Dobby revisited

[Kirstini]

No: HPFGUIDX 83784

Kneasy (ahh, watch him stir, with a happy little grin on his face. 
Bless him)wrote:
>>Differing opinions appearing on the reasons for Dobby's behaviour. 
Good. I hate it when everybody agrees.
<snip> leb2323 brings up the interesting point of the Elf Re-location 
Office at the Ministry and that perhaps Dobby has a significant 
employment history. But if he has transferred wouldn't his loyalties 
be adjusted? Would you really expect that an Elf could defy his 
present family and go against their interests? Not likely. In that 
case no-one would want a used Elf>>

Yeah, when I first read Leb's post I found the idea a bit far-fetched 
too. However, I was thinking (this isn't something that happens 
regularly anymore, so bear with me) - 
As I see it, this is a question of learned ethics. Winky and Kreacher 
both assume the ethics of their families - we hear the judgements of 
Crouch and Black (sounds like a firm of solicitors)in the 
phrases "bad Dark wizard" and "blood traitor brats" respectively. 
Dobby doesn't. Dobby, in fact, rebels against the Malfoy ethos so 
utterly as to make a subjective judgement about the rights and wrongs 
of his family's position. Fine. Dobby is a Thinking Elf. He's a hippy 
Elf, an independant, rogue Elf. But where did he learn his 
alternative morality from? Where has he gleaned the language to tell 
Harry that his former employers were "bad Dark wizards"? Dobby and 
Winky both use this phrase, so yes, he could have picked it up from 
her. But it implies a judgement which was made during the period of 
employment. Therefore, Dobby would have to have learned from 
*somewhere* that there was a magic which was "bad" - Dark magic, as 
practised by his employers. Important to note also that the followers 
of Lord Voldemort, though they call him "the Dark Lord" do not make 
this sort of moral distinction, nor are they likely to say "hey, Elf, 
here I am doing some bad, Dark magic". Remember old Quirrell? "There 
is no good and evil, only power and those too weak to seek it" or 
something? Ergo, I assume Dobby has not learned to make this sort of 
subjective judgement with the Malfoys. Certainly, Dobby could have 
followed a similar trajectory to Harry, who knows the Dursleys are 
bad primarily because they compromise his own interests, but Harry 
has had school and education, which Dobby, at least under the 
Malfoys, has not. 
There has to be some sense of an alternative, I think, before an 
alternative view point can be discussed. Kreacher and Winky have not 
had this opportunity, so they toe the party line. Dobby, I conclude, 
*must* have had some previous experience of other moral judgements, 
and I'm guessing it wasn't from Grandpappa Malfoy. 

However, the problem I have with all my shiny new theorising is that 
*Lucius Malfoy* is unlikely to want a second-hand house elf. Unless 
sweet little baby Draco bit the old one's head off, and the house was 
getting dusty....but I digress.

Kirstini, spark plugs a-buzzin'. Just not all in the right order.