House elves

[jenny_ravenclaw]

No: HPFGUIDX 58109

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Melanie L Ellis <emeleel at j...> 
wrote:

> Even if the line is "come with", I would still read that as along 
the same lines as "old Muggle manor houses come with butlers and 
maids". Muggle butlers and maids are not by any means bound to the 
*house* in which they serve, but instead to the family (not magically, 
but you know what I mean) - which should, hopefully, always be rich 
enough to afford that pretty manor house.>

Hmmmm... maybe things are different in the WW when it comes to real 
estate.  How often throughout the series has "old wizard family" been 
mentioned?  Just recently there was quite a discussion here about 
purebloods, muggle borns, etc.  Wizards and witches seem keenly aware 
of their lineage, maybe even more so than we are.  It is possible that 
property is as much a part of their lineage as their names, and they 
consider ownership of things on their property that we might not, 
house elves included.  

One thing I'd like to add about house elves is that they *believe* 
they have a certain position in WW society.  I like Amanda's theory 
that Winky is as unsual a house elf as Dobby is (yes, Amanda, I always 
read your posts) as she is so completely unwilling to accept new 
owners.  Perhaps part of the magical binding contracts of house elves 
is that they are mentally as well as physically bound to their 
positions.  Dobby might be similar to Harry in that, like Harry was 
able to throw off Imperius, Dobby was able to throw off believing that 
he could never leave the Malfoys.

House elves, as we all know, are quite similar to real slavery 
situations throughout history.  Here in the US, many slaves stayed on 
with their previous owners after they were allowed to leave and there 
are many documented examples of slaves choosing to betray one another 
in favor of their owners, or encouraging their children to not speak 
of freedom, and so on.  Aside from fear of punishment, what else did 
they think was out there for them?  It seems to me that house elves 
feel the same way, whether through a spell or simply from so many 
years of servitude.  They feel they have no identity without a master, 
and to me, this is the real tragedy of their situation.

--jenny from ravenclaw *****************