Spanish A Level:
El laberinto del fauno – Guillermo del Toro
Analiza los símbolos que utiliza el director para reflejar el carácter del Capitán
Vidal.
Possible content
• In the fantasy world the Pale Man is clearly a reflection of Vidal and Del Toro draws attention to the
connection by positioning them both with their backs to the fire at the head of the banqueting table.
• Once the link is made, we note the images of violence on the walls and the implication of the piles of
shoes and relate them to Vidal and his cruelty to innocents.
• The link to the Pale Man also suggests Vidal is blind.
• Eyes become a symbol of Vidal’s inability to see what is going on around him and, indeed, Ofelia’s
capacity to perceive the other world (from when she inserts the missing eye piece in the statue at the
start).
• Vidal’s ‘blind’ arrogance and self-belief make him oblivious to the treachery of Mercedes and the
doctor and unable to see the faun when he is right in front of him.
• It is no coincidence that Pedro shoots him in the eye at the very end.
• The images of time, clocks and watches represent Vidal’s desire for control over events and people
around him. • He despises lateness in others, linking it to their poor discipline, but it also unnerves him
as it threatens his sense of control.
• His obsession with his watch and his choice of room in the mill, with its clockwork-like mechanisms,
emphasise his need for precision and control.
• Knives and similar weapons are representative of Vidal’s need for power over others and he wields his
razor blade with cold, unerring precision.
• He brandishes the tools he uses in interrogation before the act of torture in a show of his own power
and control.
• When Mercedes stabs him with her own humble kitchen knife, it is a symbol of the transference of
power and the beginning of his downfall.
El laberinto del fauno – Guillermo del Toro
Analiza los símbolos que utiliza el director para reflejar el carácter del Capitán
Vidal.
Possible content
• In the fantasy world the Pale Man is clearly a reflection of Vidal and Del Toro draws attention to the
connection by positioning them both with their backs to the fire at the head of the banqueting table.
• Once the link is made, we note the images of violence on the walls and the implication of the piles of
shoes and relate them to Vidal and his cruelty to innocents.
• The link to the Pale Man also suggests Vidal is blind.
• Eyes become a symbol of Vidal’s inability to see what is going on around him and, indeed, Ofelia’s
capacity to perceive the other world (from when she inserts the missing eye piece in the statue at the
start).
• Vidal’s ‘blind’ arrogance and self-belief make him oblivious to the treachery of Mercedes and the
doctor and unable to see the faun when he is right in front of him.
• It is no coincidence that Pedro shoots him in the eye at the very end.
• The images of time, clocks and watches represent Vidal’s desire for control over events and people
around him. • He despises lateness in others, linking it to their poor discipline, but it also unnerves him
as it threatens his sense of control.
• His obsession with his watch and his choice of room in the mill, with its clockwork-like mechanisms,
emphasise his need for precision and control.
• Knives and similar weapons are representative of Vidal’s need for power over others and he wields his
razor blade with cold, unerring precision.
• He brandishes the tools he uses in interrogation before the act of torture in a show of his own power
and control.
• When Mercedes stabs him with her own humble kitchen knife, it is a symbol of the transference of
power and the beginning of his downfall.
