Freedom for House-Elves (long-ish) (Was: Kreacher the Plot Device Elf)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 161916

Charles wrote:
<snip> 
> 
> Another possibility I see for the house elves "fear of freedom" (for 
> lack of a better term at the moment)is tradition. <snip> If I 
> understand the situation correctly, house elves have been serving 
> human wizards for over a thousand years, since before the founding
of Hogwarts. That would seen to me to be a tradition that is pretty 
> tough to break with. For many hundreds of years, they have known 
> nothing but the slavery that is their lot now.

Carol responds:
I agree with this part of your post. If you're born into servitude and
you're part of a long tradition (your family has "always" served that
family), you feel as if you have a place in the world, a niche where
you belong. Freedom removes that place or niche and forces you to
create a life for yourself. You have to find employment and earn a
living on your own, essentially selling your skills to the highest
bidder. Anyone who's ever been unemployed for any reason knows how
hard that is. How did Dobby and Winky live for that year or so when
they were looking for work? Magic can't create food. Freedom can
indeed be a scary thing unless you have inexhaustible wealth to go
with it. And there's also the matter of rules. If you know the rules,
you know what to do and how to act. House-elves in someone's home know
what's expected of them. In the outside world, there are no such
guidelines, or if there are, they don't know them. It's scary going
out on your own. Ask any teenager who's suddenly forced to earn a
living after having his needs taken care of by mom and dad. Freedom is
not worth much in itself. Yes, you can vote and you have the right to
choose your own line of work, but you have to know how to succeed in a
competitive free world or you'll starve. Much safer, much less scary,
to do the work that your ancestors have traditionally done, to serve
the family that they served, especially if you're treated kindly. You
know your place, you know the rules, you have food and shelter. Why
risk losing all that just to be free? Not that I'm advocating slavery
or opposing democracy. I'm only saying that fear of freedom is
perfectly understandable, especially from a House-Elf's point of view.
Or even a Hobbit's. Imagine how Sam Gamgee would feel if Frodo
suddenly "freed" him. I see his being Frodo's servant as a form of
voluntary servitude, comparable to that of House-Elves before any
spells compelling their obedience were placed on them. Without Mr.
Frodo, he would feel that he had no purpose in life. (Until Frodo
leaves for the Undying Lands, of course.)

Charles wrote:
> Although we don't see elf reproduction, we can assume it happens.
Elves would therefore be raised from birth to believe that their place
is to serve humans.

Carol responds:
True, we don't see House-Elf reproduction, but Winky speaks of her
mother and grandmother, who also worked for the Crouches, and the
heads of Kreacher's ancestors, including his mother, IIRC, line the
walls of 12 GP's hallway. So, yes, it happens. I doubt that House-Elf
marriage is allowed, though. Maybe a House-Elf doesn't even know who
his father is. Notice that House-Elves have only one name, no last
naem identifying them with their fathers. Best not to think about it,
I guess.

Charles wrote:
> In human societies, tradition is a very strong compulsion and very
hard to break with. Look at how recently the subservience of women was
called into question and rejected in western societies-many of which
actually were matriarchal before the spreading of Christianity. <snip>

Carol responds:
Let's not blame patriarchy on Christianity. The Greeks and Romans were
patriarchal, as were the Hebrews. Nor is patriarchy restricted to
Western cultures. Look at the harems of the sultans and, say,
foot-binding in the Orient. Granted, women had more rights in some
cultures than others, say the pre-Christian Celtic tribes, but if I'm
not mistaken, the Welsh continued to allow women more privileges than
the English did even into Anglo-Norman times when both cultures were
Christian. (I'm not an expert on those cultures, so please correct me
if I'm wrong. I'm only saying that patriarchy predates Christianity
and was widespread among non-Christian as well as Christian cultures
by the time we're speaking of, ca. a thousand years ago and beyond.)
If you want a patriarchal culture today, check out fundamentalist Islam.

Carol, responding to various subpoints without being sure of her own
main point