Wizarding Caste System [was: In Defense of Hermione]

[blpurdom at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 26545

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Rowena Grunnion-Ffitch 
<rowena_grunnion_ffitch at y...> wrote:
> 
> --- Ebony <ebonyink at h...> wrote:
> 
> > Well, it seems to me that as she gets older Hermione
> > is getting better at not being so bossy.
> 
>    A little better. But take her House-Elves rights
> campaign, she's going strong at it for months before
> she even bothers to talke to some House-elves and find
> out what *they* think. 
>    I believe Hermione is guilty of projecting human
> needs and aspirations on non-humans. Maybe House-elves
> are brainwashed, or maybe they really do have very
> different emotional needs. I suggest Hermione find out
> which it is before she starts her crusade.

She's projecting in the same way that Westerners have gone into other 
societies around the world and decided what is good for the people in 
those societies.  I love Hermione, but she would decidedly make a 
very bad anthropologist, unable to withhold judgment on the merits of 
a society's structure and customs and merely observe.

I'm changing the topic slightly here.  I've been having these 
thoughts lately about the wizarding caste system.  It seems that JKR 
is purposely drawing parallels between the Indian caste system and 
the wizarding one, and especially the way in which an 
outside "crusader" like Hermione comes in and starts trying to 
liberate the house-elves (who, I suppose, would be the equivalent of 
Untouchables).  IIRC, even those who were not Brahmins took great 
afront at Brits in India who disregarded the caste system and either 
tried to create a level playing field for all people of Indian birth 
or simply did not care about the protocol of the country they had 
taken over and tried to force those of different castes to interact 
with each other in ways that violated this protocol, scandalizing 
people of all castes. (Gandhi also got into trouble because of his 
desire to overthrow the caste system.)  

Although some folks have discussed slavery parallels with regards to 
the house-elves, the caste-system parallel seems to work better, as 
the house-elves themselves seem to be very attached to having this 
particular niche in wizarding society, and Dobby's joy at being free 
seemed to stem largely from having to serve the Malfoys, rather than 
having been enslaved in general.  

The way that other groups fit into the caste system (or don't--
giants, it seems, would be considered out-castes) is debatable; pure-
bloods would presumably be the equivalent of Brahmins, but I wouldn't 
want to call half-bloods or Muggle-borns the equivalent of Warriors, 
etc.  I don't think the parallels need to be that specific.  Suffice 
to say that the status of half-bloods is down a notch from pure-
bloods, Muggle-borns are below that, and then you get various 
sentient magical creatures, such as goblins, on down to house-elves.

OTOH, one thing that allowed Buddism and Islam to get a foothold in 
India (I'm not really getting into theology, don't worry) was that 
these sects disregarded the caste system, bringing a new freedom to 
many (not just the lowest castes, either).  But in spite of this, 
many, many people did not convert and continued to adhere to 
Hinduism, even those in the lowest castes, so freedom from the caste 
system was not a fool-proof draw even to those Westerners might think 
of as oppressed.  Dobby may have been an anomaly, a house elf who 
wanted very badly to "convert."  In other words, Hermione is facing a 
very entrenched system and a people firmly convinced that they are 
where they belong (witness Winky).  If there is going to be true 
house-elf liberation at some point, it's going to be a real uphill 
slog for her--the equivalent of a social revolution.

--Barb