Today, on my eleventy-hundredth viewing of Encanto, I have some thoughts.
I've never read or seen a character with as much empathy as Mirabel. She's not only able to overturn lifetime assumptions, she's excited to. Of course, she sees her sisters' struggles and encourages them. She meets Bruno and believes him, sees how he lives, and understands his love for the family, despite everything she's been told.
When Antonio is too scared to walk to his door, Mirabel faces her own most traumatic memory to comfort him, walking along with him despite Abuela's judgement, despite how horrible it must have been for Mirabel to relive that day.
But Abuela? In Abuela's vision of her tragedy, Mirabel is there. I don't think this is a random choice. I think that Mirabel is deeply empathizing with Abuela, who has wronged her more severely than anyone else. I think Mirabel needed, and was able, to see Abuela more clearly even than she had seen her sisters.
Even before the family gives Mirabel the doorknob at the end, we start to see how deeply she has affected the people around her. When Casita begins to crumble, her parents are concerned only for her, fighting to re-enter the house even as it falls apart. The children in the town are worried when they can't find Mirabel, and they, along with everyone in town, shows up to help rebuild. Is it because of Abuela and the other Madrigals? Maybe. But Mirabel is the one we see interacting most with the townspeople.
And they show up for her. Her family shows up for her.
Mirabel is deeply loved because she loves deeply.
Now, the big Encanto question: why didn't Mirabel get a door? I think it's because she already had a gift. She was born with it.
jbbartram-illu
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