Tzvetan Todorov's Theory

Tzvetan Todorov's is a Bulgarian literary theorist and philosopher who suggests that stories begin with a state of equilibrium in which the protagonist's life is normal, where any potentially opposing forces are in balance. This is disrupted by an event, setting in chain a series of events until the problems are solved so that order can be restored to the fictional world.

Todorov stated that there are five structured stages:
- a state of equilibrium at the start
- a disruption of the equilibrium
- a recognition that there has been a disruption
- a reinstatement of the equilibrium

Todorov's theory can be applied to many 'mainstream' film narratives such as Lord of the Rings. A state of equilibrium is shown at the start when the hobbits prepare for Bilbo's eleventy-first birthday, throwing a party in celebration. The disruption is caused by Bilbo giving Frodo his ring which happens to be the One Ring forged by Lord Sauron. When Frodo is hunted by the Nazgûl and stabbed by a morgul blade before being rescued and taken to Imladris (Rivendell) in order to heal. This restores an element of equilibrium for a time before the Council of Elrond addresses the true disruption of the film: that the One Ring must be destroyed in order to defeat Sauron. Only once the ring is truly destroyed in Mount Doom is the sense of equilibrium restored.