”Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave.” _Jareth
Sarah and Jareth from Jim Henson’s Labyrinth.
By: Sammi Young
Labyrinth is a film that centers around two main characters: Antagonist Jareth , The
Goblin King of the Labyrinth; and Sarah, the protagonist who ventures out to save
her baby brother from Jareth. The focus on these two characters is a lot more
elaborate than one might depict. Throughout the film, there are signs that point to
Jareth’s love for Sarah. The simple fact that he disguises himself as a white owl to
visit Sarah’s world suggests that he has been watching her and awaiting her wish.
He approaches her so boldly while quickly granting her wish without even
questioning or criticizing it. Obvious signs of Jareth’s feelings for Sarah reveal
themselves not only through song lyrics, but through his memorable quote: “Fear
me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave.” This is all that he asks in return for
the wish he granted. In this sense, the film’s narrative becomes “more than meets
the eye” in the light that it is more than just a story about a girl trying to save her
brother. It becomes more than just “light attempting to defeat dark.”
As Wilkins suggests:
“With so many signs that point for Jareth’s love for Sarah, even to the point of
indirect confession, could it truly be that the main storyline in Labyrinth was
not Sarah’s quest to find Toby, but for Jareth to confess his love for the girl
who is fascinated with his labyrinth, his world and his fantasy? There are
countless signs that point to exactly that showcased throughout the entirety
of the film.” (Wilkins, W. Signs that Point to Jareth's love for Sarah
(03/09/12)
I. Three-Dimensionality
Sarah as the heroine protagonist:
“Fifteen-years old, Sarah's world is as much full of her childhood fantasies as it is
with reality. When in a fit of temper she mistakenly wishes the goblins to take her
baby half-brother Toby away, she finds that fantasy may be more entwined with
reality than even she could have imagined.” (Roxburgh, Labyrinth-The Characters
03/09/12)
Physiology
Sarah has dark hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. Sound familiar? Many may recognize
these traits from the fairytale, Snow White. From this, a fantastical atmosphere is
communicated to the audience. In the beginning, Sarah is shown wearing a medieval
style white dress as she recites lines from her little red book titled “THE
LABYRINTH.” The color white calls to mind purity; the full material of her gown
suggests romance, and her lines from the book spell it out: she aspires to pure,
innocent princesshood. Sarah wears regular fit jeans and practical shoes in her
exploration of the labyrinth. One may also notice that her outfits throughout the film
all include the main piece of clothing to be white. One sign to catch onto here is that
Jareth and Sarah’s outfits often match throughout the film. For example, Jareth’s
disguise as a white owl matches her white shirts and white medieval dresses. At the
masquerade ball, both characters are both depicted in white as well.
Sociology
Sarah is a white, middle-class 15- year old girl. She is creative among fantastical and
unique in her own way. Sarah seems to be unhappy at home as she sees herself
always trapped when her “evil” stepmother always leaves her at home with her
crying baby brother. It is quite clear how unhappy she is at home which also
explains her social awkwardness. She nearly has the potential of being a hermit. But
once Sarah begins to travel through the Labyrinth to save her baby brother, another
side of her appears. Her sociability in the Labyrinth opposes her hermit-like
behaviors at home making it a contradiction. As Wilkins suggests:
“The fact that she also does not have any friends throughout the movie and
relies on fantastical storylines that she herself creates, not to mention,
talking to teddy bears with fantasy names, shows that she could potentially
be a recluse or a hermit. While travelling through the Labyrinth, Sarah shows
her true colours. She is very kind hearted, helpful and very polite. She is also
very sociable which contradicts the possibility of her being a hermit or an
unsociable recluse. Sarah’s only intentions are getting to the castle at the end
of the Labyrinth and saving her baby brother.” (Wilkins, W. Sarah
(03/09/12)
Psychology
In the real world, Sarah doesn’t have friends and relies on fantasy. An example of
this is depicted when she talks to her teddy bear, Lancelot. Sarah’s step-mother
represented as “evil” from her point-of view. Hence, her life is a fairytale. Sarah also
appears obsessed with the memories of her real mother. Sarah dreams of being a
princess and takes her frustrations out on her baby brother Toby. She later
summons the goblin kind, Jareth to kidnap him. Because she is so lost in her world
of fairytales, Sarah struggles to accept the society and modern lifestyles of which she
lives. In the beginning of the film, Sarah is shown reciting plays all by herself. The
depicts a social awkwardness. Sarah is nearly anti-social and has never been on a
date as her stepmother mentions in the beginning. At the end of the film, everything
appears to be a figment of Sarah’s imagination even though all of the characters
celebrate with her in her bedroom.
