The canonical representations of house-elves in the Harry Potter series are certainly troubling from a contemporary ethical standpoint. House elves are one of several sentient magical species that exist alongside humans in the series. They are enslaved to wizarding families as domestic servants; however, they are overwhelmingly portrayed as happy in their enslavement, and even naturally suited to it. No independent house-elf society, culture, history, or language (their English is poor) is ever presented in the books. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hermione Granger forms an organization to work for the rights of house elves, but the house elves at Hogwarts show no desire to be freed (with the exception of the already-free Dobby, who previously worked for an abusive family). Throughout the series, house-elves are portrayed as naturally preferring their enslavement, as having no identity outside of their work and owners, and as simply needing “benevolent” masters.
In his fan song “Open Letter to the Wizards” (embedded below), Hank Green lists a number of problems with the wizarding world, including that they have “known racists playing politics / and slaves making [their] food”.
Even referring to the house-elves as slaves is relatively rare in the canon source. The lyrics seek to trouble the idea that ethical questions are simple within the world of Harry Potter, reflecting Toth’s ethics of indecision.
Likewise, several fanfictions note the problem of the house elves in passing, even if it is not central to the narrative. Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Less Wrong, an extremely popular 500 000 word fanfiction, contains the relatively unimportant line, “Whoever had created house elves in the first place had been unspeakably evil, obviously”, which simultaneously paints the enslavement of house elves in unambiguous ethical terms, and revokes the idea that their enslavement is natural rather than created and constructed.
Other fanfictions center solely on the question of the house elves. “This is Not the End” by anenko tells an short alternative version of the events of the seventh book, which is entirely focused on a house-elf rebellion. This rebellion, which seemingly originates with the elves themselves, inherently challenges the idea that their enslavement is natural and preferred. Additionally, the fic provides three versions of the moment in which the elves were magically bound to wizards, and questions the “truth” of these “recorded histories”, which also serves to emphasize their slavery as constructed and historical rather than natural. The line “They are more than House Elves—they are the People”, on the other hand, explicitly gives the elves their own history, identity, and agency independent from their enslavement, although it does not elaborate on this.
All of these fan works engage ethically with the representation of house-elves in the canon source material. The representation of the house-elves, combined with a knowledge of historical slavery, has implications related to human rights, and these fan works not only highlight these implications, but offer alternatives by “rewriting” the representation.
Talking Back 