Spain's Labyrinth

The Spanish Civil war still haunts the world’s imagination. A prelude to the Second World War and the first war between democracy and fascism, The Spanish Civil War lasted from 1936-1939. What began as a military coup on July 18, 1936, led to three years of Civil War after the military revolt failed. It cost, perhaps, half a million lives. It ruined cities, towns and villages. For some, the victors, it was a crusade against Godless revolution. For others, the defeated, it was a struggle against the forces of reaction that oppressed Spain for generations. Forty years since the dissolution of Franco’s dictatorship and Spain is still politically divided. This depiction is evident through film by a number of different Spanish, or Spanish-influenced film makers. Explicit allusions to the Spanish Civil War in the world of film in the context of Mexican and Spanish relations during and after the war subsist today. Spanish refugees in general and children in particular were offered a safe haven by the Leftist government of President Lazaro Cardenas which allowed the establishment of a community of exiles. (Reboll 2007). Guillermo Del Toro, a Mexican film maker, expressed his influence through Pan’s Labyrinth, a 2008 fable set in Post-war Spain. Del Toro uncovers a common thread between the real world and the imaginary world in a parable of the perilous Spanish Civil War. As McCallum (1999) states, Pan’s Labyrinth most nearly approaches “historiographic metafiction,” where the reformed and disobedient fairy tale interrogates the narratives of the past. This paper seeks to explore the relationship between Ophelia and the General and reveal how this relationship is a parable of the Spanish Civil War. Set in General Franco's Spain (circa 1944) which was suffused with the dark energy of civil brutality, the outcome of a fascist ascendancy, filled with torture and extra-judicial murder that had become casual. The world is still under the thumb of people who bow to authority without questioning its orders or motives. Throughout the film, Ophelia emerges as a heroine, representing the oppressed people who longed for a voice during tumultuous times.
The General and Ophelia were always going to have conflict; it was just a matter of time. As with most differing ideologies, dominant ideas can either unite people or drive them apart. In this instance, a wedge is driven between the two characters, both of which represent more than a Soldier and a child respectively. It was essentially a war on Fascism and Franco as a figure took an iconic position as the leader of the Nationalists. Generalissimo was his self-title. A word with no real translation in Spanish, but it is understood to be a brash, almost lordly self-title. The ideals of General Franco gave rise to a passion-driven opposition, some of which were still fighting the Fascist regime into the 1940’s, which is where Pan’s Labyrinth begins. The storyteller opens with a description of a princess who has forgotten where she has come from. Much as Spain, as a whole, has been divided, disunited, and faceless for too long, it longs for an identity, an essence. The battle against Fascism fashioned an opposition not necessarily of a specific cause but more so as a revolt of the ideals and actions of the Dictator. They were always in need, however, of a leader. For forty years Spain was under the rule of a vicious dictator who stole freedom and staunched the rights of so many. Ofelia, a young girl only, provides hope. “It’s only a word” her Mom encourages her when talking about her new step father and the use of the word Dad. It’s that feeling of brushing something under the table. Pretending like that filth doesn’t exist here. Ofelia immediately has ideals placed upon her and faced with a decision. Similar to life under the regime, one would suppose. The suffocation of oppression and the audacity of being patronized into thinking something is right, when you truly believe it not to be. Ofelia, whose name has Greek origins and means help; or aid, represents just that. In a time of such oppression, Ofelia represents a people whose collective hope has diminished.
The General, in contrast is introduced to us through the ticking of a clock. Time becomes an important notion throughout Spain’s recollection of the Civil War. Some have been quoted as saying that “time stopped with Franco’s regime.” Time has certainly been a common thread used in film. In Victor Erice’s Spirit of the Beehive, time was an important theme. Spirit of the Beehive too was a comment on the Spanish Civil War. Produced two years prior to Franco’s death, long scenes of awkward silence and wide open landscapes give a feeling of isolation. There was a feeling in Spain then of time standing still. Again, we hear the ticking of the click. The General looks up from his pocket-watch, “quince minutos tarde.” Franco gave Spain this soggy feeling that time had stood still and that nothing had changed. His reign left some people feeling defeated. Ofelia innocently chases a fairy and delays the arrival unknowingly while The General taps his watch.

