2 House-elves (source: Pottermore) How to liberate an elf Not appropriately acknowledged, in wizarding education nor in their politicalĪffairs. Though: “Elf enslavement goes back in centuries”, Rowling, 2000:ġ98) They are evidently excluded from the main discourse, as their presence is Of Hogwarts does not even mention the existence of the house-elves, even Kind of rag they can find and do not own any property. Serve wizards without payment or any kind of appreciation. Inhabiting the world of Harry Potter have one function assigned to them: to Presentation of creatures placed very low in the wizarding hierarchy. Its presence can still be heard today, including, maybe surprisingly, the Rights which still are not respected in some parts of the world. People of Africanĭescent were treated as objects or animals as well, and had to fight for their United States (of course, in different than ancient forms). Recently this phenomenon was very close to our times, both in Europe and in the Although the vision of ancient slavery seems distant, until Variations and differences, slaves were treated as objects and their masters’ Stanley Kubrick (source: )Īlmost always comes with the ultimate price. Reflects the tragedy of struggle for eleutheria (liberty), a goal beyond

This seemingly simple and concise combination of words defining theīasic privilege of every creature and the final moment of its existence, Inscribed in popular culture and associated with the historical figure of Or death” – those three words are famously This paper is an extract from a paper she delivered at “Our Mythical History: Children’s and Young Adults’ Culture in Response to the Heritage of Ancient Greece and Rome,” a Conference held at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales,” May 22-26, 2019.) Could it be that Dobby is a Spartacus of the Wizarding World? Here, she talks about Dobby, the house-elf famously freed by Harry Potter (with advice and encouragement from his friend Hermione Granger). Anna Mik is a PhD student at the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, completing her thesis on the representation of mythical creatures in literature for children and young adults–especially on the ethical conundrums they present for young minds to think about.

Dobby is free