House Elves and DEs

[jenny_ravenclaw]

No: HPFGUIDX 58221

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "honeycakehorse03" 
<honeycakehorse03 at h...> wrote:
 
> IMO the treatment of the house elves shows definite parallels to 
> Voldemort's treatment of his servants.
> (And isn't that just too ironic for Lucius Malfoy *g*) 
> 1.  Both parties are not allowed to diobey their master
> 2.  They are punished if they step out of line
> 3.  Their punishment is uncommonly cruel.
> 4.  They have special orders they have to fulfil for their master, 
> even if it changes their whole life (eg. Barty Croch Jr.)
> 5.  They are magically bound to their master (Dark Mark).
> 
> In CoS we don't know about Death Eaters yet but we already know that 
> there are certain ways somebody can be magically bound to a person 
> and not be able to do something about it. I see this similar to the 
> relationship between Voldemort and his Death Eaters. When they 
> accept the Dark Mark they bind themselves to Voldemort and from then 
> on are always in his service. (eg. Even though he has been dormant 
> for years Snape's Dark Mark starts to darken in GoF and shows that 
> their "contract" is still alive).>

I think some of these parallels make sense, but I see no real 
connection between DEs and House Elves.  Voldemort's followers are 
generally not his servants, but wizards and witches who chose to 
follow him because they believed in him.  House Elves have no such 
power in the WW.

The Dark Mark is quite different than the bond that ties House Elves 
to their masters.  DEs can choose to not obey the Dark Mark when it 
appears, as we've seen in both Snape and Karkaroff.  While we don't 
know if Snape did go to the graveyard with the others, we can assume 
he had a say in the matter.  Karkaroff, if I'm not mistaken, ran away 
from Hogwarts and did not go to the graveyard at all.  House Elves, 
however, suffer consequences that they cannot control if they disobey 
their masters.

Really, I think it all comes down to choice, which is something JKR 
stresses throughout the series.  As the Great Amanda says, both Dobby 
and Winky are unusual in that they do not think/feel the way other 
House Elves do.  Many people here believe that the need to serve is 
built into the character of being a House Elf, much like the ability 
to learn language is built into us.  DEs have had every freedom to 
travel any path they want to in their lives, and the path of hatred 
and violence is the one they want to follow.  No one makes them do 
anything (you could believe the ones who claimed they were under 
Imperius, but I don't) - including Voldemort.  Even Pettigrew chose to 
find Voldemort when he escaped from Hogwarts with his life.

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