Dobby revisited

[corinthum]

No: HPFGUIDX 83532

Kneasy wrote:

> A bit of devious thinking - that act that frees Dobby. The sock does 
> not belong to Malfoy; he does not even touch it, only the diary. Why 
> should a sock from a stranger have this significance? But if Harry is 
> family then Dobby's cry of "Harry Potter set Dobby free!" has real 
> significance, because unless he is family he can't possibly set Dobby 
> free, only Malfoy can. And I don't believe unknowingly giving a sock 
> from a stranger would do the trick.

The real question is what the "trick" is that sets a house elf free. 
Is a house elf bound to a family by some magical contract, which is
broken by the giving of clothes, or is a house elf's servitude or lack
thereof entirely self-imposed?

I tend to think it is the latter.  Steve (I beleive) wrote a week or
two ago about the differences between freedom from servitude and
freedom for oppression.  I agree with him that freeing elves from
their duties would be cruel.  House elves enjoy work; they feel very
strongly that it is their duty to serve wizards.  I don't equate this
with them feeling inferior to wizards.  Instead, I think it is
something similar to a religious work ethic.  Several religions in the
real world hold the belief that hard manual labor is a way of showing
dedication to God and imporving oneself.  To be a good little elf, not
in a subservient, impress-your-master way, but rather a
reach-my-full-potential way, each elf must work hard and serve his or
her family.  

Based on this idea, I think the rules governing house elves (can't
disobey family, only free if given clothes, etc.) are entirely
voluntary.  This leads to the rather blurry guidelines for the rules.
 For example, there doesn't seem to be anything stopping Dobby from
visiting Harry at home or at Hogwarts.  The only direct punishment he
seems to receive is self-inflicted.  Apparently, he could leave the
Malfoys for good at any time, but he knows the rules and therefore
returns.  However, he desperately wants to leave, and so the Malfoys
are very careful not to let him have anything resembling clothes for
fear he will leap at the opportunity.  In the end, an inadvertantly
tossed sock that Malfoy possessed for all of one second was enough to
free Dobby.  Would it have been enough to release another elf? 
Porbably not.  Most elves would see it as an accidental occurence, not
intentional giving of clothes, and would therefore continue in
service.    

Winky, it seems, was given a much more obvious message.  Crouch tells
her in no uncertain terms that she will be receiving clothes as
punishment, and then she is presented with an entire outfit (I'm
assuming that the skirt, blouse, and hat she later wears at Hogwarts
were given by Crouch).  Given Crouch's fury and desperation at the
situation, I doubt these were a going-away present.  No, Crouch was
making sure that Winky, who would like nothing better than to remain
in his service, could not possibly see the gesture as anything but a
giving-of-clothes.

The can't-disobey-the-family rule seems equally open to each elf's
interpretation.  Obviously, the intent of the family member is
irrelevant; Kreacher knew perfectly well that Sirius was not giving
him permission to visit Narcissa.  However, the words could be twisted
that way, and that was the only permission Kreacher needed.  Dobby
showed the same ability to spin words to suit the no disobediance rule
when he said the danger at Hogwarts had nothing to do with
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.  He was able to argue to himself that he was
telling the truth, and that seems to have been the only standard he
had to meet.

In light of your comments, I am still mystified as to why exactly
Dobby is so loyal to Harry.  However, I think, once he had decided
upon this loyalty, his only barrier to action was his own beliefs. 
The same holds for Kreacher.  Both elves have shown that there are no
concrete  regulations governing house elf enslavement, only their own
beliefs and customs, both of which can be circumvented without much
trouble.

-Corinth, who is getting more and more intigued by the house elf
plotliness