Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare
From Harry Potter Wiki
| Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Founder(s) | |
| Founded | |
| Leader(s) | |
| Headquarters | |
| Intentions |
To give house-elves as many as rights as wizards |
| Enemies |
House-elf mistreaters |
| Behind the scenes | |
| First appearance | |
| Latest appearance | |
The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, also known as S.P.E.W., was an organisation founded in 1994 by Hermione Granger in response to what she saw as gross injustice in the treatment of house-elves at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup.
Contents |
[edit] Founding
- "You know, house-elves get a very raw deal! It’s slavery, that’s what it is! That Mr. Crouch made her go up to the top of the stadium, and she was terrified, and he's got her bewitched so she can't even run when they start trampling tents! Why doesn't anyone do something about it?"
- —Hermione after the 1994 Quidditch World Cup[src]
Hermione thought it cruel that house-elves were neither paid nor given holidays for their work, so she campaigned tirelessly for a change in their working conditions. She managed to get several students to join (paying a fee of two sickles), though they only did so to stop her from badgering them. These students included a reluctant Ron Weasley, who called the group "spew", and an indifferent Harry Potter.
She would go round the common room shaking her S.P.E.W. badge box at people to make them join. A few seemed interested but refused when they found they had to pay. She also offered it to Hagrid but he refused as well saying that the elves liked to work.
Despite using various tactics, such as making badges and petitioning, Hermione's cause had very little effect. Eventually, she started knitting hats and socks, which she left lying around Gryffindor Tower, hoping to free some unsuspecting elf who picked them up while cleaning the common room.
[edit] House-Elves' Reaction
The majority of house-elves are accustomed to their work, and seem to enjoy it. They regarded Hermione's actions as insults to their race. Thus, all of them, aside from the radical Dobby, refused to clean the Gryffindor common room in protest. Since he was already free, Dobby took all the clothes and wore most of them; the rest he gave to fellow house-elf Winky, in the false hopes of cheering her up.
[edit] Impact
- Ron Weasley: "Hang on a moment! We've forgotten someone! The house-elves, they'll all be down in the kitchen, won't they?"
- Harry Potter: "You mean we ought to get them fighting?"
- Ron Weasley: "No, I mean we should tell them to get out. We don’t want anymore Dobbies, do we? We can’t order them to die for us–"
- — during the Battle of Hogwarts[src]
In spite of all this, there are indications that S.P.E.W. did eventually enjoy some moderate success, though it is likely that by then it was disbanded. Hogwarts' house-elves participated in the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998 in an unusually bold move for their kind, although this may have been a manifestation of their extreme loyalty to their "masters". However, it is possible that their contribution to the battle changed some people's views, as even Ron Weasley, previously and vocally critical of S.P.E.W., demonstrated concern for house-elves at the time.
Also, founder Hermione Granger went on to work for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry of Magic, where she continued to work for the rights of magical creatures.
