[HPforGrownups] House Elves (still)

[Rowena Grunnion-Ffitch]

No: HPFGUIDX 26934


--- Rita Winston <catlady at wicca.net> wrote:
> 
> Rowena Grunnion-ffitch wrote:
> 
> > They are Brownies, or rather the descendants
> > of Brownies who have been magically enslaved.
> > They don't need pay, or pensions or vacations,
> > they need the spells forcing them to continue
> > to work for particular Wizardly families removed. 
> 
> (elsewhere) 
> > This can and must be changed.
> 
> This is all very cool and I agree with you, and I
> expect Hermione would 
> agree with you if you told her "Offering them
> clothes they refuse to
> accept is irrelevant. Removing the spells that make
> them want to stay
> enslaved is what would be effective" instead of
> calling her names. 

    Did I call Hermione names? It's possible, having
grown up in 60s California I have a low tolerance
level for self-righteousness and a decidedly cynical
view of 'activists'. 
   Hermione seems hooked on the notion House elves
need pensions, vacation time, ect. and notably
determined to ignore the House elves' own testimony
about what they do and do not want. I agree with Rita,
get the compulsions spells removed first *then* we'll
see what House elves really want.

> HOWEVER, Hermione did just as much research as we
> did (rather more than
> I did, what with all that time she spent in the
> library) and SHE read
> wizarding books, not just Muggle books that get a
> lot of things wrong.

  HOWEVER, it seems quite likely Hermione would reject
her wizard sources as biased if they told her things
she didn't want to hear, (like House elves really *do*
prefer work to leisure and have little use for money).
She seems determined to regard them as human beings
with funny ears who want/need exactly the same things
we want and need.
   Look at Dobby, he likes being free and wearing
clothes but emphasizes he likes work just as much.
Brownies worked for humans because they wanted to, if
their hosts displeased or insulted them off they went.
Dobby is something of an anomaly wanting to be paid,
(pocket money rather than a living wage) but there
were Brownies who wanted and were given a new shirt
annually dispite the usual prejudice of their species
against clothes. Which only goes to show magical
creatures are individuals too.


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