JKR, Harry, and the nature of House-Elves: (Was: "Morality" and "tolerance" in

[lizzyben04]

No: HPFGUIDX 178904

> Carol responds:
> 
> Forgive me. I'm not being sarcastic. I'm just puzzled. What 
*should*
> or *could* Hermione have done differently? Should she (and Harry) 
have
> ldft Kreacher as he was, miserable, filthy, hostile, and 
dangerous? Or
> worse, set him free in that state, forcing him to leave what he
> considered to be his home?
> 
> Kreacher is not only clean and happy now,<snip> 
> If Hermione "changed sides," might it be that she was wrong in the
> first place? Or rather, that she realized that the House-Elves 
really
> did not want freedom and perhaps could not be freed, at least en 
masse?


lizzyben:
 
Not speaking for a_sivirm here, but I think the problem is not with 
Harry or Hermione, but JKR. I don't blame Harry or Hermione for 
eventually accepting house-elf slavery, because in this odd world 
the slaves actually seem happiest as slaves. So what are you going 
to do? The thing is, JKR has created this world. And she's created a 
world where it's actually proper & right for the heroes to accept 
their natural positions as slave-holders and rulers over the 
inferior races. (Elves, goblins, centaurs) As Pippin pointed out, 
it's a bit like the speculative fantasy fiction that shows a "master 
race" taking over & ruling the inferior humans. Except in this 
speculative fiction, our heroes are the master race. And in that 
way, JKR's somehow managed to create a world that contradicts 
everything she claims to believe. I'm still trying to figure out if 
that was a mistake or a purposeful decision.

Cause that's the thread that runs through all of these 
controversies - the concept of a "natural elite". Whether that elite 
be wizards/Gryffindors/divine elect/brahmans, their inherent 
superiority & righteousness gives them the natural *right* to rule 
over the inferior races & peoples of the wizarding world. It is 
profoundly undemocratic, profoundly unequal, and extremely 
intolerant. There's something vaguely fascist about the whole thing.


lizzyben