The Parent Trap

Annie and Halle were identical twins separated at birth through their parents divorce at a very young age. In plans to never have to speak to each other again, both spouses moved to opposite sides of the country; Nick moves to Napa California where he owns his own vineyard and Elizabeth the mother moves to London England and starts her own wedding design company. Everything was working accordingly to plan until one summer 13 years later the 2 girls meet at camp and everything seeps out. Through a series of different experiences and childhood stories shared Annie and Halle realize that their identical looks and same birthdays are more than just a coincidence. Soon after their new realization they devise a plan to get their parents back together after switching places for the rest of the summer when they arrive back home. Over-coming many setbacks such as the father meeting someone over the summer and planning a wedding soon after, to the distance between both homes, to the long left unresolved feelings of the 2 spouses the two brilliant sisters succeed in the end and bring their family back together.

There are many examples of symbolism in The Parent Trap that all relate back to Greek Mythology.

The first example has to do with the significance of the size of the family. There are two children and 2 parents equaling a family of four. This number in Greek mythology represents life. In this story the the #4 represents the destiny that belongs to this family that they were always meant to be together as four.

The second example of Symbolism in this film is the Rain. The Greeks believed that rain reflected the giving of life. In the last scene of the movie, the mother is too afraid of falling in love with Nick again that she decides to go back to London with Annie and let the girls visit each other and leave it at that. As Elizabeth and Annie arrive at their house in London they are soaked head to toe in the pouring rain as they enter their house to find the father and Halle waiting for them. Nick then confesses to Elizabeth he should of chased after he that horrible day 13 years ago when she left and his daughters made him realize that he never wants to lose her again. This soon follows with lots of crying, making out, sappy music,  and later on a wedding that reunites the family once again. The rain in this scene symbolizes the giving of life back to the family. The rain was used as a foreshadowing of everything that would of happened to Elizabeth, Nick, Halle and Annie seconds after walking through that door; a new giving of life, a new beginning.

Meredeth Blake the soon to be evil step mother has nick wrapped around her finger with her charming good looks and fake kindness towards Halle when she secretly plans to send her off to boarding school as soon as she gets the chance. In almost every scene of the film Meredith is always wearing a different black dress that is meant to show her sense of class, but it also accentuates her character of pure evil. (the color black)

The plan begins to seep out of it's secrecy when the grandfather finds Annie calling the REAL Annie from a pay phone during lunch one afternoon. He then leads her to the park overflowing with trees where they go on a walk and she tells him everything. The trees in this scene represent knowledge, and learning, as Halle confesses everything to her grandpa.

The shape of a rectangle in Greek Mythology represents what is most rational and most secure. As 2 points of a rectangle are close together but far apart from the 2 corners on the other side of the rectangle, this reflects the distance between the 4 family members split in half and the rationality Elizabeth is consumed with when she begins to think of the life she once lost been giving back to her. The rationality of just giving up, overwhelms her.

Lastly the two sisters take on a 5 step journey to bring their family back together again:

Stage 1 Departure: Halle and Annie meet at summer Camp to soon discover they are sisters, followed by their quest to meet the parents they never knew and ultimately bring their family back together.

Stage 2 Initiation: Throughout the next eight weeks of summer camp the girls "train" one another how to be each other so they can easily fool their parents in playing each others part
For the next couple weeks the girls are on a quest to
1. Meet their long lost parents.
2. Figure out why their parents split up in the first place
3. Find out how they met (Incorporated into how they will meet again)
4. Tell their parents what they did and in the process of switching the sisters back, hope that when the parents see each other again they will fall in love all over again.
 5. Bring their family back together

Stage 3 The Road of Trials:

They endure a series of trials such as getting rid of Meredith, helping their spouses resolve old feelings and physically getting them together again from across the country.

 Stage 4 The Innermost Cave: When the mother loses hope that this new life could ever work and goes back to London with Annie

Stage 5 Return and Reintegration with Society: The father chases after his wife and daughter to fight for what he loves more than anything; his family, to soon succeed and become rewarded with a wife and set of beautiful twins to spend the rest of his life with.

In conclusion the directer of The Parent Trap Nancy Meyers did an excellent job of portraying many aspects of Greek mythology in her work.