I finally saw Princess Mononoke today, in cinemas for its rerelease. Yeah, yeah, I know — took me long enough. One (of the many) things that struck me about the movie was that the story doesn’t really have any villains.
It’s got antagonists, sure — Lady Eboshi’s deforestation efforts are what sends the demon to threaten protagonist Ashitaka’s home, kicking off his curse and quest. But she’s also doing what she can for her community: taking in lepers and employing women in her prosperous town. She may be all too ready to destroy nature in the advent of modernity, but she’s also trying to make a better life for those society would discard. It’s reductionist to write Eboshi off as a villain, simply because she’s San’s enemy.
In any other story, the heroism of San, the titular Mononoke princess, would never be in question. Raised by wolf spirits, she’s the narrative’s representative of the natural world, the world that Ashitaka’s people live in harmony with and the world that Eboshi seeks to tame. She, and those on her side, should be unquestioningly good. But San and the forest spirits are capricious, as willing to destroy and hurt as they are to bring life. Perhaps Eboshi cares too little for the forests, but then perhaps by the same token San and the others are too set in their ways.
Nothing is as simple as it seems. The vivacious and helpful monk Jigo is the one who’s encouraging Eboshi to kill the forest spirit. The people of Eboshi’s Iron Town are a happy and welcoming group. The gentle Forest Spirit is just as able to take life as it is to give it.
It’s fitting, then, that Ashitaka is called to see by his village elders “see with eyes unclouded by hate.” The world of Princess Mononoke is a complicated one and lifting the curse isn’t just a matter of killing a demon or killing those harrying the demon. There are no easy answers in Princess Mononoke, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying and the characters’ resolve to still try and make a better world is all the richer for it.
Essays, Not Rants! 