The Impasse

 

Often revealed in the form of the initial quest,

or as a secondary challenge nested within the wider context of the quest,

 the Impasse is an obstacle, a setback, a moment of despair, a surprise.

But for the art to charm, usually it is an impasse the viewer

(cast in the role of Helper) feels they

could help overcome:

 

      

 

Consider, for example, ‘The Cobbler’.

For the little girl, the situation is a Dream,

more specifically a Longing.

For the Cobbler, it’s a Surprise and a Challenge – to his role as a Cobbler,

and his desire to help the little girl satisfy her Longing.

He is momentarily at an Impasse – an Obstacle in the Pathway.

He’s seeking the way through.

For us, too, it is fascinating, intriguing, in that it asks ‘what happens next’?

It’s a Secret, for us as well as him.

(Barthes would describe this perhaps as a suspended answer).

The feelings of all concerned – including us, the viewers –

fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw. Each character (including us)

falls into an archetypal role, and is imbued with the appropriate archetypal emotion,

and the urge to act in a certain way.

 

 

In the case of the Nanny,

it’s clear she has tried a doll, a teddy, a book, a lollipop,

and warm milk. But nothing has worked. A clear case of jamming!

 

Challenges came in many forms, but all related to the difficulties

that arise as we do the things we want to do in life.

The challenge may be to one’s role: as a nanny or a cobbler.

It may be an obstacle, like a dog sitting in front of a truck,

an unpersuaded lady juror, a flat tyre.

It could be a predicament, like a melting ice cream,

or the lad ‘wrapped up in Christmas’.