Deathly Hallows, Ch. 31

This is a fantastic character moment for Ron, who has always been deliberately written as a little bit of a casual magical-equivalent racist toward beings that most of the wizarding world considers inferior – in the past, he never questioned that house-elves should be subservient, and the first thing he said when he found out Lupin was a werewolf was “Don’t touch me, werewolf.” In the same vein, he assumed right away that all giants were brutal monsters. By giving him those views, Rowling made it clear that a person doesn’t have to be outwardly on the side of evil to be racist, and also that being a good guy doesn’t necessarily mean you aren’t. In thinking of the house-elves in this way, Ron has redeemed himself beautifully.

(via dailypottermeta)

The treatment of house-elves is a very complex part of the series. On the one hand, many house-elves are clearly treated horribly and it’s outrageous that more people aren’t standing up for them. However, the issue is complicated by the fact that the vast majority of house-elves actually seem to enjoy their work, even if they are being abused. It’s complicated because the slave allegory refers it back to the slave-owner belief that slaves ‘enjoyed’ being enslaved. 

Growing up in the wizarding world, Ron has a lot of ingrained prejudices (despite his family being quite possibly the most progressive of the pureblood families). 

He does have prejudices towards the giants, although this is further complicated by the fact that even Hagrid (someone who is half-giant) agrees with this perspective (even after meeting giants during his mission for Dumbledore). Ron’s prejudice towards Lupin (due to his werewolf nature) also changes quickly after he discovers Lupin’s backstory. 

However, the issue with house-elves is very complicated. Granted, Ron doesn’t really get behind Hermione’s S.P.E.W idea at first, but he correctly points out that Hermione’s attempts to free the house elves (well-intentioned as they may be) don’t take into account the wishes of the house-elves themselves. 

Ron treats Dobby and (to a lesser extent) Winky as people, even though they aren’t human. He might not understand the exact socio-political complications around the house-elves situation, but he always shows them respect. 

This is just my own opinion of course, but I always saw Ron’s plea to get the house-elves away from danger as an extension of this. Dobby was an innocent creature who just wanted to help his friends, and yet he ended up dying at the hands of a death-eater (the very symbol of the extreme ‘pureblood wizards above all others’ mentality that almost ended up destroying the wizarding world). 

I also find it quite interesting that even Hermione forgot about the house-elves during the battle up until this point. I don’t think this was the reason why Hermione kissed Ron (as is often implied). To me, it seems like Hermione kissed him because she couldn’t hold back her feelings for him anymore.