House-elf: Difference between revisions
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A house-elf belonging to the [[Blood purity (Harry Potter)#The Black family|Black family]], Kreacher shares the view of his late mistress that the only true wizards are those of [[Blood purity (Harry Potter)#pure-blood|pure-blood]]. Harry eventually inherits Kreacher, whom he sends to work at Hogwarts. Kreacher makes no secret of his loathing for Harry and all [[Blood purity (Harry Potter)|mixed-blood]] or [[Muggle]]-born wizards. |
A house-elf belonging to the [[Blood purity (Harry Potter)#The Black family|Black family]], Kreacher shares the view of his late mistress that the only true wizards are those of [[Blood purity (Harry Potter)#pure-blood|pure-blood]]. Harry eventually inherits Kreacher, whom he sends to work at Hogwarts. Kreacher makes no secret of his loathing for Harry and all [[Blood purity (Harry Potter)|mixed-blood]] or [[Muggle]]-born wizards. In ''Deathly Hallows'', Kreacher reveals that Voldemort used Kreacher to drink the potion (the same potion that Dumbledore consumed in the Half Blood Prince) in which he hid his Horcrux. When Kreacher told Regulus what Voldemort had done to him, Regulus took pity on him and proceeded to steal the same Horcrux that Voldemort used Kreacher to hide. After this revelation, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, begin treating him with kindness and he begins to treat them with respect. |
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Revision as of 20:43, 22 July 2007
House-elves are fictional magical creatures in the Harry Potter series of books written by J. K. Rowling. House-elves are small humanoids (though their appearance differs markedly from that of humans) that are used by wizards as unpaid servants.
Most house-elves spend their whole lives serving one family or institution; unless they are freed (which many house-elves view as shameful), their descendants will carry on their tasks. Though their condition shares similarities with human slaves, house-elves take pride in their hard work and fear being set freed, and some appear to be happy in their bondage, while their subservience guarantees their status as second-class citizens in the wizarding world.
Characteristics
House-elves are 2-3 feet tall, with spindly arms and legs and oversized heads and eyes. They have pointed, batlike ears and high, squeaky voices. Their names are usually pet-like diminutives (Dobby, Winky, Hokey); they do not appear to have surnames. They habitually refer to themselves in the third person. House-elves are generally obedient, pliant, and obsequious.
Rather than conventional clothing, house-elves wear discarded items like pillowcases and tea-towels. House-elves' masters can free them by giving them an item of clothing: at the end of Chamber of Secrets, for example, Harry tricks Lucius Malfoy into freeing his house-elf Dobby by giving him a sock hidden in a book by Harry.
House-elves possess their own form of powerful magic, distinct from that used by wizards and witches, which they generally use in the service of their masters. Among other things, this magic allows house-elves to instantly travel from place to place, in a manner similar to apparition; they are able to do this even within Hogwarts, although normal apparition and disapparition is impossible there.
House-elves can become intoxicated by drinking Butterbeer, which is not intoxicating to humans.
Ownership
It is never made clear whether house-elves are bonded primarily to the families they serve or to their homes. Ron Weasley comments that he wishes his family were rich enough to afford a house with a house-elf, suggesting that they are linked to houses rather than families. Also, in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Harry's status as the rightful owner of Grimmauld Place is confirmed when the house-elf Kreacher obeys his command. On the other hand, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, a house-elf who has been freed is told to find a new family to serve, and there is an Office of House-Elf Relocation at the Ministry of Magic.
It seems most likely, however, that house-elves's bonds are primarily a connection to a particular family, and that the reason that ownership of Kreacher passes to Harry in Book 6 is that Harry is Sirius' rightful heir.
Whatever the case, house-elves are unendingly loyal to their human families, so much so that Dobby, who served the Malfoy family, still attempts to punish himself each time he utters a negative remark about his former masters.
House-elves must obey their masters, whatever their personal feelings may be. According to Kreacher in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, "the house-elf's highest law is his master's bidding." They are far from mindless automata, however. Several house-elves have been known to disobey the rules (usually by finding loopholes in orders that allow them to be interpreted in unintended ways) when necessary to protect themselves or their friends, as Dobby does when he warns Harry about the Malfoys' plot against him in Book 2.
