Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. This week’s Femme Fatale Friday post is an examination of the classic 80s fantasy film Labyrinth and how Sarah’s journey (as she becomes a woman and embraces her sexuality while becoming her most true self) mirrors a Spiritual Journey and our own growth and evolution!
So, Labyrinth has been a favorite film of mine since childhood, as it has so many elements contained within it that I adore. It is essentially a journey through Faeryland or Elphame to regain a lost child, in many ways deeply rooted in old Faerylore and fairytales. At the beginning of the film, Sarah is a young girl, supposed to be sixteen but played by a fourteen-year-old Jennifer Connelly, who is stuck babysitting her baby brother while her father and stepmother go out for the night. Immediately, she is very caught up in things that are ‘not fair’ and acts quite obnoxiously in the early scenes. To me this is very rooted in how most of us are in our youths, very set in our own fantasy worlds and obsessed with the idea of living life on our terms, all the while also fearing growing up and needing to learn to take responsibility for our own actions.
It is established in the first two scenes that Sarah is theatrical, no wonder I always did relate to her as a teenager (even the obnoxious part, I definitely could be obnoxious). She likes to spend her time dressing up and reciting her favorite play in the park with her dog as her companion, her dog is named Merlin! When she gets home to babysit, it is stated that her stepmother would love for her to go out on dates, which is not something Sarah seems to have any interest in. This is an aspect of her desire to not grow up, to play pretend, to make believe in the aspect of growing up. She throws her tantrum as she is doing her makeup and we get a shot showing us all of her things, which gives us hints as to what will happen throughout her journey in the Labyrinth.
When Sarah is distressed that her teddy bear, named Lancelot, is not in her room, but instead has been given to her brother Toby to play with. That is when she ends up invoking her wish that the Goblins would come and take him away! She immediately regrets this act, as the baby disappears and she encounters the Goblin King, Jareth, played by the iconic David Bowie. This is Sarah’s call to action, the beginning of her Hero’s Journey. Jareth gave the young girl a total of thirteen hours to explore the Labyrinth and get to the center, the Goblin Kingdom, and the Goblin King’s Castle. If she does not reach the Castle in time, her brother will be turned into a Goblin and live with Jareth for all time!
Throughout her journey in the Labyrinth, Sarah encounters many creatures and characters, amassing a team of friends, much like Dorothy does in Oz, an obvious inspiration for the film. She first meets Hoggle, who is being pressured by Jareth to get in her way, so that he can keep the baby, and hopefully gain Sarah as his own too, as there are a lot of Death and the Maiden vibes in their interactions. Next, Sarah meets Ludo, a very sweet giant-sized Fae creature with a very loving disposition and control over rocks. Finally, she meets Sir Didymus, a playful fox-looking Fae who rides on a dog for his steed that resembles Sarah’s own dog, Merlin.
There are references to both Alice In Wonderland and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in the film, which are other tales that involve a young girl going through a journey of self-discovery. There is the scene where she falls into the oubliette because she chose the wrong door, the falling into the pit with the ‘helping hands’ is very similar to Alice falling into the Rabbit Hole. There is also the scene where Hoggle gives Sarah the Cursed Peach that he had been given by Jareth. When a very hungry Sarah eats the Peach, she falls into a slumber and goes into a dream world controlled by Jareth, the Peach is obviously a reference to Snow White’s Apple! The Ballroom Dream is my favorite scene in the film and shows Sarah’s growing desire to grow up, as well as Jareth being a symbol of her burgeoning sexual desires that she is not yet comfortable with. This is again that energy of Death and the Maiden with the two! Many people interpret Jareth and Sarah’s relationship as mirroring Hades’ abduction of Persephone, which I believe is most noted in this scene. The scene also reminds me so much of Phantom of the Opera during the Masquerade sequence, which is part of why I adore this scene so much. Of course, the main reference the film is going for is Cinderella and the Ball. Sarah has to break the illusion to get free, firmly discovering aspects of her own sovereignty!
All of this serves to help Sarah overcome her fears of growing into adulthood, and make her happy to accept her responsibilities. This is shown when she firmly tells Hoggle that things are not fair, at the same time having the obvious realization that life is not fair. Another point is after she breaks the illusion of the Ballroom Dream, and finds herself in a junkyard, where she gets nearly tricked with illusions of her own room. But she breaks those Faery Glamour tricks as well to remember her lost brother! Eventually, Hoggle completely defies Jareth, showing loyalty to Sarah. Jareth and Sarah’s final confrontation shows that Sarah has matured, and is ready to leave behind childhood things that prevent her growth. Yet in the final scene she is surrounded by the other characters which seems to show that we need not leave all of our childhood behind in order to mature, only the things that can prove toxic! Of course, Jareth is still watching, as we see him in Owl form outside of the window. I view this as a reminder that conquering our Shadow tendencies is not a one-time achievement, but something that we need to work on regularly!
At the end of the day, this film has endless interpretations, but it is a very clear example of a Hero’s Journey for Sarah where she learns to grow in maturity (coming of age narrative) and saves her brother. She has grown not only in maturity but as I stated at the beginning of the post, this also mimics a classic Spiritual Journey, where we must confront our Shadows (in Sarah’s case this is Jareth) to integrate our fears and become a more fully actualized and sovereign version of ourselves! I hope you have enjoyed this slightly rambling analysis of Labyrinth as a Spiritual Journey. What is your favorite aspect of the film? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the iconic film poster. I found the image on https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091369/.
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Watching/Reading
- Labyrinth (1986)
- Alice in Wonderland (1951)
- Cinderella (1950)
- The Wizard of Oz (1939)
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)
- Mythology by Edith Hamilton
- Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
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