House elves and holidays

[meboriqua at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 16716


> 
> 
> claire :)
> 
> ps. From what age do you think little house elves start work?
> And I wonder how long they live?

What I'd like to know is why most house elves seem to enjoy what they 
do.  Perhaps the Malfoys were the worst owners around, but Crouch 
treated poor Winky terribly as well.  Why do they take such pride in 
being owned?  And, if they are so magical, why do they not defend 
themselves more often?  These questions have been bothering me quite a 
lot.

If I look back in history at Africans being enslaved here in the 
States, I know that many of them were terrified to run away from their 
masters because of the consequences of getting caught (which was 
likely).  However, it is clear to me that they hated being enslaved, 
as their songs and memoirs tell us.  I'm not sure, then, where JKR is 
going with the house elf thing, even though I know repression and 
discrimination is a complicated issue.  Sorry if this has already been 
discussed to death.

--jenny fr