Freeing House-Elves against their will (was: Re: CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 13)

[Deb]

No: HPFGUIDX 91908

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Elihu Falk <elihufalk at y...> 
wrote:
> > Elihu's answer:
> 
> What about Winky (for her, "That means clothes" was a threat)? She 
> was freed against her will.
> 

-------------------I would think there's a difference--picking up a 
random item of clothing shouldn't free a house-elf because there is 
no intent behind it. Don't they pick laundry up off the floor anyway? 
I'm sure they pick up after the kids at Hogwarts as a general rule--
my feeling is that they're avoiding Gryffindor tower because of 
Hermione's hats. Those are left there with "intent" (whether she has 
the authority to free them or not) and they find that insulting since 
they do not WANT to be freed, and so avoid Gryffindor. But random 
acts of clothing left on the floor by all these kids?? They can't ALL 
pick up after themselves ALL the time! I feel pretty sure that the 
house elves will pick up the laundry when they do other cleaning. 

And, as to Winky being freed against her will--Crouch absolutely had 
the authority to free her, but I don't think anyone else could have. 
For the same reason, Dobby had to get Harry's sock FROM Lucius Malfoy-
-it wouldn't have been effective from Harry. And yet, Dobby WANTED to 
be free, and so--IMO--was able to interpret that sock as the key to 
his freedom. I'd bet that if he were a happy house elf in a happy 
home and was absent-mindedly handed a sock, it wouldn't free him 
because there was no intent on either side to interpret that in such 
a way. 

For a muggle-world analogy--your boss can fire you from your job 
(clear intent--how Winky was "let go"), you can quit (intent on your 
side--this is what I feel Dobby did--he grabbed the tiniest chance to 
be free), but either way, there is a clear intention for the employee 
leaving the job. Idly looking through the Want Ads would NOT have the 
same effect--that, to me, is the equivalent of a house-elf picking up 
a random, left-behind item of clothes that has no "freedom" intention 
attached. But Hermione's hats--those are like leaving the Want Ads on 
somebody's desk at work, with items circled, and left in plain view 
of the boss--the intent to leave the job does NOT belong to the 
person affected, but it could end up badly if it's interpreted the 
wrong way! (grin)

Deb in NJ