bedcurtains, "Hagrid had
a point..they were all right, really, dragons.."

As December commences, along with its icy wind and sleet, Harry is next seen
(whilst noting the continued presence of the Durmstrang ship and the
Beauxbatons caravan) on his way to the Care of Magical Creatures class.
Hagrid is not sure what to expect from his beloved (to him) Blast-Ended
Skrewts, which have grown to a length of six feet.  Most of them have killed
one another, and only ten are left.  It has become apparent that that
Skrewts do not hibernate, so the students - those who do not flee to Hagrid'
s cabin, at least -  must laboriously nail them shut .into pillow-lined
boxes, while suffering multiple burns and cuts.  As the last Skrewt is being
rounded up, none other than ace Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter, who
apparently been observing all along, suddenly speaks up.  Rita expresses
ironic interest in the "Bang-Ended Scoots," and Harry quickly suspects that
Hagrid is being set up for a classic Fleet Street hatchet job.  Knowing of
Hagrid's predilection for "interesting creatures," (i.e., "terrifying
monsters"), Harry worries what might happen if Rita pries too deeply into
how Hagrid obtained the Skrewts.   Unable to communicate his fears to
Hagrid, the latter arranges to meet with Rita later in the week .

Harry and Ron banter in Prof. Trelawney's class, as she once again issues
dire predictions of imminent death. Looking for Hermione in the library,
they only find Victor Krum, with his usual entourage. They soon find her
flushed with excitement as they return to Gryffindor.  She takes them
through winding stairs to a long stone corridor and  finally to the painting
Fred and George described earlier.  Realizing where they heading, Ron makes
a sarcastic comment about SPEW being renamed the House-Elf Liberation Front.
Hermione brushes this comment aside, and leads them through the painting to
the House- Elves' kitchen.

Once inside, Harry is tackled by an old acquaintance - Dobby, the former
Malfoy house-elf who Harry helped set free at the end of Volume II.  Last
seen blasting Lucius Malfoy down a flight of stairs, Dobby joyously embraces
his liberator with almost as much force as he unleashed against his former
enslaver, hugging him so hard that Harry  fears he may suffer broken ribs.
Harry notes that Dobby is dressed in a most outlandish manner (including the
inadvertently discarded sock from Mr. Malfoy that set him free), although
scrupulously neat. The trio that both Winky and Dobby have been given jobs
in Hogwarts' kitchen by Dumbledore.  Harry notes the design of the kitchen,
which has four tables directly below the four House tables of the Great
Hall. Apparently, the prepared food is hoisted above to the students and
faculty. At least a hundred elves, all dressed in tea towels with the
Hogwarts crest,  scrape and bow to the trio as they walk past.

Also "liberated," but much less contented, is Winky, who is as ashamed of
her freedom as Dobby is proud of his.  Slovenly dressed (again in contrast
to Dobby's neatness), she bursts into tears as Harry approaches.  Dobby
offers tea to the trio, and instantly six house-elves set up a refreshment
table. Dobby acknowledges how difficult it was for a liberated house-elf to
find employment, "because Dobby wants paying now!"  Unable for find work for
two years, he finally hit upon the idea of applying at Hogwarts, and was
taken onto the payroll by Albus Dumbledore.  However, Dobby is still a
little unclear on this whole freedom concept: although proud of his freedom,
he is also proud that he was able to argue his new employer into paying him
a lower wage for longer hours than Dumbledore had first offered.

Throughout this conversation, Winky has been weeping harder than ever,
spurning Hermione's attempt to console her.  She is offended when Hermione
asks her about her salary: "Winky is not yet getting paid! Winky is not sunk
so low as that!"  She becomes angry when Hermione tries to blame Mr. Crouch
for her predicament: "You is not insulting my master, miss!" Though no
longer magically bound to him, she refuses to speak ill of her former
master.  Dobby notes somewhat nervously that Dumbledore told him it's OK for
him to call Dumbledore "a barmy old codger" if he likes, but he once again
lapses into self-punishment when he dares to speak ill of the Malfoys. Winky
is momentarily attentive when Hermione informs her that Crouch is at
Hogwarts, but she does not like that he is the company of Ludo Bagman, "a
very bad wizard" who her master does not like.  She refuses to divulge more,
and resumes her weeping. .

Dobby, seemingly oblivious (or perhaps accustomed) to Winky's behavior,
chats happily with the trio about his future plans, which include buying a
sweater.  Ron promises him to give him one that he knows he will shortly be
receiving from his mother for Christmas.  As they take their leave, the
other house elves, press extra food upon them.  Dobby asks if he can visit
Harry sometime, and  Harry of course agrees. Hermione is convinced that
Dobby's example will gradually encourage the elves to pursue their own
freedom.  Ron ironically hopes that they don't look too closely at Winky.
Hermione airily declares that her mood will soon improve when she realizes
how much better off she is.  They briefly muse over what Crouch might have
had against Bagman, speculating that he is probably a crummy department
head.  But at he at least has a sense of humor (which neither Crouch or his
worshipful assistant Percy Weasley possess)

1) This is one of the seemingly less eventful chapters in the book ,which
those into "page-turning" tend to dislike, - is JKR merely padding here, or
is she approximating the "heavenly lengths" of the great Victorian
novelists, providing a canvas for a greater latitude in character and
narrative development?

2) And of course this is a chapter in which quite a bit is actually
happening. Several narrative strands are introduced which will be bought to
full fruition later in the book.  I've noted at least four: they are..?

3) To what extent is JKR mocking Hermione's self-proclaimed liberation
movement?  Do the loftiness of Hermione's ideals blind her to the specifics
of Winky's misery?  Is freedom always an unalloyed good? What did Sartre
mean when he spoke of being "condemned to freedom?" What did Jean-Jacques
Rousseau mean when he declared that, under the General Will, we would  be
"forced to be free?"

4) One of our regular participants stated that the depiction of the
house-elves, here and elsewhere, made her uncomfortable, being reminiscent
to her of the stereotypic "happy darkies" on the antebellum plantation.  I'd
be interested to hear if our British readers react quite as strongly to
this.  Is this, from the British perspective, more an  instance of
Upstairs/Downstairs? Class rather than race?

5) Compare the Gryffindor celebration with their earlier celebration at the
end of Chapter 17. How do they differ?

6)  Do the Blast-Ended Screwts have anything to do with the Double-Ended
Newts seen in the Magical Menagerie?  (Chap 4 of PoA).  I'm aware that Rita
Skeeter later identifies them as a cross between manticores and fire-crabs,
but we all know how reliable she is.

    - CMC