As Wilkins states:
“She is lost in her own fantasy from the very beginning of the film, where she
is acting out a play by herself, and the Labyrinth in its entirety could quite
easily be a figment of her own imagination that is showcasing her hopes, her
dreams and featuring the people that she is craving for so badly in her life,
both friends and her lover alike.” (Wilkins, W. Sarah 03/09/12)
If it is all just her imagination, maybe all of these characters who helped her within
the Labyrinth represent the types of friends she desires in the real world. That
being said, Jareth’s love for Sarah could also be considered as only a figment of her
imagination. Hence, he is the kind of man she desires to fall in love with her.
The Goblin King, Jareth as the monarch villain antagonist (sex-god)
“King of the Goblins, torn between protecting his realm and keeping Toby
to become a new (and perhaps even worthy) goblin, (usually babies
wished away are not of such fine quality!) and the tortured love for Sarah
he reluctantly finds growing within him.” (Roxburgh, Labyrinth-The
Characters, 03/09/12)
Physiology
Jareth’s physical traits embody that of a modern rockstar. It is important to know
that capitalistic ideologies nowadays are based on sex which is also connected to
rockstar phenomena. Jareth’s god-like sexualized character is portrayed by non
other than David Bowie. This may have been the cause of his purely eroticized
character. Not to mention, Jareth’s bulge between his trousers cannot go un-noticed.
Jareth is projected as very flamboyant as his style mixes punk rock with literal
glitter. As Katie Scarlett suggests:
“Hermione notices that Jareth's costumes borrow elements of sexual fetish
clothing: black leather gloves and a riding crop. She also comments that
Jareth's final plea to Sarah: "Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be
your slave" evokes sub/dom sexual play. That this was intentional is
certainly possible: David Bowie was certainly no stranger to alternative
sexuality, and he did have creative input into the presentation of Jareth.”
(Scarlett, K. Into the Labyrinth 03/09/12)
Sociology
Jareth is the magical Goblin King- a monarch nonetheless. He is a rockstar in the
sense that not only can he sing, but he can seduce Sarah. He gives Sarah anything
that she asks for right away, but is also a trickster in the sense that he wants to keep
Sarah in the Labyrinth searching as long as he can. This can serve as another
example of Jareth’s feelings for Sarah. He wants to keep her in his world as he is
lonely and desires her presence near. He is very intelligent and knows his kingdom
head to toe. Jareth has a few supernatural powers at his disposal, including the
ability to alter his form to that of a white owl, the ability to speed up time, and the
ability to move the stars or heavens themselves. His powers are frequently aided by
the crystals he bares (he bares Sarah’s dreams and memories within these crystals).
Psychology
Jareth is a strong villain, but can also appear weak in the sense that he always
submits to giving Sarah anything and everything that she wants. He is frustrated
because she has been so ungrateful for what he has given her. Hence, he has given
her everything and more. Jareth enjoys his power over Sarah so much that he is
afraid to lose it and her all the same. At times, it is difficult to tell whether Jareth is
actually evil or good. At first, he is shy in her real world as the beginning of the film
shows him disguised as a white owl. As Wilkins suggests:
“White, of course, is the colour of purity and good if you take into
consideration age old theories. However, Jareth’s appearance as a white owl
could simply be a guise to fool Sarah into trusting him as immediately after
his appearance; he immediately shows his evil side by kidnapping Sarah’s
brother, Toby, and holding him hostage in his Labyrinth. He then gives Sarah
a limited time to save him before he becomes another member of Jareth’s
goblin horde.” (Wilkins, W. Jareth the Goblin King 03/09/2012)
For the most part, Jareth’s actions are good. It is simply his evil deeds that deem him
as the antagonist.
