Pan's Labyrinth: Exploration Essay

Pan's Labyrinth: Ofelia's Coping Mechanism



Pan's Labyrinth is one of the most notable fantasy films because it is able to anchor the more mystical motifs within the reality of war while still being able to portray events from the unique perspective of the child. Directed by Guillermo del Toro (2006), the film is not for children even though the heroine of the film is a child. The film in many ways is a rejection of classic stories as it doesn't skirt around the horror which lurks beneath; instead, it addresses the horror head on. As one critic illuminates, it can be challenging to understand a film which can provide fauns, fairies and other fantastical creatures, while still showing the monstrosity and reality of Franco's fascism. However, del Toro is able to marry the two seamlessly. However, given the tragic fate of Ofelia in the film, the ending does beg the question as to whether this tragic end could have been avoided in some manner. The director would no doubt say no: the death of Ofelia at the end of the film serves as a device to demonstrate how no one is spared the atrocities of war. While the fantasy world that Ofelia created was a way for her to reconcile the monstrosities that she was dealing with in reality given the war that she was faced with; there was no way for her, as a child to save herself. The tragic fate that she was met with was a byproduct of the decisions of the adults around her, and the hideous nature of war. However, the film is an intriguing scrutiny into how children use fantasy and imagination as a means to reconcile the horrors that they're often placed in.

Ofelia's means of coping with trauma via her imagination is something that she's very good at: while it might mitigate the monstrosity that she has been placed it, it is by no means a vehicle for her to heighten her own level of safety. As the article, "How Children Cope With Trauma and Ongoing Threat: The BASIC Ph Model" demonstrates children constantly use their own creativity and imagination as a tool for them to deal with the monstrosity and horror that they so often have to face. "The pre-school child will recreate with toy cars a witnessed accident; an elementary aged student writes a fictitious essay about how his father who was killed in Iraq returned home alive as a war hero; and a high school student uses 'gallows' humor to deal with a recent community tragedy" (nasponline.org). The entire fantasy motif present within Pan's Labyrinth and the objective that Ofelia is faced with-the necessity of getting to the center of the labyrinth, are all…