Wizarding Caste System [was: In Defense of Hermione]

[Ebony]

No: HPFGUIDX 26558

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Rowena Grunnion-Ffitch 
<rowena_grunnion_ffitch at y...> wrote:
>     My poin is House-Elves can't be validly compared
> to low caste Hindus or African slaves or any other
> Human group.

Yet this fictional work was not composed in isolation, was it?  It 
may contain magic, but speculative fiction is often a commentary on 
contemporary life and times, and the best literary works shed light 
on some of the many facets of human nature.  The author of the Harry 
Potter series *is* human, and if there is RL magic or sentient 
extraterrestial life (I believe in neither), then it is bound to be 
so very removed from our own reality that we cannot conceive it.  
Let's not get deep here...

>    Hermione's crusade is based on a false premise,
> that House-elves are just like Human Beings. Their
> legal and social position may indeed be in need of
> reform but she should get a clearer idea of what
> House-elves are and their needs and wants before she
> starts agitating for changes.

You are not the first to make this point, Rowena.  I won't name 
names... (grins)

The *exact* same arguments were used to enslave millions.  The 
premise that the enslaved were indeed human was seen by many as 
false, and the legitimate philosophy, science, and religion of the 
time propagated this belief.  Such relativist rhetoric bothers me a 
great deal, especially when JKR has stated that she is exploring RL 
issues through her created world.  She may not be commenting on 
humans as capital or a caste system; she might be making a point 
about the British class system.  Nevertheless, she IS making a 
point.  

The narrative does paint Hermione's plight in a comic light at times, 
but JKR keeps making parallel statements about the status of 
creatures and beings in the magical world in her work.  Subjugated 
house-elves.  Werewolves believed to be dangerous.  Giants believed 
to be bloodthirsty.  JKR's narrative seems to critique those who 
discriminate others because of who or what they are.  House-elves are 
no exception... Dobby's saved Harry's butt a couple of times.

Another point you made is of concern from a historical perspective.  
It was the position of those who profited from the "peculiar 
institution" that the enslaved were happy in bondage as well.  This 
is not surprising.  If you know nothing of freedom, then the prospect 
of it seems frightening.  There are accounts, at least in the United 
States, of freed slaves in the 1860s returning and begging their 
masters to let them back in... for they knew no other life.

I don't care if House-Elves *aren't* human.  They are sentient 
beings, and as such, deserve all the applicable rights, privileges, 
etc. given to the sentient.  If we find out that dolphins think and 
have souls, then darn it, I'll form a SPEW-like organization for 
them, too, and demand that Sea World release all of them to their 
natural environment.

Many of the enslaved didn't believe they'd be better off after 
Emancipation.  Many dolphins might not make it in their natural 
habitats, either.  Doesn't mean that we don't have the right to do 
better by their children.

I could go on and on about this, but will spare the list.

--Ebony AKA AngieJ