It has been said that J.K. Rowling has a remarkable way of discussing history, current events, and even human rights within the pages of her Harry Potter book series. As a fan of her work, I can attest to the fact that the woman writes stories that give the readers a peek into events that have historical significance. One of the sub-plots in the book is the story of house-elves and Hermione Granger’s attempt to get them either freed or at least given equal rights and wages.
As slaves, the elves in the story are the wizarding counterpart of the muggle slaves and helpers from an era we have long forgotten. Just as the human slaves were judged by race, so were the elves. They were looked upon as stupid and worthless by the wizarding family owners and were often subject to the same verbal and physical abuse as their human counterparts. The elves also came from generations of house slaves and most of them, such as Winky, the Crouch family elf, never knew anything else in life and therefore did not bother to ambition beyond her work station the way that Dobby, the Malfoy family elf did.
In a way, one might say that the elves created the enslavements themselves because they became dependent upon their masters for their everyday needs and personal well-being. Just like other slaves, they viewed their masters in an almost god-like manner. They tried to emulate their master’s attitude towards other elves whom they deemed beneath their station and oftentimes, absorbed everything in terms of their master’s negative attitude towards others. Their need to please their masters was more than their desire to develop an identity of their own so that when a chance came for the two of them to go free, both seemed at a loss as to how to lead their masterless lives.
For instance, Dobby had always had these dreams of becoming a freed elf, which is why when he got the chance, he traveled for 2 years and slowly came to realize that he was getting shafted in the enslavement method of his existence. He came to realize that it was not wrong for him to expect to be amply remunerated for the hard work he puts into activities for other people. Dobby explained the way people viewed house-elves quite clearly when he said :
But most wizards don’t want a house-elf who wants to pay, miss. “That’s Not the point of a house-elf they say, and they slammed the door in Dobby’s face! Dobby likes work, but he wants to wear clothes and he wants to be paid, Harry Potter… Dobby likes being free! ( Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, p. 378)
Dobby is portrayed in the story as the slave who has had an awakening as to his real worth and reason for existence in the world. He has come to the realization that he does not need to be a slave all his life. Thanks to Harry, Hermione, and Ron, he began to value his worth as a person and as such, demanded he is treated equally in order to show respect for his individuality and beliefs in life. Dobby embodies the new era of house-elves, those who have a sense of self-respect and demands that his rights be recognized by those who wish to have him in their service.
Winky, on the other hand, is the embodiment of the old school of house-elf enslavement. The dependent kind never wished to be anything more than that which they were told they can be. Without any sense of self-worth or self-respect, she like most often took refuge in the abusive treatments of their masters. In their minds, freedom could be the worst thing that could happen to them because, as Winky believed, she must be properly ashamed of being freed.
The message of J.K. Rowling in the book is that everyone is entitled to equal rights and opportunities and nobody is ever too beneath any station to deserve that kind of respect. Just because one is born a slave, does not mean that one cannot ambition to be more than that. On the contrary, it is of the utmost importance that they ambition to be more than they think they can be because it will help them get out of their slave-master-dependent relationship.
But it is not something easily overcome. As we can see from the tantrum that Winky was throwing in the kitchen of Hogwarts, a whole generation of house-elves exist and their mental conditioning has been the same since the day they were born. As such, it would take another generation of retraining and mental conditioning for them to realize that they are individual beings who deserve the same treatment and rights as their fellow magical beings. This is something that was best explained by Hermione Granger when she said :
I think this is the best thing that could have happened to those elves, you know, Dobby coming to work here, I mean. The other elves will see how happy he is, being free, and slowly it’ll dawn on them that they want it too! (Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, p 383)
Work Cited
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. Dir. Mike Newell. Perf. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint. 2005. DVD. Warner Bros. 2007.
J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. Scholastic Books: New York, 2000.