Lady and the Tramp
runs counter to the conventional wisdom that the protagonist needs to change
over the course of a story. In this film the protagonist is clearly Lady. The story follows Lady throughout the film. She is clearly the protagonist. Usually as such she would be expected to
change and grow over the course of the story.
But that’s just one way to tell a story. There’s also the reverse were the hero is
challenged with temptation and threat to compromise their beliefs. But they remain steadfast, and in the end
they change others by their conviction. Lady and the Tramp is this type of
story.
Lady believes in being part of a home and family. Early in the film she’s very proud when she
receives her license, showing it off to the neighbor dogs. This scene is an efficient setup,
establishing the beliefs of Lady and also introducing the characters of Jock
and Trusty. When her belief is first
tested by the reduced attention caused by Darling’s pregnancy she is presented
with two conflicting philosophies. Her
friends reinforce her belief in loyalty to home, as they explain what a baby is
and how nice they can be. Their point of
view is rebutted by the Tramp who shows up and tells her “when a baby moves in,
the dog moves out.”
Ultimately, her faith in home is reaffirmed when the baby finally
arrives and Jim Dear helps her get a look at the baby. She’s still part of the family; it’s just a
bit larger now. But soon after she is
challenged again as Aunt Sarah arrives to take care of the baby while Jim Dear
and Darling go on vacation. Aunt Sarah doesn’t want Lady anywhere near the baby,
and after being framed by a pair of Siamese cats Aunt Sarah takes Lady out to
get a muzzle. Lady panics and runs out, getting lost. She’s found by Tramp who begins to show her
how he lives without a home. He argues
that when he lives without a home, he gets only the best by visiting a
different home every night. Lady isn’t
immediately swayed by this argument, but neither is she clamoring to return
home immediately.
Tramps lack of commitment with a home is repeated in his
attitude toward dating many women. Also, despite the time they spend together,
he is still reckless with her safety, and endangers Lady by insisting they
chase chickens around for fun, only to end up getting shot at and Lady captured
and taken to the pound. While the
evening before showed the benefits of living untethered, this next day presents
the pitfalls. It also has Lady realizing
that she’s not the only dog in Tramp’s life, and he has a reputation as a
ladies man. Not only is some of the
worst of this lifestyle on display in the pound, but it also reinforces her
connection to home as it is her license that saves her from it. The dogs at the pound say they would give
their left leg for one to get out of there.
When the Tramp visits Lady to apologize she makes it clear
she’s not interested in his lifestyle or him anymore. That the Tramp tries to apologize at all is
significant. It’s unlikely he’s done
that in past relationships instead of simply moving to the next girl. He leaves, but returns when he hears Lady
barking at a rat. Chained to the
doghouse, Lady is unable to stop the rat from entering the house, so it’s up to
the Tramp hunt down the rat. Tramp manages
to kill the rat, but Aunt Sarah, not realizing the rat was there, thinks
Tramp’s just been wrecking up the place and barricades him in a closet before
calling the pound.
This moment was predicted earlier in the pound. Where the other dogs postulate that when the
Tramp does fall in love, he’ll get careless and dog catchers will finally
capture him. This indicates that the
Tramp is indeed in love with Lady and he has changed. Things happen very
quickly now as Jock and Trusty realize what happened along with Jim Dear and
Darling, who had just arrived back home.
Trusty and Jock are able to stop the pound carriage and save the days,
though Trusty does end up breaking his leg.
In the final scene we see that Tramp is now part of the family, with his
own collar and license. He has changed and
followed Lady’s example because of his newfound love for her.
Stories with a steadfast protagonist are less common, but it
is a useful form of storytelling. Seeing
a character withstand an assault on their values and remain steadfast can be
just as inspiring as seeing one swayed by those values. Lady
and the Tramp could’ve been flipped around so that Tramp was the
protagonist. But, they chose to focus on
Lady. Neither way is necessarily
correct, but each provides its own benefits and pitfalls. It’s important to remember that there’s more
than one way to approach a story.
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