Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun

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Dr. Ferreira was a good man, a gentle soul. That much was apparent to Ofelia the moment he walked into her mother’s room. One can spot kindness as clearly as cruelty. It spreads light and warmth and the doctor seemed filled with both. Oh yes, there are many roses like that, the Fairy thought as she flew toward the window behind which the girl was telling her story. When she slipped into the room, her wings fluttering as softly as Ofelia’s voice, she saw them: the girl and her mother, holding each other against the darkness of the night outside. But the darkness inside the house was far more frightening, and the girl knew that it was fed by the man who’d brought them here. It absolutely does–I love the film, so obviously that impacted my view of the book, but I don’t think you have to know the film at all to appreciate the book. They really are wonderfully complementary. (It’s been a long time since I last saw the film, so I can’t really remember how violent it was, but there were some scary parts!)

Then he left with Mercedes, and Ofelia was alone for the first time with her mother in this old house smelling of cold winters and the sadness of people from ages past. She liked to be alone with her mother. She always had, but then the Wolf had come. It sounds as if the walls are speaking, doesn’t it?” Her mother hadn’t held Ofelia like this since she had learned she was pregnant. “Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’m giving you a surprise.” Meanwhile, in the non-fantastical world, Vidal and his soldiers capture some rebels. In the process of keeping the rebels captives, Vidal realizes that Dr. Ferreiro is helping the rebels, and kills him. Carmen and Vidal find the mandrake root under the bed and dismiss it as fanciful child's play. When Carmen throws the root in the fire, she gives birth and dies in the process.

Vidal slowly walked around the table, his uniform cap under his arm. He was taller than Ferreira. Of course. Ferreira was a small man. He was losing his hair and his scraggly beard made him look old and pathetic. Vidal loved the clean-shaven chin a sharp razor delivered. He felt nothing but contempt for men like Ferreira. Who wants to heal in a world that is all about killing?

The Fairy had disappeared, and when Ofelia stepped through the arch, it cast a cold shadow on her skin. Turn around! something in her warned. But she didn’t. Sometimes it is good to listen, sometimes it is not. Ofelia wasn’t sure she had a choice anyway. Her feet did the walking all by themselves. The corridor that opened behind the arch narrowed after just a few steps until Ofelia could touch the walls on either side simply by stretching out her arms. She dragged her hands over the withered stones while she kept walking. They were so cold despite the heat of the day. A few more steps and she reached a corner. Another corridor opened in front of her, leading left and then right toward another corner. Meanwhile, Ofelia comes upon the toad inside the tree, and introduces herself as Princess Moanna. The toad roars at her, but Ofelia remains calm. She feeds the magic stones to the toad all at once, pretending that they are the insects that it regularly eats. When the toad swallows the stones, its stomach appears to erupt from its belly, and Ofelia grabs the golden key that is sitting on top. She emerges from the tree, but is distressed to find that her beautiful dress is covered in mud, as the sky opens up in a rainstorm. Her mother hadn’t argued with him when he advised her to stay in bed for a few days. It was a huge wooden bed, with plenty of room for her and Ofelia to share. Her mother hadn’t been well at all since they’d come to this miserable place. Her forehead was wet with sweat, and pain etched fine lines into her beautiful face. Ofelia was worried, but it comforted her to watch the doctor’s calm hands prepare the draught.

She climbed out of the car while her mother stumbled to the side of the road and vomited into the ferns. They grew as densely between the trees as an ocean of feathery fronds, from which gray-barked trunks emerged like creatures reaching up from a sunken world below. The dinner party is beginning at Vidal's, and Ofelia is nowhere to be found. At dinner, Vidal unveils plans to distribute one ration card to each family. "We can't allow anyone to send food to the guerrillas," Vidal says, and pulls out the antibiotics he found at the camp that day. Seeing this, the doctor looks over at Mercedes with alarm, as Vidal makes a speech about the misguided beliefs of the rebels, who insist that everyone is equal.