House elves and some spoilers for Swordspoint WAS: realistic solutions

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 180864

> SSSusan:
> Sorry.  But to me, once a choice has been made to DECLINE an offer 
of 
> FULL freedom, I think I'm with Alla -- a different word needs to 
> exist to describe that state.  It's not slavery and ownership in 
my 
> book if the person is electing to stay.  

Magpie:
> 
> Presumably, if I as a witch offer Snorty Elf her freedom and she 
> says, "No, I don't want to be free," and I say, "Are you sure? 
Don't 
> you want to walk out and be on your own, free to do as you please, 
to 
> earn money, work for whomever you want?" and Snorty says, "No, I 
> don't, I want to stay here and work for you," then to me, 
something 
> FUNDAMENTAL changed in the relationship. 
> And **if** Snorty were to come to me in the future and say, "You 
> know?  I've been thinking about that offer and I think I'd like to 
> take you up on it... I'll be leaving now," then I would honor that 
> because, once freedom had been offered up (even if refused), I, 
> as "master," would no longer see myself as OWNING Snorty.  Rather, 
I 
> would see that something changed in our relationship when I 
willingly 
> offered her that freedom.

Magpie:
The only fundamental change is the way you say you see yourself. 
Nothing has changed in Snorty's situation until her freedom is 
actually granted for real. A word does not exist for owning someone 
legally and literally but not "seeing yourself" as owning them. If 
you had said, "Sure Snorty, you can still stay here and work for me. 
But you will work for me as a Free Elf" then her status would have 
changed. 

Harry and Dumbledore are both generally pro-freedom for House Elves, 
but when they own a slave against his will, they don't free him and 
give him orders because they can. However they want to see 
themselves they *are* owners and slave masters know how to use that 
power when it suits them.

Similarly, maybe an elf doesn't feel like or see herself a slave if 
she's happy in her position. However, if she decided she wanted to 
leave or not follow an order, she's learn pretty quickly that she 
was indeed a slave because she's not free to leave or disobey until 
she's free in reality.

Illusionary freedom that's dependent on how the person with the real 
power feels is worthless--Snorty changing her mind only works if you 
don't change your mind--maybe you don't think you would change your 
mind and so keep her enslaved, but you could and you might, 
especially if what she wanted to do conflicted with your interests, 
as it did for Harry and Dumbledore. (Or you might die and she'd find 
herself inherited as property.) A person needs their own legal 
rights to be protected. You can't depend on the person who has the 
rights to look out for you.

-m