[HPforGrownups] Re: Elves and freedom

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 170313

From: dracojadon at yahoo.co.uk
>Forcing freedom onto modern house-elves is a bit like 
>forcing civilisation onto aboriginal tribes in the 
>rainforest: it's completely failing to take into account 
>the values of the elves, pressing onto them the values of 
>wizards instead - which, if it was wizards who enslaved 
>house-elves in the first place, aren't exactly to be trusted 
>as consistent.

Bart:
Worse, I think. Remember, house-elves are NOT human, nor is their psychology. They have a need to serve, and great difficulty in acting independently (Dobby being, by house-elf standards, quite insane). However, this does not mean that it is right to overly take advantage of this trait; the boss of a house-elf has a responsibility as a human being to treat the house-elf kindly. In addition, house-elves appear to have a preference on WHICH human(s) they serve; Dobby, for example, is quite happy serving DD and Harry, while Winky mourns her lost family, taking an almost motherly attitude towards them. I do not know how house elves get bought and sold (I believe Ron used the phrase "cannot afford a house-elf", but it seems that DD, for whatever reason, has refused to enslave Winkie, which would have made her somewhat, if not entirely, more satisfied with her lot. Serving Harry is torture for Kreacher, but Harry's hands are kind of tied on that regard. 

House elves definitely appear to be capable of love, and the ideal situation for a house elf appears to be to serve someone they love, and who loves them back. 

Bart