“He seems a bit too caught up in her burgeoning beauty to want to hurt her in
any lasting fashion. Jareth is, to Sarah, a source of temptation. He's endlessly
seductive during her foray through the labyrinth, teasing her and toying with
her in ways that are not altogether innocent and could be considered a little
sexual: he dances with her in a decadent ball, he sings to her in the longing
manner of a lover, his appearance is highly sexualized (just look at those
pants), and he offers Sarah incredible power at his side - so long as she does
what he asks of her.” (Bird, M. Jareth the Goblin King 03/09/12)
Binary oppositions:
Throughout the film, various binary oppositions may be discovered between Sarah,
the protagonist and Jareth, the antagonist. First of all, Jareth is a man whereas Sarah
is a woman. In this sense, Jareth’s magical powers already overshadow Sarah’s
character in the phallic sense. Sarah is portrayed as the girl whom is going to save
her baby brother from the bad guy (Jareth). This represents the common hero vs.
anti-hero model. In the same sense, Jareth is always rude to Sarah’s friends whereas
Sarah is polite to everyone. This also might factor into the thought that Jareth may
only be jealous of Sarah’s friends. In another sense, one can see that Jareth is an
adult while Sarah is only a child. Jareth is constantly sexualized whereas Sarah
doesn’t become sexualized until the masquerade ball scene. One of the most obvious
opposing elements is that (in the beginning) Sarah lives in the real world whereas
Jareth is from a fantasy world. Jareth is Scarlett states a great example of a binary
opposition in Jareth’s words to Sarah:
“The Goblin King's final speech is full of ambiguity. "Just let me rule you, and
you can have everything you want", "Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I
will be your slave". These words are paradoxical: Jareth offers Sarah the
power to command him and have whatever she wants, yet at the same time
he demands that she obey him. Such power play is another deconstruction of
binary opposites.”(Scarlett, K. Into the Labyrinth)
II. Functions
Sarah as the hero and Jareth as the villain:
As Sarah seeks to find her baby brother, Jareth opposes and blocks her quest.
Throughout the narrative of the story, Propp’s theory becomes useful. Here is an
example of how the narrative plays out and how these characters function within
the model:
Preparation
Sarah (member of the community leaves home):
-Sarah summons Jareth and wishes away her baby brother, Toby. Jareth kidnaps
Toby to the Goblin City.
-Sarah sets off to the Labyrinth in order to get her brother back from Jareth.
-Sarah only has 13 hours to complete Jareth’s Labyrinth. If not, Jareth will keep Toby
forever.
Jareth (villain) attempts to discover how Sarah has gotten so far in his Labyrinth:
-When Sarah falls into the Oubliette, Jareth is perturbed by the speed of her
progress through the Labyrinth. He declares that he plans to send Hoggle to fetch
her and take her back to the start of the Labyrinth, and laughs at the thought of
hindering her progress.
Complication
Villain harms member of the community/kingdom/family-Jareth harms Hoggle
and Sarah :
-Quickly losing interest in Hoggle, Jareth approaches Sarah and asks for her opinion
on his Labyrinth. Her flippant response causes him to lose his patience with her, and
he sends the Cleaners after both Sarah and Hoggle as punishment.
-Jareth's next significant appearance is an encounter with Hoggle, where he gives a
peach to Hoggle that he orders him to give to Sarah. Later, when Hoggle is about the
drop the peach into the bog, Jareth's disembodied voice tells him "I wouldn't do that
if I were you" and Hoggle returns the peach to his pocket.
Hero is tested or attacked:
-When Sarah eats the drugged peach, Jareth is seen on the window-sill of his throne
room, casting crystals out into the sky that travel towards Sarah and draw her into a
dream-world. In this world, Sarah dances with Jareth at a masquerade ball.
-Sarah is eventually distracted by the sight of a clock that indicates her time is
running out, and she pulls herself free from Jareth and flees. Jareth watches her run
from him, and is lost from sight in the crowd.
Struggle
-Following Sarah's entrance into the Goblin City, a guard enters Jareth's throne
room to inform him that Sarah is making her way towards the castle. Visibly
stunned by this news, Jareth calls out for his army to stop her and hides Toby with
the Goblins. Jareth looks out onto his city from his Throne Room, watching as Sarah
advances.
Struggle between hero and villain:
-Jareth confronts Sarah in the main room of his castle, trying to disorientate her by
performing gravity-defying stunts on the stairways that fill the room. He sings the
song “Within You” to her, attempting to convey the lengths he has gone to in order to
meet her wishes. Entirely focused on saving Toby, Sarah ignores hi; ultimately
reaching a precipice she leaps from in order to reach her brother.
