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Las Relaciones entre Las Personajes - Coggle Diagram
Las Relaciones entre Las Personajes
Ofelia y Mercedes
From the start, we see an understanding relationship between Ofelia & Mercedes- they both don't want to be where they are & find a shared comfort in each other
Mercedes' caring nature towards Ofelia brings them closer together & she soon becomes a maternal figure in Ofelia's life, especially after Carmen's death
Unlike Carmen, she accepts Ofelia's love for fairytales rather rejecting it
When Ofelia dies, it's clear their relationship wasn't just a source of comfort for Ofelia after losing her mother, but it also meant a lot to Mercedes as Ofelia's death clearly causes her a lot of pain
Vidal y Ofelia
Ofelia treats the captain like a stranger at the start but it's clear he doesn't have any interest in her from the beginning
Vidal seeks respect from her from the start, trying to control her. The fact that Ofelia doesn't give him this & blindly obey him angers him & adds to his hate for her
Ofelia later creates a clear gap/distance between herself & Vidal when she rejects him as her father-
el capitán no es mi padre- Ofelia
Throughout the film, she disobeys Vidal & avoids him- Vidal also makes no effort to speak to her, showing how insignificant she is to him- this may be because she is a girl & therefore seen as young/naive or as she isn't his child
It becomes clear later that Vidal truly has no love for her when he tries to shoot her in his office when she takes her brother- he hates her/ shows favouritism towards his son to the extent that he's willing to kill her
Towards the end, we see a power shift- through the plot & use of angles by the director, Ofelia appears stronger & Vidal loses his power, forcing him to accept defeat
Ofelia y Carmen
At the start of the film, Ofelia & Carmen have a close, comforting relationship full of love- we can assume that they've become used to it always being just them, building love, care and dependence between them
Carmen is the main/only maternal/parental figure in Ofelia's life, both in the real and fantasy world
Later, we see Carmen becoming stricter & insensitive towards Ofelia- despite the fact that she is just a child, Camren tells Ofelia that she is too young for fairytales, ripping away her source of comfort, forcing Ofelia to mature even faster
Te está haciendo mayor y pronto entendarás que la vida no es como en tus cuentos de hadas, el mundo es un lugar cruel- Carmen
It seems that Carmen becomes more worried about what Vidal thinks & keeping him happy rather than Ofelia's feelings- e.g. she wants Ofelia to look pretty for the Captain for the banquet but doesn't stop to ask Ofelia how she feels about the dress
Gradually, Ofelia finds new parental figures- Mercedes & the Faun
Mercedes doesn't reject Ofelia's fondness for fairytales & fantasy, which would probably put Ofelia at ease & make her feel more comfortable
The Faun seems to be a 'tough love' type parental figure for Ofelia- he scolds her when she disobeys him but there is also love & affection in the relationship, seen in the way they communicate
These new comforting figures in her life distance her from Carmen & her relationship with them further cements when Carmen dies
Carmen was the final thing keeping Ofelia attached to the real world- her death leads to Ofelia being left with no desire for spending time in the real world
Vidal y Carmen
The 1st interaction we see between Vidal & Carmen is when he asks her to use a wheelchair- he sees her as weak, incapable of independence & in need of support, despite the fact that she is perfectly capable- a prime example of female repression during the regime
Hazlo por mi- Vidal
The banquet is another key scene- Vidal sees Carmen more as an accessory than his wife & treats her as such- he expects her to sit in silence & whenever she speaks, dismisses her, showing clear disrespect & a lack of affection for her
Perdonen a mi mujer, no ha visto mucho mundo, ¿saben? Cree que a todos nos interesan estas tonterías- Vidal
On the flipside, Carmen puts in effort to impress him/keep him happy- she is relatively quiet, conforms to the expectations of a woman at the time & even dresses Ofelia up like a doll for him
When Carmen is delivering their son, Vidal takes her life into his hands & says that if it's between her and his son, save his son
He clearly never had any regard for her & her feelings- his goal from their marriage was just to get a male heir to continue his legacy, Carmen is simply there to bear a child
Si tiene escoger, salve al niño- Vidal
Their entire relationship represents the ideal marital relationship during the regime
The woman is quiet, submissive, weak, depends on her husband & her purpose in life is to bear children, particularly a male heir to continue her husband's legacy
Vidal y Mercedes
Vidal begins suspecting that someone is betraying him, but Mercedes isn't the first to cross his mind- it is only when she starts slipping up does he see evidence that it is her
We see a complete power shift between them at the end when the rebels storm the mill- she asserts her power over him, refusing to give him what he wants (for his son to know what time he died)
At the start of the film, Mercedes is presented as obedient & loyal to Vidal, serving as the housekeeper. Vidal trusts her implicitly with affairs of the house & access to key things like the rations
As the film progresses, we learn Mercedes is a spy & Vidal's trust in her is misplaced. That trust is also one-sided- Vidal would trust Mercedes more than she trusts him & he is unaware that she is essentially his enemy whilst she is fully aware of this
When Mercedes is captured by Vidal, he clearly has the upper hand but this doesn't intimidate Mercedes- she challenges him, is not afraid & doesn't divulge information about the rebels
Mercedes gets as far as she does as a spy by using her social status- she is a woman & housekeeper, putting her at the lowest level of the social hierarchy. She also takes advantage of Vidal's sexist, misogynistic views, playing along with what he'd expect her to be like (quiet, submissive.etc)- his views & underestimating her are ultimately his downfall & her success
*No es nada más que una mujer- Vidal (talking about Mercedes)
Yo era invisible para usted-Mercedes
Ofelia y El Fauno
From the start, we see the respect in their relationship, as the faun addresses her as the princess- he is mindful of her role & treats her as such
The faun is a source of comfort for Ofelia in different ways
He acts as a parental figure at time, taking a 'tough love' approach- he has compassion & care for her but will scold her for disobeying him & making mistakes but he only does this as her actions hinder her from getting home
He offers her a way out of the harsh real world & a way into the fantasy world, which we know has always been her escape from reality- makes him seem like a blessing to her
Throughout the film, the faun acts as Ofelia's guide in the magic world, giving her advice & help for every task, always treating her kindly- something which is rare/uncommon in her life
Towards the end of the film, when the faun forgives Ofelia & gives her another chance, she embraces him in a hug, not only showing her relief at being forgiven, but always the comfort she gains from the faun
At then end of the film, we see the faun ask Ofelia to sacrifice her brother to open the portal to the underworld- this was simply a test of Ofelia's selflessness & in the end, it is her blood that opens the portal
When Ofelia is with the faun at the end & Vidal kills her, Vidal cannot see the faun- is this because of his lack of faith in fantasy, Ofelia's origin or because the faun was a character invented in Ofelia's mind to provide her with the love & affection she needed but didn't get?