Put out the lights and stop the clocks.
Let time stand still,
Again man mocks himself
And all his human will to build and grow!

Mark Hughes an African-American writer, inspired by the Spanish Civil War wrote poems, like this one, revealing the immediacy of the war and the intensity of emotion it elicited. In Madrid, there were bomb-damaged clocks and nightly blackouts in the city. (Echevarria 2005).
When Ofelia and her pregnant Mother arrive, The General callously welcomes his unborn child first. A proud grin emerges as he pats his wife’s stomach. The chilling thoughts of a society created under the thumb of a brutal dictator. A child, the spawn of such evil is unsettling, and yet Franco was in power for forty years, raising generations under him. Generations forced to live a certain way. Looking for ways out, like a cat in a maze. Ofelia found her maze, or better yet her labyrinth. “A maze is a place you get lost,” explains Del Toro. “But a Labyrinth is essentially a place of transit: an ethical, moral transit to one inevitable centre. You think of the transit of Spanish society from the 1940’s to the incredible explosion of post-Franco period.” Ofelia’s eventual emergence through the labyrinth is much like the struggles through three years of Civil War and subsequently forty years of dictated rule, the Spain eventually had its country back. The word labyrinth has almost become synonymous with civil war. Think Gerald Brenan’s accounts of the social and political background of the Spanish Civil War. (Kermode 2007).
The introduction of Ofelia and The General confirms conflict for the future. The denial of the left-handed handshake, a reference to David Copperfield’s cruelly rejected handshake. (Haack 2007). The handshake is a worldwide custom, a symbol of mutual respect, a union. The blatant denial and stern lecture depicts the two sides in turmoil from conception. The struggles between ideals was the driving force behind the Civil War, with no common ground, countrymen of opposing stances became enemies. Intellectuals, soldiers and friends became enemies. The handshake here represents more than a cheek turn on a mere custom, but the complete lack of respect held between the two sides. It is reference to the hate, the discourse and the mayhem once at large in Spain. Franco showed no mercy, his viscous acts of violence are what Spain, even today, is having difficulty coming to terms with. Certainly no war literature flows redder with blood that the Spanish Civil War. The bombing of cities, the machine gunning of refugees on open roads, introduced new sense of horror. Under this barbarianism, women and children as well as soldiers became for the first time history regular targets for professional soldiers’ angry guns. (Echevarria 2005). Franco's Spanish nationalism promoted a unitary national identity by repressing Spain's cultural diversity. Bullfighting and flamenco were promoted as national traditions while those traditions not considered "Spanish" were suppressed. All cultural activities were subject to censorship, and many were plainly forbidden, as was seen with language and religion. As the silence and solidarity of The Spirit of the Beehive depicted, Pan’s Labyrinth too represents this isolation. Ofelia’s search for her utopian world leaves her alone to trust the word of a nasty looking creature who’s appearance only gets more physically beautiful the more perverse he acts. But as Del Toro says, “it was important that Ofelia chooses to enter this new world, despite the fact that her guide is unreliable and unattractive.” Ones’ true nature, its core; its essence will eventually shine through. Of note, when the faun first realized Ofelia to be the princess of old, he gave her three tasks. These tasks, although seemingly arbitrary, were an attempt by the faun to ensure that Ofelia’s “essence was intact.” The essence of Spain in this timeframe was much different. If essence is an attribute that which makes up an identity, The General and his essence were far from intact. Instead, a brutal, savage dictator is depicted. In the scene where the military has stopped a couple farmers under suspicion of conspiracy, The General shows his true underlying savageness. His rash, unprovoked use of violence is strong and unnerving. As he almost unconsciously beats the man to death and then shoots the other at a cold blank range, his image as a monster revealed. Hard to watch, but important to understand why this scene was so viscous. A strong message delivered, which is only enhanced at the end of the scene when The General himself finds them to have been innocent. This is only seen further as senseless, brutal violence.
