Jess in the Imaginary Plane
THE MOVIE
Bridge to Terabithia (2007), directed by Gábor Csupó
DIFFICULTY
THE QUESTION
Why does Leslie die?
WHAT WE LEARN
Learning to recognize mentors.
Warning SPOILERS ahead
PLOT:
Jess Aarons is a shy boy with a talent for drawing, often neglected by his family and bullied at school. When Leslie Burke, a new classmate, beats him in a race, the two form a special friendship. Together, they discover a forest near their homes and imagine a magical kingdom called Terabithia, inhabited by fantastic creatures and ruled by them as king and queen.
Through Terabithia, Jess and Leslie learn to face their fears and insecurities, finding refuge from the difficulties of school and family life. However, one day, while Jess is away on a trip with his art teacher, Leslie tries to reach Terabithia alone: the rope they used to cross the creek breaks, causing her to fall and drown.
Jess, devastated by the loss and tormented by guilt, eventually finds the strength to move forward, thanks to his family’s support and the emotional legacy Leslie left behind. To honor her, he builds a real bridge to Terabithia and invites his little sister, May Belle, to enter the world he and Leslie had created—ensuring that the magic of imagination will never die.
THE INTERPRETATIVE KEY:
Bridge to Terabithia is a coming-of-age story that explores many themes: the father–son relationship, diversity and social acceptance, friendship, love, death, and the process of grieving. Not all of these themes are equally developed; some are only touched upon. What truly matters, however, is Jess’s journey and Leslie’s role within it.
Jess is immediately presented as living in a harsh and oppressive reality: a strict and unaffectionate father; the responsibility of being the “man of the family” as the only boy among five siblings, which forces him to take on the tasks his father delegates; a household struggling on the edge of poverty; and a school environment where bullying is rampant, targeting him for his shyness and sensitivity. His only forms of expression and escape are his talent for drawing, which he turns to in moments of solitude, and school competitions, such as the opening footrace in which he tries to prove his worth.
It is at this point that Leslie enters the picture. She wins the race by overtaking Jess at the last moment and captures the class’s attention when she reads an essay, vividly describing a dive into the water she has never actually experienced. This marks the beginning of their shared journey, as Leslie shows Jess how imagination can open doors to new worlds.
Leslie introduces Jess to the imaginary realm through words and storytelling—the symbolic plane. This realm takes shape in the forest beyond the creek, which they christen Terabithia: following Campbell’s reading in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, it represents the “extraordinary world” as opposed to the “ordinary world.”
Leslie is particularly skilled at managing the imaginary, likely because of her unconventional family environment: both of her parents are writers, often absorbed in their work and inattentive to her needs, though they celebrate joyfully with her when their projects are completed. For both children, imagination becomes a way of escaping a difficult reality.
Jess, on the other hand, must deal with a father who enforces his authority through prohibitions and rules. According to Lacan, the “Law of the Father” allows the subject to enter the symbolic and social order, regulating desire and access to culture. This is seen, for instance, when Jess loses the keys to his father’s store: his father scolds him for “having his head in the clouds” and caring only about drawing. Another moment occurs when an opossum sneaks into the family greenhouse: Jess frees it, but his father reprimands him because the greenhouse is vital for the family’s livelihood. These are small acts of rebellion that contribute to Jess’s inner growth.
Leslie teaches Jess to use imagination as a tool for transforming reality. The imaginary and the real run parallel and can only interact through the symbolic (language), which requires rules. Too much emphasis on the imaginary leads to detachment from reality (as with Don Quixote); too much emphasis on the real results in a bleak and joyless outlook. Balanced imagination, however, becomes a resource for growth and resilience.
A parallel can be drawn with The Pursuit of Happyness, where Chris Gardner tells his son a story to shield him from fear while they sleep in a subway bathroom: imagination serves as a protective filter for unbearable reality. Similarly, in Terabithia, Jess and Leslie imagine themselves battling demons and overcoming fears, learning that imagination is a source of strength.
When Jess’s little sister May Belle is bullied by Janice Avery, the school bully, Jess does not directly defend her: he accepts the imbalance of power and chooses another approach. This shows he is learning not only the value of imagination but also the law of desire, as imposed by his father. The outcome is a plan of revenge against Janice devised with Leslie and carried out by Jess, and, later in the story, the construction of a real bridge leading to Terabithia.
According to Vogler, the hero, after traveling through the extraordinary world, must return with an “elixir”—a precious gift (knowledge, power, wisdom) to share with others or to use for personal growth. In this case, Jess carries with him the legacy of Leslie.
Leslie’s death—she drowns in the river while trying to reach Terabithia after the rope snaps—marks the climax of the story. The last scene the two share, walking back from Terabithia in the rain, is highly symbolic: the rain represents Jess’s transition from childhood to adulthood.
But why does Leslie die? In part, because she uses imagination as pure escape, without any “law” to contain it: her parents are absent. Moreover, Leslie embodies the archetype of the Mentor, a figure who guides and inspires the hero but often must die in order for the hero to complete the journey (as in the case of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, who becomes an interiorized figure of strength for Luke).
And yet, Leslie’s death affects the audience with unusual intensity. Why? Perhaps because, although her narrative role is that of a Mentor, Leslie is not only that. Her bond with Jess is deep, intimate, and rooted in elective friendship—a connection that extends beyond the archetype.
The overlap between the figure of the Mentor and that of the close friend creates a narrative dissonance, producing in the audience a powerful sense of estrangement and a profound emotional impact.
REFERENCES:
Christopher Vogler. Il viaggio dell’eroe. La struttura del mito ad uso di scrittori di narrativa e di cinema, Dino Audino Editore, Roma 2010.
Joseph Campbell. L’eroe dai mille volti, Feltrinelli, Milano 1984.
Jacques Lacan. Il seminario. Libro III. Le psicosi 1955-1956, Einaudi, Torino 2010.
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, 1977 di George Lucas.
La ricerca della felicità, 2006 di Gabriele Muccino.