Propp's Narrative Theory

Vladmir Propp was a Russian critic who was interested in the narrative of folk tales. He noticed that films and folk tales were similar in many areas. They were about the same basic struggles and they appeared to have stock characters. Characters according to Propp have a narrative function; they provide a structure for the text.

Characters that perform a function:
The Hero-  a character that seeks something
The Villain- who opposes to actively block's the hero's quest
The Donor- prepares the hero or gives the hero an object with magical properties
The Dispatcher- sends the hero on his or her quest via a message
The False Hero- disrupts the hero's success by making false claims
The Helper- aids the hero
The Princess- acts as the hero's reward and also the object of the villain's plots
Her father- who acts to reward the hero for his effort

However Propp's theory is only useful to simple fairy tales and to similar narratives that are based around a quest.