Chamber of Secrets
Chapter Two -
Dobby's Warning
Summery:
In the previous chapter,
Harry has spent the day cleaning the Dursley's house in preparation for Uncle Vernon's business dinner. He goes up to his room to rest after a long day and finds Dobby the house elf sitting on his bed. Dobby says he is from the Malfoy household, and he comes to warn
Harry that he should not go back to Hogwarts. He says that there is an evil plot brewing there and
Harry isn't safe. Dobby has been taking measures to try to make
Harry not return to school, by stopping his mail, so he is cut off from the wizarding world. When
Harry says he will return to Hogwarts despite Dobby's warning, the house elf performs a hoover charm on Aunt Petunia's stunning dessert, and sends it crashing to the floor. The Dursleys are angry with
Harry but they become furious when an owl hoots through the window to deliver a message to
Harry, scaring off the prospective business partner's wife. The letter reminds
Harry that he is not to do magic outside of Hogwarts. Upon seeing this, Uncle Vernon locks him in his room. After three days
Harry awakens to see Ron's head peering at him through barred windows.
Important Points
1. Dobby is from the Malfoy household, which the reader assumes is evil due to the stance of Draco and Lucius. Yet Dobby seems to truly look out for
Harry Potter's well being, support
Dumbledore and not embrace evil like his masters. However, as a house elf, he is bound to do all his master says and serves the family for all his life. Dobby goes against the grain of his household and demonstrates free will in showing support for
Harry.
2.
Harry treats Dobby like an equal. This is yet another example of
Harry refusing to accept the bigotry of the wizarding world. This paints
Harry as a different sort of hero, not only over
Voldemort, but over prejudices as well.
3. One of
Harry's greatest strengths is his friends. This is shown more and more in the books as the three go on adventures, and
Harry leans on his friends for advice. When Dobby intercepts
Harry's mail, he is cutting him off from one of his most valuable resources, that of his companions. And consequently it is one of the worst summers at the Dursleys.
4. A whip is often a symbol of slavery, and being a house elf is a lot like slavery. When Dobby disappears after destroying Aunt Petunia's dessert it says he vanished "with a crack like a whip." Interesting.
Questions/Speculation
1. Dobby does a hoovering charm and somehow stops
Harry's mail from getting to him. What magic are house elfs allowed to do? Do their masters get blamed for it?
2. To what degree do house elfs have free will? Why do they stay and perform their duties for their masters? What is it about that position that keeps them there, even when they are given attempts to be free? Does it provide a sense of home/belonging? Why did Dobby not feel whatever the emotion and want to stay?
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