Christopher Vogler The Writers Journey
74
ALLY
HELPFUL SERVANTS
Another folktale Ally motif is the "helpful servant," a stock character in tales of
romance who helps the hero achieve his or her goal by carrying love letters and
messages or providing disguises, hideaways, escape routes, and alibis. D'Artagnan's
long-suffering valet Planchet is one of the helpful servants in The Three Musketeers and
Dudley Moore's butler, played by stately John Gielgud, performs the role in Arthur.
Batman's butler Alfred serves m a n y roles a n d it s h o u l d be n o t e d that the Ally
function can easily overlap with that of the Mentor, as Allies occasionally step up to
the higher function of guiding the hero in spiritual or emotional matters.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTION
T h e Ally in dreams and fiction might represent the unexpressed or unused parts o f
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