A Look Into a Labyrinth

Vidal: Captain, Father, Man

Throughout Del Toro's masterpiece, Pan's Labyrinth, masculinity and patriarchal ruling are prominent ideas. The stepfather and second husband, Captain Vidal, is the head of his outpost in the fight against the guerillas. In his mind, women and children are to be seen and not heard (Edwards 2), and all people he comes into contact with are to do his bidding without question. The women in his life include his wife Carmen, whom he treats as merely a vessel to deliver his son, no matter at what cost this brings her; Ofelia, who spends most of the time under his radar, but constantly disobeying him and his order; and Mercedes, who serves him, all the while helping the guerillas in the woods and plotting against him. He treats women as things that will obey him without retaliation. He assumes that they are weak, loyal and do not think for themselves. These assumptions, in the end, are Vidal's ultimate downfall. He has several reasons to assume Mercedes is working against him (her relationship with the unfaithful doctor and the unharmed lock to the storage shed), however he is blind to these clues, seeing as "she is just a woman" (Smith 3).

The watch that Vidal carries was a relic of his fathers, which was broken as he died in battle and given to Vidal so that his son "would know how a brave man dies." A dinner guest brought up this story and Vidal responded sternly informing the man that his father did not own a watch. This lie seemed to be a shield in response to the man knowing too much about him. This is why he was upset with Carmen for sharing the story of how they met. His masculinity demands that he guard any personal information so that people will see him as nothing but a Captain, perhaps so that he can be treated with the upmost respect and seriousness.

Vidal is under the assumption that his unborn child must be a boy. He forces his wife, Carmen, into traveling to the military post because "a son must be born where his father is." However, this made Carmen quite sick, and in the end, Vidal's son ended up killing her during childbirth. Having a son was Vidal's highest priority next to helping create a "clean Spain." This was because he could tell that his time was running out and the likelihood of him dying in battle was becoming all too eminent. He needed a son so as to pass on his name to the next generation, so that his masculinity could live on. Unfortunately for him in the end, he died being told that his son would never know his father's name. The respect he demanded fell short of his cruelty and wrongdoings, ending in his legacy dying without remorse.

Ofelia & Alice

Many comparisons can be made between Pan's Labyrinth and Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Both stories are about young girls struggling with the lines between reality and a fantasy world that they have stumbled upon, or more appropriately, down into. However in my mind, the parallels seem to be happening in opposite ways from one another. A main comparison that is made is the similarities between Captain Vidal and the White Rabbit. Both of these pocket-watch carrying characters have obsessions with time, cleanliness, and order. One similarity is that Vidal forced Ofelia into moving out to the base and therefor introducing her to the labyrinth. Similarly, the White Rabbit evokes curiosity into Alice, making her want to go down the hole to Wonderland.

However, I believe that after this comparison, these two play opposing roles. Alice spends her adventure attempting to follow the White Rabbit in order to find the beautiful garden, while Ofelia spends hers running away from Vidal and his world. In the end Ofelia is chased and killed by Vidal who ultimately assists her in entering the underground world she has dreamed of. While in Carroll's story, Alice spend her adventure chasing the white rabbit into a world of chaos, only to find out that she belongs at home in reality where things make sense.

Another character comparison that could be made is the one between the Cheshire Cat and the Faun. The Cheshire Cat is Alice's closest relation in Wonderland, and he attempts to direct her to garden or a place where nobody is mad. The Faun's role in Del Toro's story is to show Ofelia how she can leave her reality and enter her underground world. The Faun is also trying to direct his young heroin to a place where things are better than she is currently experiencing. Both the Faun and the Cheshire Cat are also brooding figures. The Faun is a good character, however in some scenes, the viewer becomes skeptical of his motives and if he is actually assisting Ofelia or leading her astray. This is not unlike the Cheshire Cat, who attempts to help Alice, however he ends up gets her into trouble most of the time, and is not always kind-spirited.

Reservations for One

The two dinner scenes in Pan's Labyrinth mirror each other, giving the viewer ironic meanings. At Vidal's dinner party he has invited a table full of people to have a delicious feast while the regular people of Spain go without much food at all. He sits at the head of the table and directs the conversations where he wishes them to go. When somebody says something he considers to be inappropriate or a topic not up for discussion, he immediately quiets them and continues on with his plans. Similarly, the Pale Man, whom Ofelia finds in the fantasy world, sits at the head of his feast. This creature is alone and appears to be basking in the presence of himself, not unlike Vidal. The images at the Pale Man's banquet portray these creatures eating innocent children. The comparison between the Pale Man and Vidal is ironic due to the fact that Vidal is torturing innocent people and is fighting for the fascist regime. The pile of children's shoes in the underground banquet is a comparison to the concentration camps in Nazi Germany, drawing similarities between all three of these fascist leaders: Hitler, Franco, and the Pale Men.

Another comparison between both of these feasts is that Ofelia is forbidden from eating at either of them. Her tardiness to Vidal's dinner party and the fact that she ruined the dress disappointed her mother, forcing her to be banned her from eating dinner. While at the fantasy world feast, Ofelia was told before attending that she is forbidden from eating, but did anyways, therefor disappointing the Faun.

Both of these innocence-sucking rulers sit at their table, "framed by fireplaces with leaping hell flames" (Edwards 4), neither one showing any compassion for their victims or being able to see any further than an arm's distance ahead of themselves.