Elves and freedom

[Janette]

No: HPFGUIDX 170300

>
> Sandy:





> This, to me, is what makes the House Elf enslavement  so puzzling. They
> have
> such powerful magic of their own that they don't need a  wand to perform,
> yet
> they remain enslaved. I have to chalk it off to them  *wanting* to be
> enslaved, as has been proven throughout the books. Dobby seems  to be the
> only one who
> actually wanted to be freed, in big part due to the  Masters he served.
> Winky
> was devastated when she was freed, and the Hogwarts  elves ostracize Dobby
> because he is free. I understand all of that. What I don't  understand is
> why
> Dobby didn't just walk away. What force is it that keeps the  elves who
> want to
> be free enslaved?


montims:

love of life?  Until the prevailing attitude is changed, elves cannot live
free.  If it hadn't been for DD rescuing him by offering him paid employment
Dobby would have starved to death, despised by most of the WW.

Compare it to the treatment of "blacks" under apartheid in South Africa.
 That existed for a relatively short time, but the majority population was
disenfranchised, forced to work away fron their families down the mines or
as houseboys and housemaids/nannies, and their children were taught under a
special, state-enforced, curriculum that taught them false history, and only
enough education to prepare then to becone house boys or housemaids.  If
they lost their job, it would be nearly impossible to find another, and if
they were found in a place at the wrong time or without the correct permit,
they were arrested and imprisoned. They were tortured and disposed of like
animals.  If that had gone on for centuries, like elf enslavement, who would
then have had the courage or the ability to fight against the system?


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