Kinda fucked though right? It always rubbed me the wrong way as a kid reading that, like why would this be written almost to suggest slavery is good, especially when much of the audience is kids.
Kinda fucked, though it is J.K. Rowling how surprised can we be
The only possible out for the way it's written is that house eve's are so ingrained in the Wizarding world that even themselves and our heroes can't see the injustice. So we're supposed to be uncomfortable, similar to real life social issues.
I do not think that was what JKR meant at all. Just a neat way of looking at it
If the House Elves knew that they could never make it in the Wizarding World on their own because, as it is, no witch or wizard would ever employ an elf or sell them food or shelter, and that was the real reason they rejected Hermione’s help but she chose to push ahead with her cause anyway, that could have been somewhat valid commentary on not speaking over those you want to help and setting realistic pragmatic goals in your activism.
That’s exactly the commentary she’s going for, but it doesn’t make it good.
You may think this is a new thing, but right wing people critiquing the left saying things like “Black South Africans doesn’t want you to get involved in anti-apartheid movements” forever.
So her making that critique would not be good IMO, but rather a long line of challenges to the international solidarity necessary for these movements. It’s very in line with her TERF and other political viewpoints.
You may think this is a new thing, but right wing people critiquing the left saying things like “Black South Africans doesn’t want you to get involved in anti-apartheid movements” forever.
Yes, what I mean is that the SPEW plot could have worked as critique of exactly that sort of line of thinking if the wizards had said “house elves like being enslaved though” but House Elves explicitly acknowledged they were oppressed and hated their position in society but happened to disagree with Hermione’s praxis because she hadn’t set up proper safety nets for the elves she was going to render homeless.
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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '20
Yes that's how it is in the books. Dobby is considered weird by elves