Character Relationship Map: Barbarella

Characters

• Barbarella (played by Jane Fonda) — protagonist

  Barbarella is an Earth space adventurer sent by the President of Earth to recover Durand-Durand and prevent his positronic ray from causing mass destruction. Her journey takes her through dangerous so...

• Pygar (played by John Phillip Law) — protagonist

  Pygar is a blind angel living among exiles from Sogo who has lost the will to fly. After Barbarella restores his confidence through their intimate encounter, he carries her to Sogo and later rescues h...

• Professor Ping (played by Marcel Marceau) — supporting

  Professor Ping is an inhabitant of the labyrinth where Barbarella is found after crashing among Sogo’s exiles. He offers to repair her damaged ship and is introduced to her by Pygar, providing practic...

• Dildano (played by David Hemmings) — supporting

  Dildano is the leader of the local underground opposing the Great Tyrant’s rule in Sogo. He rescues Barbarella from the cage of attacking birds, joins her pursuit of Durand-Durand, and gives her an in...

• Concierge / Durand-Durand (played by Milo O'Shea) — supporting

  Concierge / Durand-Durand first appears as an official in Sogo who captures Barbarella and places her in the Excessive Machine, but he is revealed to be the young inventor she was sent to find. Aged b...

• Mark Hand (played by Ugo Tognazzi) — minor

  Mark Hand is the Catchman who patrols the ice for errant children after Barbarella crash-lands on Tau Ceti’s sixteenth planet. He rescues her from danger, offers transport in his ice boat, and asks fo...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Barbarella → Pygar (Romantic Sexual Partner) — Physical intimacy becomes the immediate catalyst for Pygar's renewed ability to fly.

  Barbarella restores Pygar's will to fly by having sex with him.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Pygar → Concierge / Durand-Durand (Conflict Opposing Forces) — Pygar is victimized by the authoritarian environment that Durand-Durand seeks to control.

  Pygar is captured and subjected to a mock crucifixion while Durand-Durand operates within the city's ruling power structure.

• Pygar → Dildano (Alliance Shared Opposition) — Their actions support the same effort against the forces controlling Sogo.

  Pygar brings Barbarella to Sogo, where Dildano later joins her pursuit of Durand-Durand and leads an attack on the city.

• Barbarella → Concierge / Durand-Durand (Narrative Mission Target) — Durand-Durand is the object of Barbarella's mission and the central source of its political danger.

  Barbarella is sent to retrieve Durand-Durand, and later discovers that the concierge is the missing inventor.

• Dildano → Concierge / Durand-Durand (Conflict Rebel Enemy) — The underground rebellion directly challenges Durand-Durand's attempted takeover.

  Dildano's rebels attack Sogo while Concierge / Durand-Durand has seized control of the city.

• Barbarella → Dildano (Alliance Rebel Ally) — Dildano connects Barbarella to the underground resistance.

  Dildano rescues Barbarella from the bird cage and joins her pursuit of the missing inventor.

• Professor Ping → Pygar (Social Associate) — The two share a community among those exiled from Sogo.

  Pygar introduces Barbarella to Professor Ping, who is living among the outcasts with him.

• Barbarella → Professor Ping (Alliance Technical Ally) — Ping assists Barbarella's mission by offering technical support.

  Professor Ping offers to repair Barbarella's ship after finding her in the labyrinth.

• Barbarella → Mark Hand (Alliance Rescuer) — Hand provides essential protection and transport during Barbarella's early search.

  Mark Hand rescues Barbarella after she is attacked by mechanical dolls and offers her transportation in his ice boat.

Story Analysis

A space adventurer's search for a dangerous inventor becomes a struggle among innocence, political ambition, rebellion, and living destructive energy.

Plot Progression

1. A Dangerous Retrieval — Barbarella travels to Tau Ceti to retrieve the inventor of a weapon feared by Earth's leaders. Her crash and capture expose her to the planet's strange dangers.
2. The Frozen Detour — Mark Hand rescues Barbarella and directs her toward Sogo. After their encounter, she crashes into a labyrinth and meets the exiled Pygar and Professor Ping.
3. Wings Toward Sogo — Barbarella restores Pygar's will to fly, allowing them to reach Sogo together. The city immediately turns their arrival into captivity and public cruelty.
4. The Rebel's Key — Dildano rescues Barbarella and gives her an invisible key to the chamber of dreams. Her return to Sogo nevertheless ends in another capture.
5. The Mathmos Devours Sogo — Barbarella survives the Excessive Machine and discovers the concierge's identity as Durand-Durand. His power struggle and the rebel attack culminate in the release of the Mathmos and Sogo's destructio...