Most house-elves would be devastated if freed, for it would mean that they had failed to properly serve their masters (The Crouch family's house-elf, Winky, descends into depression and alcoholism after being freed in disgrace), but some (like Dobby) enjoy being free. Though he summons the courage to request payment when he is hired on at Hogwarts, even Dobby does not want to be paid too much (in Goblet of Fire he turns down the offer of ten Galleons per week and weekends off in favour of one Galleon per week and a day off every month).
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Hermione says that "Elf enslavement goes back centuries." In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore says the Fountain of Magical Brethren (in which various magical beings are depicted as subservient to, and in adoration of, witches and wizards) "tells a lie. We wizards have mistreated and abused our fellows for too long."
Treatment
Because of their quiet, obedient natures, some house-elves are abused by their families. Dark wizard families in particular seem to make a habit of bullying and maltreating house-elves; the Malfoys forced Dobby to slam his own ears in the oven door or iron his hands if he attempted to disobey them; the Black family had a tradition of decapitating house-elves who were too old to carry a tea tray, then placing their stuffed and mounted heads on a wall.
House-elves at Hogwarts
Hundreds of house-elves work at Hogwarts. Although Dobby is paid for his work it is never stated whether the others are employed by the school, work there voluntarily (perhaps in return for food and lodging) or are tied to the castle in some other way. Like most house-elves, the Hogwarts house-elves feel that it is a matter of pride to serve well without complaint and to work hard, and they seem to disapprove strongly of Dobby when he requests wages for his labour. They share with Winky (and presumably most other house-elves) a fear of freedom, and a taboo against its discussion. They clean the castle, work in the kitchens and tend to the magical fires burning in the offices and common rooms.
Like other house-elves, they do not wear conventional clothes. Unlike their counterparts, however, Hogwarts house-elves wear clean, pressed tea-towels with the school's monogrammed label, and seem genuinely happy about their situation. They strongly disapprove of Winky's tattered appearance and alcoholism.
Notable house-elves in the books
Dobby
Dobby is a house-elf originally belonging to Lucius Malfoy. He tries to help Harry, who returns the favour by tricking Malfoy into freeing him in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
After he is freed, Dobby continues to help Harry. In Goblet of Fire, Dobby supplies Harry with gillyweed to help with one of his tasks in the Triwizard Tournament. In Order of the Phoenix, Dobby gives Harry directions to the Room of Requirement. And in Half-Blood Prince, Dobby volunteers to follow Draco so that Harry can find out what he is doing when he seems to disappear from the Marauder's Map.
In the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, with the help of Aberforth Dumbledore, Dobby rescues Harry, Hermione, Ron and several others who have been imprisoned at the Malfoy mansion, but is mortally wounded and ultimately killed by a knife thrown by Bellatrix Lestrange.
Kreacher
A house-elf belonging to the Black family, Kreacher shares the view of his late mistress that the only true wizards are those of pure-blood. Harry eventually inherits Kreacher, whom he sends to work at Hogwarts. Kreacher makes no secret of his loathing for Harry and all mixed-blood or Muggle-born wizards. In Deathly Hallows, Kreacher reveals that Voldemort used Kreacher to drink the potion (the same potion that Dumbledore consumed in the Half Blood Prince) in which he hid his Horcrux. When Kreacher told Regulus what Voldemort had done to him, Regulus took pity on him and proceeded to steal the same Horcrux that Voldemort used Kreacher to hide. After this revelation, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, begin treating him with kindness and he begins to treat them with respect.
Winky
Template:HP character Winky is a house-elf who originally served The Crouch family. She viewed herself as a dutiful house-elf and guarded the family's many secrets. When Bartemius Crouch Jr was rescued from Azkaban by his father, he was supervised and nursed back to health by Winky.
She is freed in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when she convinces Bartemius Crouch Sr to let his son attend the Quidditch World Cup. During the festivities, Crouch Jr steals Harry's wand and uses it to conjure the Dark Mark.
Following her dismissal, Dobby takes the distraught Winky to work with him at Hogwarts. Her fate after the second Battle for Hogwarts is as of yet unknown.
Hokey
Template:HP character Hokey worked for Hepzibah Smith, and was framed for her murder by Lord Voldemort, who tampered with her memories. Hokey did not deny the accusation, and was convicted. She died from old age.
S.P.E.W.
The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, or S.P.E.W., is an organization created by Hermione Granger, who is also the only active member.
