The point of S.P.E.W. is that Hermoine is an obnoxious activist for caring about slavery so much. Winky gets freed and becomes a depressed alcoholic, the other house elves get pissed that Hermoine tries to give them homemade socks. Hagrid calls Dobby weird for not wanting to be a slave.
Pottermore used to have an article “To SPEW or not to SPEW” which was critical of Hermoine. The text clearly condones the race based slavery. Heck - even the name “SPEW” is a joke.
Hermione’s methods might be ill-advised, but this doesn’t render her entire cause unworthy. Just because most elves don’t want freedom doesn’t mean they don’t deserve better treatment. Hermione’s dream of an elf in government might be far-fetched, but there’s merit in wanting to protect the vulnerable and allow them more choices. However, she ought to be careful – ‘tricking’ elves into freedom is arguably as unethical as enslavement.
Before we go, let’s consider Kreacher. Think of how he changed when treated with kindness by his new master, Harry Potter. Previously he’d been bitter and unpleasant, not to mention a liability to his previous owner. Had Sirius treated him a little better, things might have worked out differently. Dumbledore was right – being kind to Kreacher was in everyone’s best interests.
If you look at other translations, “SPEW” is often changed to that language’s word for “vomit,” “fart,” or “snot.”
The only person responsible for the written content seems to be Rowling. And her key witness is Hagrid who is not portrayed for his intelligence in the books.
This is not good for Rowling, but I think kids would still read the HP series and take Hermoine’s point of view.
The point of S.P.E.W. is that Hermoine is an obnoxious activist for caring about slavery so much. Winky gets freed and becomes a depressed alcoholic, the other house elves get pissed that Hermoine tries to give them homemade socks. Hagrid calls Dobby weird for not wanting to be a slave.
Pottermore used to have an article “To SPEW or not to SPEW” which was critical of Hermoine. The text clearly condones the race based slavery. Heck - even the name “SPEW” is a joke.
I never considered that Rowling was making fun of Hermoine’s Elf position.
But I did think it strange that a nicely set-up elf rebellion never arrived.
They’ve tried their best to wipe this article off the internet:
If you look at other translations, “SPEW” is often changed to that language’s word for “vomit,” “fart,” or “snot.”
The idea that Dobby is mentally unwell for wanting to be free has some upsetting historical precedent.
The only person responsible for the written content seems to be Rowling. And her key witness is Hagrid who is not portrayed for his intelligence in the books.
This is not good for Rowling, but I think kids would still read the HP series and take Hermoine’s point of view.