Taylor Whitney Pan's Labyrinth Response The story takes place in Spain in1944. Officially, the Civil War has been over for five years, but a small group of rebels fights on unbroken in the mountains. Captain Vidal, Ofelia's new stepfather, is a Fascist officer with orders to rid the area of rebels. Captain Vidal seems obsessed with having a son to make sure that his name lives on through history. This is something that isn't really considered to be all that important in our societies today. Ofelia wasn't really cared for, it seemed. Her stepfather had no desire to get to know her or take care of her. It seemed like her mother, although she loved her a lot, wasn't very concerned about her once they had gotten to the mountains. She was only concerned with keeping her new husband happy and giving birth to his son. The women in this story weren't respected were and pretty much viewed as lesser beings by the men. It was most likely because her mother needed to have a husband so that she could support her family. It seemed that Ofelia used her fairy tales to escape from the war and the hardships that she is experiencing with her family. Her new father just looks over her even though she is a beautiful and smart young girl. Her mother also encourages her to stop reading fairy tales and start reading other things, I felt mostly so as not to embarrass her in front of her new husband. In our society today, I feel that believing in fairy tales is almost encouraged. I feel that, yes, it is still a way to escape the evils of society, but it is also just a way to stop kids from growing up too fast. Women and girls are also viewed in a completely different light nowadays. Women are respected and treated equally.