house elves & slavery (OoP)

[becca_price]

No: HPFGUIDX 65760

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboy_mn at y...> wrote:

> There is a misguided attempt to free some of the house elves, although
> the logic behind it is somewhat flawed. In the days of slavery in the
> USA south, I could not come from the north and hand out proclimations
> of emancipation to every slave I saw, and have anyone including the
> slave consider this a valid freeing of a slave. A slave can be set
> free only by the person to whom the person is enslaved, and I think
> that would include anyone in the immediate family of the house to
> which they are enslaved. So randomly laying around 'proclimations of
> emancipation' and hoping a slave will pick it up and suddenly be free
> is... well, like I said, flawed, naive and misguided. 

In another series on which I am hooked (the Amelia Emerson books by E.
Peters), a character talks about a deeper form of slavery than just
the legalities: "There is an older law, that some hold higher... there
is a loyalty based on servitude - resented, hated, but admitted by
those who believe in that code." (_Hippopotumus Pool_). In other
words, beyond the legalities, you're really only a slave if you
believe you are.

This, I think, is how a lot of the house elves feel; remember that
when Dobby was freed, and went to work for DD for *pay* a lot of the
other house elves were horrified. They may have been enslaved long
enough that the concept of freedom is not only alien, but actively
frightening to them... if they aren't slaves and servants, what are they? 

-Becca
a lurker and first-time poster (so I hope this makes it through the
moderator!)