Hero or Villain?

Hero or Villain? Maybe the difference between you and he is not so huge. And isn't that your thesis, the Robin Hood world view? That one man is much like another. That the poor are no different from the wealthy, but just as deserving. Why can't you apply your principles to those who have been deprived in another way, deprived of love? (Marian, “A Clue: No”)

Everyone knows the story of Robin Hood, the infamous outlaw who stole Maid Marian’s heart along with the riches of the wealthy. His story is repeated in numerous tales, including a short segment of the movie Shrek in which Monsieur Hood grabs Princess Fiona in the middle of a forest. Confident in his righteousness, he declares that he is her “saviour” in a French accent and attempts to woo her only to end up unconscious on the floor for being “annoying”.

To put a modern perspective on the story, lets say you left your wallet in a public bathroom with a hundred dollar bill in it. You do not realize you left it until hours later and when you return to the spot, it is gone. At first, you panic and search around the whole bathroom meticulously before running to the nearest authorities in the hopes that some kind soul had found it and turned it in. Unfortunately, you either get it back with nothing in it, or do not find it at all. You return home dejected and drown your sorrows in a strong bottle of alcohol. You probably start wondering what sort of evil bastard would do such a thing to YOU of all people.

However, the person you just labeled as “evil” is now giddy with relief as he can now buy some food for his family. Of course, he could not pass up a hundred dollar bill! With all the credit cards, he saw in that wallet of yours he figures you would hardly miss it. He does not care that you worked your ass off to earn that money or that you were going to use it to buy a special gift for someone special. All he cares about is the survival of his family. Interestingly, the “thief” could have avoided this situation altogether with the help of the Robin Hood Foundation, which has created a website called Robin Hood: Targeting the Poverty of New York. Of course, he would have to be a resident of New York to profit from this, but it’s an interesting thought nonetheless.

Anyways, Sheriff of Nottingham and Guy of Gisbourne did not sit by passively and let Robin Hood get away with all of his plunder. Indeed they proclaimed him an outlaw and stole his home as well as his beloved, Marian, away from him as shown in the following scene where Sir Guy, accompanied by Marian and his noble friends are celebrating the King’s birthday:

GUY: Hood! I don’t remember inviting you.
ROBIN: Since when has a man needed an invitation to his own house?
GUY: I don’t know, perhaps since he lost all rights to the house by becoming an outlaw.
ROBIN: Ha, ha, ha. I would’ve declined anyway. My men and I are here on business. Please! Everyone! If you could assist us by removing all of your jewelry and valuables and handing them to that man over there, Much! And then proceed to that room where you will all wait quietly until we’ve gone.
GUY: Do as he says.
ROBIN: Wise decision, Gisboune. (“Tattoo? What Tattoo?”)

In many modern versions of Robin Hood, he tries his best not to kill, even when his enemies give him perfect reason and opportunity to. Not long after the scene above, he has Guy at his mercy and is quite willing to kill him, but his loyal gang of outlaws rush to his side and still his hand because, as Much explains, “We do not take part in bloodshed unless absolutely necessary.” (“Tattoo? What Tattoo?”). Five episodes later, however, Robin Hood manages to kill a guard, surprising his arch nemesis the Sheriff of Nottingham: “What is this? Hood does not kill! (“A Clue: No”).

As for Sir Guy, he admits that he “committed a crime, grave crimes. Meaningless crimes. But by taking Marian in holy wedlock, I will wash away those crimes. Her pure heart, will cleanse mine.” (“A Clue: No”) Unfortunately, he seems rather misinformed as two episodes earlier he stabbed Marian with a dagger coated in hemlock while she was stealing the riches that were soon to be hers anyway under the guise of the Night Watcher, one of Robin’s outlaws. (“Return of the King”) Even his “friend”, the Sheriff of Nottingham, fails to tell him important information, as seen in the following scene:

SHERIFF: The King is not coming.
GUY: What do you mean the King is not coming?
SHERIFF: He is in the Holy Land! [Guy does not look best pleased] I've arranged an impostor. Think about it, is the real King, who has spent God know how long fighting in the Holy Land going to stop of for a visit in Nottingham, a clue: no.
.............................
GUY: Why didn't you tell me?
SHERIFF: Awh, oh sorry, nothing personal, hmm. Anyway, you should thank me, you get to marry the girl.
GUY: Yeah, but based on lie the King is not really coming.
SHERIFF: Oh isn't that despicable, hmm, I don't know how you could live with yourself. (“A Clue: No”)

What they are referring to in the second half of this excerpt is a promise Marian made to marry Sir Guy when the King returns to England. Guy is noticeably disturbed by this new information while the Sheriff seems quite pleased with himself. Indeed, the Sheriff is a hard character to get behind in this series, as is common with Robin Hood stories. However, his intentions seem to be to liven Nottingham. Surely such a setting can get boring after a while and who’s to say the commoners don’t enjoy the excitement? Sure, plotting to kill the King may be going a bit too far, but how else is he supposed to keep his protagonist interested? When natural disasters happen, doesn’t some part of you wish it was worse? Don’t you wish that meeting the right person will somehow cleanse you of all your mistakes? Who are we to judge fellow humans, when we are also one of them? Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.

Works Cited

“A Clue: No”. Robin Hood. Writ. Dominic Minghella, Fox Allan. Dir. Matthew Evans. Perf. Jonas Armstrong, Lucy Griffiths, Richard Armitage, Keith Allen. BBC. 30 December 2006. TV.

“Return of the King”. Robin Hood. Writ. Dominic Minghella, Fox Allan. Dir. Matthew Evans. Perf. Jonas Armstrong, Lucy Griffiths, Richard Armitage. BBC. 23 December 2006. TV.

Robin Hood: Targeting Poverty in New York City. Robin Hood Foundation, 2002. Web. 9 Dec. 2009. http://www.robinhood.org

Shrek. Dir. Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson. Perf. Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Vincent Cassel. Dreamworks, 2001. DVD.

“Tattoo? What Tattoo?”. Robin Hood. Writ. Dominic Minghella, Foz Allan. Dir. DeclaO’Dwyer. Perf. Jonas Armstrong, Lucy Griffiths, Richard Armitage, Keith Allen. BBC. 25 November 2006. TV.