Blade Runner and C. Estes

The film Blade Runner applies universal myths and archetypes to a futuristic setting. The characters and plot of Blade Runner can be paralleled with many of the archetypes and tales told in Clarissa Pinkola Estes' book Women Who Run With the Wolves.

The relationship between Rachael and Deckard is very similar to the story of the Skeleton Woman, only with the gender roles reversed. Just as the fisherman inadvertently transformed the dead woman's bones into a living, breathing, loving human being, so too did Rachael awaken Deckard's innate sensitivity and kind nature. Although it is ironic that Rachael is the replicant and Deckard the human, the soul transformation still takes place. Deckard was untangled metaphorically, as the Skeleton Woman's bones were literally untangled by the frightened fisherman. Through his kindness and caring, the Skeleton Woman was able to return to flesh and blood. Much in the same way, through Rachael's love, Deckard was able to reassess the motives of his quest to kill the replicants and to view them as human.

Another parallel between the film and the book is the treatment of anger and rage. Estes devotes an entire chapter to the correct channeling of rage, offering several myths that show how powerful, destructive, and potentially constructive that emotion can be. The tales of the Crescent Moon Bear and the Withered Trees deal with different aspects of anger and rage. In Blade Runner, Roy experiences intense fury at his maker Tyrell. Roy's anger is justified, for Tyrell's motives for creating the replicants was totally self-serving; moreover, he ignored the potential repercussions of his experimentation and his creation of life. Roy takes out his anger on his maker, or his "father," by gouging his eyes out. This act is symbolic and reflects many of the dismemberment stories in Women Who Run With the Wolves.