House Elves...

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 17001

Amanda wrote:

> We know almost no details about house elves. And what exactly is
> the wizarding world making difficult for them? 


> > Also, if it so natural for elves to serve wizards, then why is it 
so
> > hard for elves to leave the wizards they serve?
> 
> Because it's natural for elves to serve wizards. It's hard to go 
against
> your nature.

This isn't the reason Dobby stays with the Malfoys.  It may be the 
reason Winky stays with the Crouch family, but when her situation with 
them becomes untenable (because of Crouch's fear that she will expose 
his own crime, not for any failure of her own), they don't have a nice 
amicable divorce--she is kicked out, publicly shamed, and considered 
an outcast.  Crouch, on the other hand, maintains his status in 
society; many people don't even think badly of him for acting as he 
did.

meboriqua wrote:

Why cast a spell to keep someone
> > bound to you if they want to serve you in the first place?

Amanda wrote:

> Who said the wizards cast the binding spell? That's another thing we
> don't know. It may be something in the makeup of the elf that does 
the
> binding. I'm not saying the wizards *didn't,* I'm just saying that 
we
> all seem to be making some great big assumptions about the 
relationship,
> on very scanty detail.

Does it matter who did the binding?  The question isn't whether 
wizards are evil, but whether house-elves are treated unjustly.  And 
if they are bound by some third party to serve wizards, why don't 
wizards recognize the tragedy of that and treat them with as much 
dignity and respect as is allowed by the enchantment?  Or are wizards, 
too, enchanted so that they can't help but call house-elves "Elf!"?  
(<---sarcasm alert)

Who among us would like to live like this?:

-Having powers that you cannot use.  "House-elves have got powerful 
magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their 
masters' permission."  (CS 3)

-Having one's freedom be entirely the prerogative of the very people 
who benefit from your enslavement.  "A house-elf must be set free, 
sir." (CS 2)  Even if your masters threaten your life, you have no 
recourse to a system of justice--none that is effective for Dobby, at 
any rate.

-Having no money.  Whatever you are given to live on is all you have. 

-Being enchanted so that whenever you disobey your masters' wishes, 
you are forced to burn, bash, or twist parts of your body.  This is 
largely played for comedy, but 2+ months after barricading the 
platform, Dobby still has bandages on his hands from ironing them in 
punishment.  It's really not funny.

-Knowing a very important secret about a dangerous Dark Wizard plot 
that may kill many people and cause Hogwarts to be closed, but being 
unable to tell anyone (this is a good example of how the house-elves' 
oppression hurts wizards too . . .)


I think we know quite a lot about house-elves, and I think it is very 
obvious what is difficult about their lives.  The obvious explanation 
for the wizard-elf relationship, the one given by Fred (even though 
he's a supporter of the system) and Dobby and Mr. Weasley and 
Hermione, is that house-elves are enslaved.  Why go to such lengths to 
come up with an alternative explanation?

Amy Z

------------------------------------------
 Grenouille: I cannot go with you to the
   market today, Crapaud.
 Crapaud:  But Grenouille, I cannot carry
   the cow alone.
             -Quidditch Through the Ages
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