In the film, all the characters face their own personal tasks of obedience and disobedience. The first meeting we see between Ofelia and Vidal is a tense meeting of different ideas. Carmen always obeys Vidal's orders, such as forcing him to use a wheelchair, and does not question his authority as a husband. In the scene Ofelia greets Captain Vidal with her left hand, which is considered disrespectful in many cultures, Vidal informs Ofelia that she is greeting him with the wrong hand. This shows the difference between Ofelia and Carmen. The theme of obedience and disobedience is represented through the different characters Captain Vidal, Carmen, Ofelia and Mercedes. Each of the three women (Ofelia, Carmen and Mercedes) has very different relationships with Vidal. Carmen is weak and accepts Vidal's orders, Ofelia is disobedient, and Mercedes rejects Vidal's beliefs. In the film we see many examples of Carmen obeying Vidal. A key example is Carmen destroying the mandrake root that kept her alive. She obeyed Vidal's orders and caused her own death. She accepts Vidal's orders by doing this, she is not protecting Ofelia. She also doesn't believe in the fantasy world and tells Ofelia at the beginning: "You're not too old to read fairy tales." Mercedes is the complete opposite, she is courageous and ready to fight for what she believes in, her role in the film is a bit like the mother she never had by giving advice to Ofelia. She is also the ideal character to be the rebels' spy because she is a woman and Vidal only sees women for one use. He is shocked to learn that Mercedes is a spy. Ofelia's disobedience is shown throughout the film. Ofelia is seen as disobedient in many different scenes, when she steals the grapes from the