PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Who was Propp?
Vladimir Propp was a literary critic and a scholar who founded the idea that a certain type of character was to be used in every narrative structure. His theory influenced many filmmakers to writing and producing successful narratives. Propp also suggested that all fairy tales follow a specific narrative structure.
Character Theory
Propp suggested that every narrative has eight different character types, these character types are:
The villain — fights the hero in some way.
The dispatcher — character who makes the villain’s evil known and sends the hero off.
The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest.
The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to be with her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain.
Character Theory Cont.
Her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, and marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father cannot be clearly distinguished.
The donor — prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.
The Villain: This is the character who struggles against the hero. The villain will usually wear dark and mysterious colours. This is to juxtapose between the hero and the villain; to highlight their differences.
The Dispatcher: The character who invites the hero to eliminate the evil. He collects the hero(s) in order to send them off to fight the evil presence.
The Helper: The character who helps the hero fight against evil.
The Princess: The character who needs to be rescued from the evil villain. She is taken by the villain and must be rescued by the hero.
The Donor: The character who offers some sort of help to the hero by providing an object(s) that will help the hero in his/her quest.
The Hero: The most common character type. The character who eliminates the villain and weds the princess.