Hermione & the Elves (was: Wands and Wizards)

[Mike]

No: HPFGUIDX 183785

> > Mike:
> > Umm, Hermione knit the Elf hats/cozies in GoF. 
> > So yeah, I meant GoF.
> 
> Pippin:
> Gosh, maybe we *are* reading different books <veg>.

Mike:
Mouth, meet foot. Foot, climb right in there and get comfortable. No 
sense in getting out, you'll just be climbing back in again. Merlin's 
shorts, can I get anything right on this thread?


> Pippin:
> We do hear  indirectly about SPEW, though. 

Mike:
Harry also thinks about Hermione and her S.P.E.W. in "After the 
Burial" when Sluggy relates that he used elves to taste test the 
wine for poisons. Again, It wasn't Hermione speaking, it was Harry 
remembering Hermione's position.


> Pippin:
> The forgotten House-elf in all this is Hokey. 
> <snip canon>
> 
> As Harry's conclusion shows, Hokey's story is the one which
> illustrates that even Elves who are happy with their masters
> need civil rights. Once Hepzibah was dead, no one (except
> Dumbledore) cared if Hokey was hauled off to Azkaban.

Mike:
But Hokey wasn't treated any different than Morfin was. They were 
both framed by Riddle. See, this is another case where the elf wasn't 
treated any different than the human was or would have been. Wizard 
justice sucks, but it doesn't suck any worse for elves. BTW, I always 
had the impression that the DMLE concluded that Hokey *accidently* 
poisoned Hepzi, and therefore she wasn't incarcerated. I don't 
remember Dumbledore saying he visited Hokey in Azkaban or any other 
prison. Did I screw up, *again*?



> Pippin:
> Exactly. Hermione's activism is well-meant, and changes *are* 
> needed, but she went astray in blindly trying to apply the
> lessons of one culture's history to another. 

Mike:
Right! And that leads me to conclude that we weren't suppose to 
draw that parallel either. Regardless of what JKR averred in some 
interview. Hermione's lesson was that elves are not human slaves. So 
why should I think JKR was making a statement about human slavery?



> Pippin:
> 
> As Magpie says, that doesn't mean there shouldn't be elf rights.
> But my point was that you can't get blood out of a turnip, and
> you can't get rights and freedoms guaranteed by a government
> that's too weak and corrupt to do it. 

Mike:
No doubt, Magpie is right. But that's just one of many problems with 
wizarding society. Also, I daresay, not the most pressing, both while 
Voldemort is alive and terrorizing and after he's dead and things 
have returned to the way they were ca. 1990.


> Pippin:
> 
> The problems of the House-elves and the division between
> the Houses are not problems of dark magic. They're problems of
> greed, prejudice, intemperance and insensitivity. There's no
> magical solution for those. 

Mike:
I was rereading some of Magpie's comments on this subject and I've 
come to a new understanding of the issue. <As Magpie nods and 
thinks, "It's about time!"> 

I'm guessing that elves were at one time free to choose whichever 
house they wanted to serve, Muggle or Wizard. When wizards decided to 
segregrate themselves from the non-magical world, they endeavored to 
do the same with all magical creatures.

The house elves were an easy problem to solve (from the wizard's 
point of view). Just restrict them to only wizarding houses, and bind 
them to that house forever. Then for good measure, add on the self-
punishment clause for disobedience in hopes that this will keep them 
in their place. If a new elf needs placement, well that's the reason 
for that department in the Ministry of Magic.

But elves weren't the only beings restricted in this wizarding effort 
to remove themselves from the Muggle world. They restrict the 
centaurs to the Forbidden Forest. I don't know if there are other 
centaur herds, but I'm sure they would be likewise restricted. 
Granted, this isn't as great a hardship, as the centaurs seem to want 
to remain separated from all humans.

The giants are a different story. They were herded into some 
mountains - somewhere in Russia I think, based on Hagrid's tale - or 
killed if they didn't accede to that demand. A little tougher on them 
than on the elves, wouldn't you say? Trolls, we don't know about, but 
I'd guess they were even easier to control than the giants.

Yet remember, there were also restrictions on wizards. I'll bet Willy 
Windershins would have gotten time in Azkaban for his flouting of the 
rules if he hadn't made a deal with Umbridge. And Morfin looked like 
he was going to get time, even before he and Marvolo fought back, for 
using magic on a Muggle.  This punishment is not permanent, but it's 
there. Yes, the elves are permanently punished, but whoever said 
wizard justice was fair?

So, what's my point? That the story of the elves is not one of 
slavery, it's one of unfair and one-side restrictions in this ongoing 
wizard idea of maintaining secrecy while living amongst Muggles. It 
all comes back to that Hagrid quote in PS/SS that Pippin referred to 
in her post <and I snipped, <eg>). Wizards don't want to be inundated 
with Muggle requests for magical solutions to their problems, and 
don't want the elves to give the Muggles similiar help.

Is that fair to the elves? Is it right for wizards to unilaterally 
decide this fate for the elves? Hell no, but it's not any different 
than what they expect from the centaurs, giants, trolls, etc. And 
it's not a statement on slavery, IMO, it's a statement on the 
wizarding form of government and how they enforce and employ *their* 
laws. 

In typical wizarding fashion, they sought a magical solution to a 
problem that couldn't or shouldn't be solved by magic. <That's a *me 
too* to what Pippin said> ;-)

Mike