They clean people’s homes, cook people’s meals, and make people’s beds. Half the time, one does not even know that they are there. But what do wizards really think about house elf enslavement? One girl, Miss Hermione Granger, thinks that they deserve more than a slave’s life. Hermione Granger is working to try and bring enlightened thinking to elves by starting the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, also called S.P.E.W. S.P.E.W. was founded in 1994. So far it has had very little success. In a meeting with the 16-year-old Muggle-born founder last night, her frustration was clearly evident “What people don’t realize,” said Granger, “is that elves are actually really clever and nice. They deserve to be treated better.”
The problem is that most wizards are not taking her and her ideas seriously. When asked how many active members S.P.E.W. currently had, she replied, “Well, there is me, and my friends Harry and Ron. We are trying to get others to join, but most people are too self-centered and think that as long as the elves are not complaining, they should be left to work.” Granger thinks that the reason people are not taking her seriously is just lack of empathy. “They don’t understand the horrible lives that these elves are forced to live!” stated the young witch. “And the elves do not make it any easier for the people to understand. When talking to half of them, you would think that they enjoyed slavery.”
However, S.P.E.W. has successfully convinced one elf to live the free lifestyle. Dobby, who is currently employed at Hogwarts, has started to charge for his service, and to wear clothes for the last three years. “Why shouldn’t Dobby wear clothes?” asked the elf. “Doesn’t you like to cover up your private areas with something more then a tea cozy or a pillow case? Dobby would think so! Dobby is especially liking socks, and Dobby likes the sweater that Harry Potter’s Weezl gave Dobby!” By “Weezl,” Presumably, he was referring to Ronald Weasley, who works for S.P.E.W.
Elf enslavement began around 3000 B.C. with the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptian wizards would use the elves in their temples to help them clean and do their everyday chores. Eventually, even some pharaohs got elves to be their slaves. The number of enslaved house-elves increased greatly beginning in 1000B.C. when elf breeding became popular. It wasn’t until 1300 A.D. that it was outlawed by the wizarding council. However, the elf population was given the extra boost that it needed, and elves were eventually common enough to be placed in wealthy wizarding homes. Today, the Office of House-Elf Relocation is responsible for the placement of homeless elves in our society, and for a hefty fee, any wizard can put his or her name on the waiting list. This is why most wealthy wizarding families own elves. Their ancestors were able to pay for an elf a long time ago, so those elves’ descendants are enslaved today.
The tradition of elves not wearing clothes began in 992 A.D. when an elf breeder could not afford to give his elves proper clothes, so he just gave them sheets and such. The families that bought the elves left them with the sheets. There was a family that wanted to release an elf because it was too clumsy, so they gave it a proper sweater and told it that it could take the sweater so that it did not freeze to death, but it had to leave. The tradition continued, and to this day, employed elves still do not wear clothes. “It is things like this,” commented Granger, “that make people believe that elves do not have feelings. It’s like when you see a homeless person on the street, their shirts are dirty, their pants are ripped, and they smell. Most people can’t help feeling superior to them. It’s the same with the elves. Nobody would look at you as an equal if you showed up to work in a tea cozy!”
But some people have disagreed. A long time elf owner who asked not to be identified, had this to say: “My elves enjoy working for me. I give them a place to stay, food to eat, and a roof over their head. They love working for me in return. When I wake up in the morning, they are there, ready to take my order for breakfast. When I go to bed at night, they are there, ready to put out my fire when I drift off. I have told them to relax before, and all they do is laugh and tell me to sit down.”
Whether or not elves are given rights is yet to be seen. S.P.E.W.’s short-term goal is to secure fair wages for the elf population, and to create fair working conditions, with reasonable hours and holidays. Their long-term goal is to change the law that currently forbids elves to use wands and to get an elf onto the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. These are a lot of ambitions for such a young whitch, but with a lot of hard work, and some wizarding participation, S.P.E.W. may make the future brighter for all elves.