So the house-elves’ noses all look similar. Is this a sign that families of house-elves serve the same human family, then?
Apparently so, and it helps explain the mutual bonds of loyalty between Regulus and Kreacher. On the other hand; Dobby says that Hogwarts was the only place he and Winky could find that offered work for two elves, elves don't get paid but must be fed somehow, and since they have (at least) two sexes they presumably reproduce sexually. So how does this all work? If there are so few places that can support two elves, how can elven families be supported? Two elves not in a relationship would presumably be better than two elves and some amount of children with one parent having to take breaks to look after the children at regular intervals. Are their children and extraneous relatives sold off by their owners to pay for their upbringing?* Based on real-world slavery this is probably the case, but then why wouldn't Hermione have mentioned it in this book if she wanted to show how horrific their lives are? Do elves literally spontaneously generate from plot convenience? Is that the actual secret of their awesome magic?
What was it Sirius said? "If you want to see a man's true nature, look at how he treats his inferiors"? It's not just the systematic elf-abuse that's JKR brushes under the table (after all, all they need is a good master!), it's the entire mechanics of how her slave-owning society works. They're just there as a convenience for her heroes and something for them to feel proud about how they dehumanise (de-elfise?) them to a lesser degree than the Malfoys. I feel sick.
*And what effect would this have on their loyalty - does their (generalising from Kreacher and Winky) intense emotional bond to their original wizarding family instantaneously shift? Does house-elf loyalty work like Amortentia-obsession, and if so why is the Kreacher-Regulus relationship presented as such a heartwarming thing?
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2011-02-11 10:46 pm (UTC)Apparently so, and it helps explain the mutual bonds of loyalty between Regulus and Kreacher. On the other hand; Dobby says that Hogwarts was the only place he and Winky could find that offered work for two elves, elves don't get paid but must be fed somehow, and since they have (at least) two sexes they presumably reproduce sexually. So how does this all work? If there are so few places that can support two elves, how can elven families be supported? Two elves not in a relationship would presumably be better than two elves and some amount of children with one parent having to take breaks to look after the children at regular intervals. Are their children and extraneous relatives sold off by their owners to pay for their upbringing?* Based on real-world slavery this is probably the case, but then why wouldn't Hermione have mentioned it in this book if she wanted to show how horrific their lives are? Do elves literally spontaneously generate from plot convenience? Is that the actual secret of their awesome magic?
What was it Sirius said? "If you want to see a man's true nature, look at how he treats his inferiors"? It's not just the systematic elf-abuse that's JKR brushes under the table (after all, all they need is a good master!), it's the entire mechanics of how her slave-owning society works. They're just there as a convenience for her heroes and something for them to feel proud about how they dehumanise (de-elfise?) them to a lesser degree than the Malfoys. I feel sick.
*And what effect would this have on their loyalty - does their (generalising from Kreacher and Winky) intense emotional bond to their original wizarding family instantaneously shift? Does house-elf loyalty work like Amortentia-obsession, and if so why is the Kreacher-Regulus relationship presented as such a heartwarming thing?