[HPforGrownups] Re: Winky the House Elf

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 191815

Quoting June Ewing <doctorwhofan02 at yahoo.ca>:

>
>
>
>> Corey:
>> Hey. This is might be a wrong way to say this and if it is I
>> hope somebody will let me know. Winky seems like a depressed
>> house elf obviously. I wonder if she had any thoughts of
>> Hurting herself? Again if I used the wrong phrases just let
>> me know.
>
> June:
> I don't think that she had thoughts of suicide, I just think she is   
> very sad and depressed. JKR did say in an interview once though that  
>  poor Winky never fully got over her dismissal from Crouch.
>
>
I tend to think that house-elves' feelings toward masters or  
mistresses with whom they've bonded are very like familial love.   
While I had problems with both my parents, if I had ever publicly  
denounced and disowned them, and made it clear publicly and privately  
that I _meant it,_ they'd have been absolutely heartbroken, and likely  
never gotten over it.

Of course, just being in the same house as an elf, or even its legal  
owner, does not mean that the elf has bonded with any given person.   
Sirius and Regulus both grew up with Kreacher, but Kreacher never  
loved Sirius and apparently did love Regulus...and was loved back,  
enough for Regulus to break with the DEs over Voldemort's treatment of  
Kreacher.  And even after Regulus' death, Kreacher mourned.

  --Eric, who used to despise Kreacher but felt horrible about that  
after reading his story in _Deathly Hallows._

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