Vladimir Propp’s Structural Theory

Luke Chillingsworth

Traditionally the main

character has to restore the equilibrium of the narrative. He usually defeats the villains and falls in love with the heroine. In Shrek the hero would be Shrek himself as he saves Princess Fiona and wins her love.

Hero

The Villain is usually the

cause of the disruption. He is usually a threat to the safety of the heroine as well. The Villain in Shrek is Lord Farquaad as he is after Princess Fiona for himself and is against everything Shrek is doing.

Villain

This character would

send the hero on his journey to restore equilibrium to the narrative. This gives the hero a chance to prove his worth. In Shrek, Lord Farquaad is the Dispatcher as he is the one who sends Shrek to go and rescue Princess Fiona.

Dispatcher

This character would give

something to the hero in order to help them on their journey. Donkey is the donor in Shrek as he provides Shrek someone to talk to as well as moral support throughout the film.

Donor

The helper assists the hero

in re-establishing the equilibrium. This may be in the form of a sidekick. The helper in Shrek is Donkey. He provides support for Shrek as well as helping him along the way. This is a good example of a helper in the narrative.

Helper

The Heroine is usually a

vulnerable character who needs rescuing by the hero. This could be in the form of a Princess. In Shrek, Princess Fiona is the heroine as she needs saving by Shrek in the story. This is an ideal example of a Heroine in narratives.

Heroine

The False Hero seems to be

on the side of the hero but then turns against him or deceives him later on in the narrative. In Shrek, this character is Lord Farquaard as he seems nice to Shrek to begin with, only to deceive him by taking Princess Fiona away from Shrek.

False Hero

We have found out through

Propp’s Character Theory that all narratives share the same structure with the same characters. Our experience of narratives means we are able to recognise these character roles. Not all narratives will feature all of the characters though and some narratives may show variations of these characters.

Propp