House Elves' enslavement (long)

[sophierom]

No: HPFGUIDX 114028

> Susanna wrote:
> [snipping lots of interesting analysis]
> Another cause of unhappiness for elves would be the
> death of their hart-master.
>  Kreacher is the ultimate example: not only he lost
> his mistress, he came into
>  service for a wizard he totally despises. IMO, this
> are the main subjects that
>  SPEW should be dealing with. SPEW should be trying
> to
> call wizards to the
>  responsibility of having a house elf: they take
> care
> of you and YOU TAKE CARE OF
>  THEM!
>  

 Sophierom:
 
 First, let me say, wow, what a fantastic analysis. 
 You've made some great points and suggested some
 fascinating ideas about house elves.
 
I think (and I could be completely wrong) that the treatment of house elves in wizarding 
society is another of JKR's way of telling us that wizarding society is actually a pretty racist 
society.  (Other examples of this are pureblood/muggleborn distinction and treatment of 
Lupin the werewolf perhaps?)  In this way, Voldemort is not so much an aberrance but an 
extreme version of some widely held views. 

Based on this reading of house elves, I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea that SPEW 
should only focus on teaching wizards to take care  of their house elves (hence giving up 
on the ultimate quest for freedom).  While getting wizards to treat their house elves well is 
a good thought (and perhaps a good short-term aim), it's ultimately a reenforcement of 
paternalism, which is only a nicer manifestation of racism.  

Many of you may disagree with this analogy, but I can't help but think of the way American 
whites treated African American slaves in 17th, 18th, and 19th century America.  There 
were white masters who considered their slaves members of their family.  (See, for 
example, historian Eugene Genovese, who, in  his research, found slaveowners' references 
to their "family, white and black").  If one considers his slave a member of his household, 
his family, does that make slavery any better? Well, the slaves might not be treated as 
poorly as they are in other families, but in the end, they are still slaves.  And they are still 
unequal - the head of house is always the one with ultimate control.  In other words, the 
master can be a benevolent dictator or a cruel dictator - but still a dictator.

In arguing this, I want to make something very clear: the slave analogy is flawed in a big 
way.  That is, African American slaves are biologically the same as their white masters; 
they are all human.  But in JKR's universe, house elves are a separate species altogether.  
Given this important difference, it is possible to argue that making the analogy between 
human slave societies and house elf enslavement is wrongheaded.  But I think, if you look 
at the larger thematic trend of the HP books, house elf enslavement is indeed yet another 
way of showing that wizarding society has a severe and problematic superiority 
complex.  By keeping house elves enslaved, even if they are treated more kindly, wizards 
and witches will never come to see these creatures as their equals (read: as creatures who 
have as much right to control their own magic, their own destiny, as other sentient 
creatures).  

Now, this does not mean that I think Hermione is correctly handling her campaign to free 
the house elves.  While I agree with her ends (house elf freedom), I disagree with her 
means. She tries to manipulate the elves because she believes she knows better than they 
do.  In other words, she's patronizing them; she, too, fails to see the creatures as equals.  
So, I don't think SPEW should alter its goals, but it should alter its methods.

Susanna also wrote:
Will Winky's broken hart ever heal? Is it as simple as giving her hart to a new
family? If so, Hogwarts is the totally wrong place for her and reassures my
concern that it's not a good place for an elf at all!

Sophierom:

Some good questions, but again, I must disagree slightly with your point.  I do not think 
Hogwarts is a bad place for house elves.  Indeed, I think it might be the ideal location 
situation, if there can be such a thing.  Whereas house elves like Kreacher and presumably 
Winky (pre-clothes) seemed to be isolated, alone except for human companionship, the 
Hogwarts house elves seem (from what little canon evidence we have) to have a 
community.  While Susanna argues that the transience of humans at Hogwarts prevents 
the creation of a true "heart master" bond between elf and human, Hogwarts might 
provide a much better substitute: a house elf bond. 

Consider this: right now, if there is a "master" at Hogwarts, it is Dumbledore, who would 
appear to be a kind master.  But, let's say Dumbledore had been permanently exiled from 
his position at the end of OotP and Umbridge had become the Headmistress.  Would she 
be a good Mistress to the house elves? Probably not.  But the house elves would at least 
have each other to rely on in bad times.  

Now, let's consider the isolated house elf: Kreacher has a "heart" master in Mistress Black 
(even if we do not like her, she seems to have won her elf's loyalty).  But when Mistress 
Black is dead, he is passed on to Sirius, a man he hates.  On whom can Kreacher lean for 
support? No one - he is stuck in a position he hates.  This is why all enslavement - 
whether with a master one likes or a master one hates - is ultimately a bad situation. 
Kreacher had very little control on his own destiny.  Still, the Hogwarts elves at least have a 
little bit of constancy in their lives - each other.  They can build a community, a culture; 
and cultural preservation and/or cultural creation can be seen as an assertion of one's 
equality, perhaps even the basis for a protest or a larger social movement.

Susanna astutley points out that house elves do have some autonomy, but they have to 
sneak around and punish themselves to exercise it, and in the end, these little bits of 
autonomy do not allow Kreacher (or Winky) to determine their course in life.  They must 
react instead of act. 

Perhaps Winky will always hate Hogwarts because she is too conditioned to love her old 
master.  But I do not think this makes Hogwarts a bad place for an elf to serve.  

Thanks, Susanna, for the thought-provoking analysis!