House-Elfs and Slavery Again

[anglinsbees]

No: HPFGUIDX 38153

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Amanda" <editor at t...> wrote:
> 
> > Winky has been freed, but
> > until she can wrap her mind around the concept, she
> > may as well be working for Barty Crouch.
> 
> Now, Winky, I think, is as aberrant an elf as Dobby. I personally 
think
> elves are bound to a place, and loyalty to a particular human is 
not
> supposed to supercede that. Winky had such a close relationship 
with Crouch
> Jr., for such a long time, with such responsibility specifically 
for him,
> that she cannot accept her freedom---not from her place, but from 
Crouch and
> his son. She is not bemoaning her freedom because it is not 
slavery--she is
> bemoaning her freedom because it separates her from the *people 
she wants to
> serve. She has departed from the house-elf norm so significantly 
in this,
> that she can't allow herself to be bound to a new place and new 
people.
> Winky doesn't want servitude, so much as she wants to be able to 
care for
> "her" people.
> 

I have a very different view of where Winky might go, based on 
traditional mythology and folklore.  In tales of creatures such as 
House Elves and brownies, one of two things happens when they are 
given clotes, neglected, or otherwise trated in an unacceptable 
way.  The first is, they Leave- This is well illustrated  by the 
tale of the elves and the shoemaker.  Dobby, when he was given his 
sock, was free to leave an unbearable situation.

The secont theme I have found in stories is that of the offended elf 
or brownie.  Such a creature, if offered the wrong foods, or 
otherwise offended or wronged, stops being a helpful creature, and 
becomes an imp or gremlin; Souring the milk, preventing the butter 
from coming and the bread from rising, tangling the manes of horses 
and creating other domestic mischief are just some of the examples 
found in folktales.

Now Winky has been <Seriously Offended>.  First she was given 
clothes, then her beloved masters, whom she was all too loyal to, 
were destroyed. First son kils father, and confesses such in front 
of her, then she is witness to the draining of Barty Jr. by a 
Dementor.  Sounds like enough to set anybody over the edge to me!

Maybe we'll see where gremlins (Or perhaps poltergeists) come from 
in the next books....

Ellen
A Pottering Beekeeper

GETTING OFF TOPIC: I'm Playing Mad!Winky over at Naginis_Kiss RPG  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naginis_kiss/ 
So far, she seems to be leaning a bit more towards acting like a 
poltergeist than a gremlin, but I'm working on it....
We are still looking for players, including those for cannon 
characters, so if you're interested, drop by and take a look...