Dobby revisited

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 83861

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Kirstini" <kirst_inn at y...> wrote:
> 
> 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? 


An Ethical Elf.
Sounds like a refugee from the sixties, obsessed by the lore of LotR and
insisting that recreational pharmaceuticals must be organically produced
by peasant co-operatives.

OK, I don't necessarily agree with all that I say here; consider it an
exercise in speculative deduction. Some of it I do mean - guess which
is which.

The problem (or one of the problems) is we don't know if Elves  have
ethics and if they do whether or not they are compatible with ours.
To those that say any ethics must be the same I point to the Centaurs.
They are ethical, but not as we (or maybe wizards) are. Differing standards
for differing circumstances. (Incidentally, was Crouch a "bad Dark Wizard?"
I don't think Winky said that of him, only that outsider vistors were. Or have
I misunderstood you?)

Let's consider the Relocation situation first. I can only think of two possible
circumstances where this office is consulted. Firstly if the family an Elf
serves dies out, so that there is nowhere else for it to go and secondly
if the Elf's master decides the Elf has got to go. An Elf may be unhappy,
but nothing is going to  happen unless its owner releases it. If an Elf is
considered surplus to requirements you can be certain that the Office
makes damn sure that there will be no future conflicts of loyalty.
(I still lean towards magical  contracts being involved, freely entered into
but  thereafter strictly enforced.)

Since an Elf is bound to obey the family (or at least that branch of it that 
the Elf is attached to) any feelings it has are irrelevant when put against
this fundamental fact. This, to me, is the basic ethic of Elves. Service, 
maybe not with a smile, but certainly not with a revolt. It  doesn't matter
if we agree with it or not, this is how it is presented, the canon.

The evidence seems to show that Dobby interprets rules so that he can
slide out of his apparent commitment to his family. We may think this is 
a good thing because it suits our reading of the plot and of the characters
surrounding him, but do the other Elves? No, they don't. He is a  disgrace
to Elfdom so far as they are concerned. Dobby is in breach of their ethics
both in his words and his actions. Just as Firenze is with Centaur society. 

The difference between the two? Interesting. Do you totally trust Dobby?
As much as you  would trust Firenze? I don't. Firenze seems to have made
his stance as a matter of principle; and Dobby? More a matter of "can I use
this to get out of here?" Truth matters to Firenze, to Dobby I suspect that
it is negociable, depending on circumstances. Very like my reading of
Lucius Malfoy, in fact. 

DD is on record as saying that Elves are what we have made them. And it
was Malfoy that made Dobby (so far as we know).

So enigmatic, conniving Malfoy beats up Dobby. Enigmatic, conniving 
Dobby does more or less the same to Harry. Gets him into trouble (with
the Underage Magic squad and with Ron into serious hassle after blocking
them at the station), deliberately injures him (for his own good, of course)
and will not  give him essential information. Downright obtuse, in fact.
We suspect that Dobby has some previous connection to the Potters.
It's a possibility and a fertile thread for posters, but there are other, so 
far ignored possibilties. Dobby is using Harry to get what Dobby wants -
out of the Malfoy house and into paid employment; something he could
not get any other way. Or, Dobby is truly a Malfoy Elf and is playing his
Master's game, on instructions. Not likely, but what a lovely twist!

Dobby will know all about Dark Magic. He probably did the dusting down
in the hidey-hole where Malfoy hides the good stuff. He'll  know why it's
hidden, too. The more I consider Dobby the more he comes to resemble
Lucius. That's worrying. Ignore what he says, watch what he does. 

He's not very nice at all.

Kneasy