The Idea of an Essay, Volume 3

Research Writing 143 Ofelia also symbolizes Spain’s Second Republic. Ofelia is 13 in the movie, which suggests that she was born in 1931, the year the Second Republic began and the former monarchical dictatorship ended. Therefore, “she is the figure of the Second Republic incarnate that helps Spain to pass through a deficient monarchy to the present democracy” (Deaver 161). However, Ofelia did not live to witness the lasting democracy. Instead, in the same way that Franco crushed the Second Republic, Vidal murders her. Fortunately, this defeat does not mean that Spain is without hope. Pan’s Labyrinth ends by saying of Ofelia, “And it is said that the Princess returned to her father’s kingdom. That she reigned there with justice and a kind heart for many centuries. That she was loved by her people. And that she left behind small traces of her time on Earth, visible only to those who know where to look.” This demonstrates that although the Republic was physically absent from Spain, its spirit still remained in the hearts of the people. However, the evidence of the ideals of the Republic was hidden “underground” among those who resisted Franco and clung to the hope that one day democracy would return and reign forever. In the same way that Ofelia represents the Second Republic, Ofelia’s mother, Carmen, represents Spain and the struggle she endured under Franco’s rule. Carmen, formerly free and happily married to a common man, endures a difficult pregnancy under the rule of a demanding and unloving husband. Similarly, Spain had experienced a time of being governed democratically by the people during the Second Republic, but was now suffering under Franco’s harsh rule. Ofelia attempts to heal her mother by placing a mandrake under her bed which, according to Deaver, represents “on a spiritual level, the healing liberation of humanity in order to eliminate the evils of life under an oppressive dictator” (160, translation mine). However, the evils of life under an oppressive dictator cannot be removed without removing the dictator himself, and Vidal destroys the mandrake, sending Carmen into agony. This pain, coupled with the mandrake’s scream, “suggests the agony that Spain would suffer without the humanity” that democracy would provide (Deaver 161, translation mine). The birth of Ofelia’s younger brother, who Carmen suffered so greatly to deliver, represents the birth of a democratic Spain. Carmen dies giving birth, possibly symbolizing the end of Spain’s history of