Magic and the Supernatural - Lancaster University

María Teresa DePaoli
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practice to one card per family, including his own. In addition, after Ofelia
succeeds in the first test with the giant toad, her mother sends her to bed without
supper as a punishment for soling her new outfit and arriving late for dinner.
Although the spectator does not know Ofelia’s thoughts during her second test with
the Pale Man in the film proper, when Ofelia sees all the food displayed on the
monster’s table, del Toro’s screenplay emphasizes: ‘Ofelia’s stomach growls with
hunger’ 6 (my translation). As much as Ofelia wanted to succeed in the second test,
hunger makes her disobey the rules when she decides to eat the grapes. The
episode rich, varied symbolism ultimately represents the ineffable terror of being
devoured by Cronus.
In conclusion, analysing Pan’s Labyrinth in light of the ‘Cronus complex’ and
the historical context that surrounds the story, allows for an exploration of a
psychological process associated with fascism. In this a film of contrasts, fantasy
and innocence clash with reality and cruelty to describe the characters of Ofelia
and Vidal respectively. Around these two characters a double narrative develops to
represent a larger historical event that left an indelible mark in the collective
subconscious of Spain. As the dysfunctional father of the nation, for decades the
Franco regime brutally repressed and ostracized the entire country from the rest of
the world after the Civil War. By devouring their aspirations and liberties, Franco
kept his symbolic children in the dark through the implementation of policies and
practices that prevented his people from challenging him. While a work of fiction,
del Toro’s film serves both as cautionary tale as well as a historical reminder of
human atrocities taking place under totalitarian social systems.
Notes
1
J. Crandall, ‘The Cronus Complex’, Clinical Social Work Journal, Vol. 12,
August 1984, p. 110.
2
J. Bolen, Gods in Everyman, Harper and Row, San Francisco, 1989, p. 86.
3
Ibid., p. 22.
4
Ibid., p. 32.
5
Ibid., p. 35.
6
G. del Toro, El laberinto del fauno, Ocho y medio, Madrid, 2006, p. 71.
Bibliography
Bolen, J., Gods in Everyman. Harper and Row, San Francisco, 1989.
Crandall, J., ‘The Cronus Complex’. Clinical Social Work Journal. Vol. 12, 1984,
pp. 108-117.
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