The mythical subtext that I am choosing to analyze is the comparison between Pan's Labyrinth and Cinderella. Pan's Labyrinth takes place in 1944, post Civil War in Spain. A young girl named Ofelia moves with her pregnant mother to go live with her step-father, the evil Captain Vidal. One night Ofelia meets a fairy and the two of them meet a faun who basically tells her she is the princess from a kingdom from the underground. She is told that she has the opportunity to see her father again, but first must overcome 3 tasks. I think that this film is similar to Cinderella because Cinderella is the story of a young girl who's father dies when she is very young, forcing her to live with her cruel step-mother and step-sisters. She grows up living as a peasant, doing all of their chores and serving the step-family at their beck and call. Until one night she meets her fairy-godmother who turns her from rags to riches so she is able to attend the Prince's ball where she meets him and falls in love, eventually becoming his wife and living happily ever after. In both of these stories, a young girl is forced to live with her evil step parent, and is looked down upon for the most part. Until their "fairies" come to them and inform them of their royal status, taking them on journeys to discover this new side of them.
Excellent! This should be very interesting. Mimi
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