Rowling Needs to Talk to Dobby
Who read Harry Potter or watched the movie, and did not have Dobby as one of their favorite characters — some shed tears when he was killed. In Wales we visited Dobby’s Grave. It is a small area in the ocean dunes set aside for a creature who never lived, and yet was real enough to be mourned.
The memorial is on Freshwater West beach — an area of Pembrokeshire that extends to some of the most beautiful coastal areas we have visited. In particular, the Green Bridge has stunning coastal cliffs. The area is a place that evokes the wild — to feel the wind is to breathe in a sense of wonder. It is to feel the expanse.
In the story, Harry gives Dobby a proper burial in front of their escape point at Shell Cottage. Then the site took on its own significance. People spontaneously began leaving painted rocks and socks, often echoing the words from the book, “Here lies Dobby, a free elf.” The National Trust allowed the tribute “for now” but asked people to respect the area by not leaving items.
How much choice did the Trust have? Dobby touched something archetypal. After he lived and died in the book, he no longer belonged to JK Rowling alone. He became free.
When reading the books, I puzzled with the idea of a house elf. They had enough magic in their own right so that even an arrogant wizard might take pause, but they were enslaved to a house. Apart from magic, the elves’ position was ingrained into them by long standing beliefs. Yet could the wizards rest easy or did their arrogance mask a deeper issue.
Dobby was powerful because he did not know his place. He was a true revolutionary. He questioned the privilege that was enjoyed by even those who should have known better. That extended even to Rowling
Dobby fought for freedom and respect, but Rowling became increasingly fixated with excluding trans people from these things. This tempered our visit to the cache as the issue is very personal. If respect and support are not given to all who have committed no wrong, is anyone truly free to be who they are?
Those who have found their voice will not willingly give it up. As we have been reminded time and again, freedom is a constant struggle. It will be challenged time and again. It makes people feel uncomfortable. But once it has been embraced, it is impossible to go back. Win or lose, there is a fundamental change in how people define themselves.
I could almost hear Dobby singing the old spiritual:
Oh, freedom, Oh, freedomOh freedom over meAnd before I’d be a slaveI’d be buried in my graveAnd go home to my Lord and be free
My Log
We were headed out to the Green Bridge but of course we had to first pay our respects to Dobby. After all it was not Dobby’s fault that JK revealed herself to be increasingly transphobic, any more than Dobby was responsible for the Malfoy family.
Having a trans son makes me sensitive to people like Rowling who became increasingly transphobic. At least Daniel Radcliffe is a better keeper of the magic. But perhaps Dobby offers the ultimate answer. He fought against intolerance, inequality, and all forms of oppression. Rowling should sit down and have a long talk with him and listen to what he has to say.
I came to his grave partly because I like to stop to see oddities, but also to reject intolerance and oppression.
One of the painted stones proclaimed that Dobby was an agent of the deep state. I don’t believe that. He just wanted to wear socks, help out Harry, and be free. An agent of the deep state would want to control the socks. Rowling might be part of the deep state, Dobby is not.
I only regret not painting a stone.