-When Sarah lands, she is faced with Jareth once again as he approaches her. Jareth
attempts to make Sarah see what he has done to please her, most significantly
taking her brother away when asked to.
-Sarah ignores him, and recites the words from the The Labyrinth necessary to
defeat him. Jareth pleads with her, telling Sarah he is tired of 'living up' to her
expectations and that she can have everything she wants if she will only love, fear
and obey him.
-Jareth offers Sarah a crystal containing her dreams. (This shows Jareth’s love for
Sarah as he is offering her everything she ever wanted)
Villain is overcome:
-Sarah resists the temptation and declares the words “You have no power over me.”
Jareth then crumbles as the dream crystal shatters and he transforms into an owl.
Here, the state of disorder is finally settled.
Recognition
Sarah (Hero) is recognized:
-Sarah wakes up to what appears to have been only a dream.
-Sarah later finds that her friends are all there in her room to celebrate with her.
-White owl (Jareth) flies into the distance heartbroken.
“The nature of Jareth's relationship with Sarah in the film is ambiguous, since it is
never made clear if his speech at the end of the film is a last ditch attempt to distract
her or a genuine confession. However the lyrics of the song Within You, which Jareth
sings to Sarah in the Escher Room, suggest that Jareth's interest in Sarah is genuine.
The film's novelization includes scenes from Jareth's perspective, one of which
indicates that Jareth would have liked to keep Sarah for himself but is powerless to
do so due to her youth. The ballroom scene in the novelization is more overtly
sensual than the one in the film, and has Jareth forcefully attempt to kiss Sarah at
the conclusion of their dance. (Wikia-Jareth the Goblin King) This proves Jareth’s
longing and infatuation to be with Sarah as he dances with her as if she is his queen.
III. General
It is important to remember that characters embody values that also point to ideals
as well as signs. Realism can be defined as what we presume to be reality, but that
which is only constructed. In this sense, reality proposes that characters represent
real people. The problem with realism is that characters are written, fabricated,
constructed, and ideal. Structured characters serve as textual devices and are to be
read. Characters are not real, but tell stories. Characters are thus less people than
functions. They are less individuals and more of types of people and are thus defined
by what they do. That being said, characters are icons, symbols, indexes, etc.
Although it can be argued that Jareth may not be fully evil, he serves as the villain
through his evil trickster deeds. “His cruelty is obvious, what with the baby
kidnapping and all. Jareth harasses Hoggle with continuous Bog of Eternal Stench
threats. He abuses his goblin underlings, and is generally a jerk.”( labyrinth film )In
the same sense, one may also come to love Jareth even if he is the villain. In this
sense, Jareth’s story becomes remotely understandable to the viewer because of his
feelings for Sarah.
“But we also love Jareth, because of the singing on the Labyrinth soundtrack, the
dancing, and the fact that he is the one with all the magic. Plus, there is a touch of
pain and sympathy for Jareth. As he says/sings to Sarah “everything I’ve done I’ve
done for you” and “I can’t live within you.” As a fantasy master, Jareth’s very
existence depends on Sarah’s fantasy and imagination. His love for her is deep and
obsessive – he literally needs her to live. How complex.” (labyrinth film) This shows
Jareth’s actual love and affection for Sarah.
Sarah isn’t defined a hero because of who she is, but because she fought through her
coming of age. This is in fact, Sarah’s story about evolving from girlhood into
womanhood. She easily represents the phenomena of moving from the dimensions
of a fantastical reality to the real world. The conflicts within the story all deal with
the change within Sarah herself. She functions as the hero as she ultimately becomes
more social within her dream as well as conquers the evil of Jareth’s temptation. As
Sarah states during the film’s climas “you have no power oer me.” Jareth’s heartbreak
shatters her dream and he is transformed disguised back into the owl introduced into the
beginning of the film.
Could Jareth’s love for Sarah truly be the main storyline to the film? Does the simple
myth that this is all a figment of Sarah’s imagination play a bigger role? Was the true
storyline to propose Jareth’s love confession for the girl who is inspired by his labyrinth,
world, and fantasy?
Works Cited:
Into the Labyrinth
Jareth the Goblin King
Labyrinth-The Characters
labyrinth film
Sarah
Wikia-Jareth the Goblin King