Official Philip Nel Question #9: House Elves

[gwendolyngrace]

No: HPFGUIDX 39094

Greetings, everyone!

It's time for the long-awaited, much-anticipated, can't-be-stopped-
from-talking-about-it-ahead-of-time-beloved, 9th question in the 
Philip Nel series!

Before we get into the topic, I just wanted to tie this week's 
discussion in to something real happening in the world right now. And 
what momentous event is occurring this week? Why, the US release of 
the home-movie-version-of-choice-of-the-film-that-must-not-be-named! 
For those who will deign to own a copy of the aforementioned 
cinematic representation, I'm sure they, like me, will be staring at 
their screens at home over the next few days with the same mixture of 
emotions expressed at the release of said FTMNBN in theatres. BUT, 
you ask, HOW does this tie in to HP? Why, as we all are glued to our 
sets, particularly our DVD players, checking out the cut footage, 
watching Quidditch in stop motion, etc., we will get hungry! The 
laundry will go unwashed! The dishes will pile up in the sink! The 
housework, in short, will be left undone. So this week's Nel 
discussion question begins with a tribute to those tiny creatures 
some of us wish we had to help clean up around the house: Pets. Er. 
No. Children? Nope
. I mean
 house-elves.

The house-elf's a servant most rare,
He must always be treated with care,
For this type of menial,
Is loyal and genial,
Even if his tea-towel is threadbare.

The house-elves are patient and kind,
And tasks janitorial don't mind.
But when they're abused,
It just can't be excused.
What else about them can we find?

Yes, folks, we're here to talk about house-elves. All house-elves, 
all the time. So without further ado, Dr. Nel's actual questions:

1. Jonathan Levi said that GoF was "the first children's book to 
endorse slavery since Little Black Sambo."  Do the Potter novels 
endorse the house-elves' enslavement?  Consider the positions on elf 
rights taken by Ron, George, Mr. Weasley, Dobby, Winky, Hermione, 
Sirius Black and Harry.   With whom are our sympathies supposed to 
lie?

2. If the HP novels endorse subjugation of the house elves, do they 
endorse enslavement?  Or should we instead see Rowling as recognizing 
the limitations of social reform?  Are we supposed to be outraged or 
sympathetic to George Weasley's statement that the house elves are 
happy (GoF, pg 211)?  A related point: Hermione says that the house 
elves have been brainwashed into accepting their jobs.  Should we 
agree with her?  Do we see the means through which the elves are 
brainwashed? 

And as promised, our follow-up questions:

Aside from the discussions that have broken out in the last month or 
two, these questions, or ones like them, have come up numerous times 
on the list. The central debate seems to center around one question 
of interpretation: Are the house-elves meant to be taken as literal 
beings, or are they meant to represent a metaphor for something? And 
if they are metaphoric, then what exactly is the message Rowling is 
trying to send through them?

When considering your answers, think too of the controversial and 
contradictory evidence we have about house-elves. They clearly have 
some wandless magic of their own, and that magic can be powerful: 
case in point, when Dobby blasted Lucius Malfoy down the stairs.  
They can seemingly circumvent the Apparation prohibition in Hogwarts, 
or else their cracking in and out of places is not the same kind of 
magic. How about the food-related magic? The prohibitions on 
clothing? How do these kinds of power relate to their overall sense 
of being/nature as a race/role within the books?

Lest you feel adrift in the torrent of information, witness our next 
service: That of providing some previous threads of interest.  This 
is a list of message numbers close to or at the start of several 
threads that pertain to this discussion. Feel free to follow the 
threads along; some of it's very interesting:

14696 wherein Margaret Dean comments on "how close their nature is to 
human nature."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/14696

14716 in which Amy Z champions Hermione's cause.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/14716

15347, a nugget of wisdom from mecki
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/15347

16617, Steve Vanderark's "backstory" for the roots of elf enslavement
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/16617

16908 and the thread it sparks: Amy Z's comparison of house-elves to 
the house-wife.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/16908

16998 Amanda's point-by-point analysis of the house-elf system as we 
had seen it to date
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/16998

17156 Okay, this one's more humourous. But it's a cute take on the 
importance of socks.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/17156

18486 A thread that attempts to reconcile the office of house-elf 
relocation with the rest of what we know about elves.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/18486

21058 In this thread, we discuss whether Dobby might not be in full 
control of his wits.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/21058

26545 A discussion of the wizarding caste system, started by Barb 
Purdom
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/26545

26785 In which I get a little
excited about this issue and confuse 
Amy Z with Amanda, among other errors in perception. But my points 
are good. Really.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/26785

30594, wherein Eleri makes a similar point to mine much more 
succinctly.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/30594

37038, A re-opening of the house-elf issue from back in March.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/37038

Which leads us to the recent discussion of house-elves. 

Please, talk amongst yourselves. I'll be back with my own responses 
to March and April's points in a few messages.

Gwen