Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Noble Fugitive

One of the most fascinating and fun tropes we have seen in fairy tale history is what is called the noble fugitive. To sum it up, we have a man--nearly almost always a man--who has found himself on the run from the law, yet he still does what he can to help those in need. Robin Hood is likely the most famous of these types, but there are many ways to accomplish this sort of character.

One of the common factors of the noble fugitives generally has to do with the unfortunate fallibility of present law. He is either confused with someone else's crime, or the crime he committed was justified despite being against the law. Whatever the case, the authorities want him either captured or killed. In the case of Robin Hood, it was due to the corruption of the prince and the sheriff. He stood against them to help the innocent who were being bled dry by the elites.

A similar but far more cynical version is the case of the Star Wars Jedi Master Rahm Kota. He was one of the surviving Jedi Masters after the emperor ordered all of his kind killed. He still fought the good fight for a while until a battle with a Sith apprentice left him blind. This blindness made him quite cynical. He was still good and willing to fight, but he spent much of that time getting drunk and talking about what was wrong with the universe.

The latter example is often interpreted in the form of a wandering fugitive. He wears rags and constantly scavenges for food. He could have a grand past life such as Master Kota, or he could just simply be a loner on the wrong side of the law. Nevertheless, he will act entirely by his heart with no mind for the law whatsoever. What does a fugitive have to lose anyways? Being on the wrong side of the law pretty much exempts you from having to follow it. Besides... in most fairy tales, breaking the law often just led to execution anyways. At this point, you should be free to murder and steal from those who deserve it for the sake of those you decide to help.

The main principle the noble fugitive really sets is the meaninglessness of the law itself. It's not real. It's just a set of rules pulled together by a particular group of people. Sometimes the majority of the country has no say in these laws whatsoever. And let's just be honest, if laws were truly sacred, they would be the same across the entire planet. Unwittingly becoming a fugitive can put this sort of thing into perspective. You suddenly realize that you are being hunted for merely following your conscious. It has a way of disillusioning your perception of the law.

In many tales of corrupt kings, the laws seemed really only to favor the elites. Taxes were often levied to make the king more comfortable. Meanwhile, the peasants were... well... peasants. They lived miserable lives in fear that they would be arrested for not paying their taxes on time. It is no wonder that when a noble fugitive came to stand up for them, they did what they could to protect them. After all, he's all they got!

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Robin Hood

Jedi Master Kota