The theme of orphaned heroes and superheroes is common in Western fiction, mythology, and religion. The lack of parents allows for greater freedom to interact with the world and can lead to a desire to save it. Some orphans find a family, while others are constantly trying to prove their worth and save the people they care about. The loss of parents can also create intense trauma and empathy for suffering. Orphans may observe the world from a different perspective, and their stories may resonate with readers who feel they ultimately belong to them.
A common theme in Western fiction, mythology, and even religious accounts is the idea of orphaned heroes and superheroes. Moses is abandoned in a basket, Hercules grows up without his father, and Buddha rejects his family life for a life of poverty. Fairy tales introduce us to the children of absent fathers and cruel caretakers who have replaced their mothers: Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel and Snow White. Fiction makes much of the lineage of David Copperfield, Pip of Great Expectations, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, Anne Shirley, Jane Eyre and any account of King Arthur. The comics offer orphaned heroes like Batman, Spiderman, Superman, many of the X-men, or you’ll notice characters in more modern film and book fiction like Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, the Baudelaire Children, and Luke and Leia Skywalker.
What is the point of creating so many orphaned heroes and superheroes, and what is the idea that children raised in less than ideal circumstances should convey to the public? There are several interpretations of this archetype. One is the traditional Joseph Campbell and Jungian interpretation of the hero’s journey.
Without parents, orphaned heroes and superheroes are considered “children of the world”. When one thinks of children’s complex relationship with the family, it’s quite easy to understand how the lack of one or both parents frees the child from family obligations that perhaps wouldn’t make for the best drama. The examples above give an idea of the different types of journeys these children or adults may take, but a consequence of serving the world rather than a set of parents is that pleasing “the parent’s world” may mean saving it. Having grown up and been freed from much of the complex relationship between child and parent, orphaned heroes and superheroes have a much greater freedom to interact with the world on a larger scale, and can look at the world as a parent and all its inhabitants. as family. Due to this, many heroes and superheroes end up with a big family that they have to save.
Some orphans are just looking for a home and a family. David Copperfield finds this with her aunt, Jane Eyre with her cousins and then marriage to Mr. Rochester, and Anne Shirley finds her family and love with her adoptive parents Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Cinderella and Snow White escape evil stepmothers by getting married. Others, particularly of the superhero “cast” are never given a family in the traditional sense. In fact, while they may have strong ties to friends or caregivers, they are constantly trying to prove their worth to the world and desperately trying to save the people they care about. Think of Peter Parker’s desire to save his Aunt May, especially after losing his last father figure, Uncle Ben.
Some heroes and superheroes orphaned by the need to continue storylines become so entrenched in saving the world that they can never form a reliable family unit. This is especially true of most comic book superheroes. The world needs constant savings and this creates the impossibility of having families or children of one’s own. Others, like Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker, are able to free their son from world status by becoming deeply involved in the families they’ve created, but only when the danger is past.
You can also rate orphaned heroes and superheroes as a means of emphasizing angst, loneliness, and independence. The comic type superhero is usually one who suffers all the time, or at least most of the time. Especially when such a hero is faced with the deaths of murdered parents, his mission in life may be to create a safer world for other children. The loss of even one parent can be intensely traumatic and alter a child’s life forever, and superheroes can do everything in their power to prevent this fate for other children. Empathy for suffering and the desire to end or prevent it for others is magnified.
There is also the factor of how heroes and superheroes can be isolated from common existence through the loss of parents. They don’t have the experience of growing up with loving parents, and therefore aren’t fully involved in their world. Instead they are outside of it and often have the rare intuition of observing the world from a completely different perspective.
It’s a good idea to consider why we see this theme expressed so commonly. Perhaps we regard these orphans or children with poor parents as ultimately our own. They may not just be children of the world, but they may belong to each reader.
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