Ofelia on the other hand continues to emerge as a heroine. In the scene where she must retrieve the key from within the toad, which lives under the tree is a very strong act by Ofelia. So much symbolism, so much one can depict. The tree for instance, with its clear cut divide of two opposing sides, rooted at the core with one another. The evil that exists within and the ugly gruesome figure it has taken the shape of. Only Ofelia and her adventure driven innocence can be called upon for such a daunting task. It is this belief in something greater, the sheer power of the imagination that can sustain people. Here Ofelia shows her quality and dissects through the middle of this conflict, as if to say stop. Let’s end this divide. We are only a cancer to ourselves at this point and as countrymen we are one, united from the ground up, and taking up arms in division of one another is but cruel, tragic behavior, and for it to end the evil deep down must be removed. The hope of Ofelia remains strong.
As the end nears in the film, Ofelia begins to represent not only the revolt produced by Franco’s fascism, but Spain as a whole. It is a story of a princess who has forgotten who was and where she came from. Self-revelation towards that the identity and true nature of who and what Spain is continues to this day. (Labanyi 2001). In their final scene together, The General puts a bullet in Ofelia, putting an end her life in his world. Essentially putting an end to the revolution and suffocating the hope for a different Spain. Ofelia laid motionless, blood dripping from her face with teary, sorrow filled eyes. Victorious were the Nationalists. Blood had been spilt and victory obtained. However, Ofelia was not meant for that world. Her hope held intact was meant for utopia and although The General and Ofelia were at one time at war, the true essence of a person, of a land, of a people eventually shines when one truly allows it to.
The Spanish Civil War ended almost three years after it had begun. Spanning from 1936-1939, it took nearly half a million lives. It ruined cities, towns and villages. For some, the victors, it was a crusade against Godless revolution. For others, the defeated, it was a struggle against the forces of reaction that oppressed Spain for generations. Some say leaders aren’t born, they are made. When faced with enough adversity, heroes and heroines can be fashioned, and forge the opposing force against evil and withstand the oppressive onslaught. For forty years Franco’s regime ruled, a lifetime for some, influencing generations of children and civilians who of which had no choice but to conform. Leaders and revolutionaries are people who have helped define social and political fabric in a certain time. Although brash and at times highly volatile and savage, Franco’s legacy and name will remain in history. To have a dictatorship last up until only thirty years ago is hard to imagine in the free world. His regime oppressed countless and it is only within recent years that Spain has again chosen to hang onto that glimmer of hope, as Ofelia innocently did, to lead Spain out of dark times and out of solidarity. This divide amongst people is evident at all levels of civilized society. However, for progress to be made, a bridging of those two sides in order. Innocence only a child can possess can deliver such a powerful, worldly message. Ofelia, the princess, has found her true self and will now continue to grow and mature as a country.











References
Del Toro, G. (Director). (2001). The Devil’s Backbone [Madrid, Sony Pictures].
Del Toro, G. (Director). (2006). Pan’s Labyrinth [Mexico, Esperanto Films].
Echevarria, Luis Gustavo Giron. (2005) Langston Hughe’s Spanish Civil War Verse. Annuario
do Estadios Filologicos, (28) 91-101
Erice, Victor. (1973). Spirit of the Beehive. [Image Entertainment].
Haack, Denis. (2007). A Fairy Tale for a Broken World. The Darkened Room, 1-2
Kermode, Mark. (2007). Gullermo Del Toro Pan’s Labyrinth. Girl, 20-24
Labanyi, J. (2001) “Modern and Modernity in Democratic Spain: The Difficulty of Coming to
Terms with the Spanish Civil War.” Poetics Today, 27, 89-116. Retrieved October 8th 2009, from Sakai Posting
McCallum, R. (1999). `Very Advanced Texts: Metafictions and Experimental Work, ` in P.Hunt
(ed.). Understanding Children’s Literature, LondonNewYork: Routledge, pp 138-150.
Reboll, Antonio Lazaro. (2007). The Transnational Reception of El Espinazo del Diablo.
Hispanic Research Journal, (8)1. 39-51