About using おかげさまで as a standalone

Question

I've been doing some research on おかげさまで and, not content with just memorising sayings, am wondering why おかげさまで is used as a standalone/response.

Does it mean 'thanks to you', 'thanks to God and society and everything', or does it just have the nuance of 'thank you'?. I'm mainly wondering, therefore, who exactly is being thanked when this saying is used as a standalone. The classic example is obviously

「元気ですか。」

「ええ、おかげさまで。」

This then translates as: 'Are you well?'. 'Yes, thank you'.

Is the listener being thanked? Because surely that would imply 'Yes, thanks to your shadow (offering of some kind of support)'. And in the original example it is unlikely the listener has actually provided any support to the speaker meaning it is incorrect/insincere.

Also, in the opening of 「ハリーポッターと賢者の石」you see the line:

「おかげさまで、私どもはどこから見てもまともな人間です。」

"However you look at us, we are upstanding people, thank you very much."

But, literally, this would surely translate as 'With the support of X/by the grace of X, however you look at us, we are upstanding people.'

Again, whose かげ is being referred to that has provided the support the speaker is referring to? The reader's かげ? The かげ of society and their circumstances? God? Or does that saying just act as a standalone meaning 'thank you'?

Answer 1

As you are aware, the かげ in おかげさまで means "shadow." Indeed, the original meaning of おかげさまで was, "Due to the shadow of the deities." The idea is that although the deities may not actively be trying to help you, simply by standing in their shadow you are protected. By extension, the person you are thanking may not have actively helped you, but you are thankful anyways.

Looking at the definition of おかげさまで in 大辞林 第三版, we find

特に恩恵を受けていなくても、漠然とした感謝の気持ちを表す語。

Translation: A word that expresses a vague sense of gratitude, even without really being helped.

Examples sentences from the same source are

「 －で無事に帰って参りました」

「『御両親は御健在ですか』 『はい、－で』」

As for the question, "whose おかげ is it?," another interpretation is given in a Huffington Post article. Here, the shadow is invisible. The idea here is that the speaker does not know who caused the shadow; the shadow is some mysterious object that the speaker cannot perceive.

Answer 2

おかげさまで O-kage-sama de is just a modest and sophisticated way of saying "Thank you." It means that your well-being and health are due to God and other people, including the person you are talking to.