From Monsters to Heroes: The Evolving Role of the Ogre

Introduction: The Ogre as Moral Tool

The ogre is a monster that has appeared throughout history in folklore and mythology. Traditionally depicted as a large creature with human characteristics but a rather inhuman appetite for eating children, the ogre was an especially useful character in children's literature as a tool for frightening children into behaving in a moral manner (Warner). As Bruno Bettelheim states in The Uses of Enchantment, the moral education of children in past centuries was partly provided through stories of enchantment, such as those found in Grimm's Fairy Tales. Those stories were often violent or bloody and full of witches and monsters, but they were not without purpose: wicked characters were typically punished or suffered some gruesome fate, while good characters were rewarded or given a happy ending. By reading these stories, children were taught what they might expect if they acted one way or another in their own lives.

However, as the moral codes of the West changed, so too did the need to tell stories in which ogres were used to frighten children into being good. In the 21st century, the ogre Shrek was introduced in film to teach children a different story — one about inclusivity and self-acceptance. Shrek is the story of a big, green ogre who acts mean on the outside but is, on the inside, a lovable, friendly giant with a good heart. Shrek finds a mate by the film's end, which concludes happily ever after, but in a way that reinforces moral concepts about abuses of power and the importance of appreciating diversity.

Any discussion of the ogre's transformation from the 19th century to the 21st must begin with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The monster in Frankenstein is not so much an ogre as it is ogre-ish — it is large and assumed by onlookers to be something that might eat a child. Those who see the monster are frightened of him; however, he is befriended by a blind man who teaches him to read. The monster is grateful to the blind man for the humanity and love shown to him. His own creator, Dr. Frankenstein, rejected him based on his appearance. Scorned by all who look upon him, the monster decides to exact his revenge on his creator.

Frankenstein and the Sympathetic Monster

The story is one of gothic horror — a far cry from the light-hearted humor of the Shrek film series. Nevertheless, it introduces the idea of a monster who is sensitive about his outward appearance and deeply hurt by the prejudice and bias of a society that forms its judgments entirely on externals. Internally, the monster has sought only to love and be loved; it is only when he is rejected by the world because of his appearance that he turns to violent revenge.

In Shrek, by contrast, ogres are lovable monsters who differ from human beings only in their dirty or disgusting mannerisms, such as eating bugs or taking mud baths. Their external appearance is not as hideous as one might expect from a traditional monster — but the film is geared toward children, and the ogre Shrek is meant to be the hero, so he and his wife are depicted in an endearing way. This is similar to the depiction of the monsters in the film Monsters, Inc.: they are not particularly frightening to look at, and there is nothing sinister in their character. The monster in Shelley's novel, however, is frightening because there is something genuinely sinister in his character once he turns to violent revenge.

Ogres in Popular Fiction Before Shrek

Before Shrek reached the big screen, the closest thing to ogres in popular fiction was the army of Orcs in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. The Orcs are ogre-like creatures who slave away for the evil Sauron. They are diminutive, ogre-ish monsters with no personality of their own — more like grimy, vicious servants or devils programmed to do the bidding of their wicked master. There is really no meaningful comparison between them and the ogre in Shrek or the monster in Shelley's novel. The Orcs are brutish beasts that do not come across as human in the slightest degree.

Shelley's monster and Shrek both possess very human characteristics, which is precisely what makes them such sympathetic figures to audiences. Both also deviate substantially from the ogres depicted in old fairy tales of centuries past. The tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, for instance, features a giant who is ogre-like, living in the clouds and trying to kill Jack for taking his gold. The ogre Cyclops appears in Homer's Odyssey as a one-eyed giant who eats several of Odysseus's men before being tricked and blinded during an escape attempt. The ogres in these tales are violent and genuinely dangerous to mankind.

With Shrek, every child who has ever felt like he or she does not belong can identify with the ogre. But Shrek also offers the reassurance that if one opens one's heart to others, happiness is still possible. The ogre Shrek thus goes one step past Shelley's monster by choosing love instead of hate — and for that reason he is viewed as a heroic character rather than a monster.

Conclusion

Shrek is a different kind of ogre from those that appeared in the past. He reflects a different moral lesson, unique to the 21st century, wherein children are taught to appreciate diversity and to promote inclusivity. Shrek is loved in spite of being different. The lessons on behavior embedded in the Shrek story stand in stark contrast to those found in centuries-old fairy tales: the bad are shown as power-hungry, the good as brave and self-accepting. As Bettelheim recognized, stories told to children have always carried moral weight — but the morals themselves evolve with society. From the terrifying ogre of Grimm's tales to the lovable, green giant of modern cinema, the archetype has been fundamentally reimagined to meet the values of its time.