Brave Family Assessment By Shelby Zeiter NURS 480 April 2, 2022
The Family of DunBroch
The mischievous triplets, or “Wee devils”, that are always up to something - especially if there are sweet treats involved. They often sneak throughout the castle in hidden passageways, playing tricks on everyone (especially their father). While identical, Merida is one of the few people who is able to tell them apart and they share a special bond with her. When not causing mischief, the trio helps the family in their own clever way, particularly with helping Merida break the curse that turned them into bears.
King Fergus
(Father) The enigmatic warrior king who lost his leg protecting his family from Mor’du, a demon bear. He is positioned as the protector of both his family and the kingdom, but relies on his wife’s input for diplomatic decisions. While he is brash and impulsive at times, he has a large heart for his family and endless pride for his first-born, Merida.
Harris, Hubert, & Hamish (Youngest Sons)
The Family of DunBroch
Queen Elinor (Mother)
Merida
(Oldest Daughter) A headstrong teenager who struggles between her expectations as a princess and claiming a destiny of her own choosing. She clashes with her mother, Queen Elinor, frequently as she is expected to be poised, gentle, and knowledgeable as a princess, but wants nothing more to be a free spirit and hone her skills at archery and choose her own destiny.
The elegant and graceful ruler is everything you would expect from a queen. She is the level-headed and diplomatic counterpart to her husband, King Fergus’s, brash and impulsive nature. She tries to teach Merida the wisdom and manners of a royal, but she and Merida are often at odds due to their conflicting vision of what Merida’s future should look like. This conflict ultimately creates a rift between the two that involves the whole family when she insists on Merida getting engaged.
Family Structure: Duvall’s Developmental Stages
Families with Preschool Children: The triplets – Harris, Hubert, and Hamish – are about 5 years old, though they do not speak so it is difficult to gauge their development exactly. They are uninterested in trying new foods like haggis and are more interested in hoarding sweet treats and getting into things they shouldn’t. The “Wee devils” are often terrorizing their nursemaid, playing pranks on King Fergus or anyone else nearby with no disciplinary action taken against them. According to Merida, they could “get away with murder”.
Families with Adolescents: Most of the focus falls on Merida as the oldest and next in line. Queen Elinor is strict with her education and studies, demanding nothing short of perfection. Merida would rather race in the highlands on her horse and practice her archery, many activities deemed by her mother as “unladylike activities”. During this stage, Merida fights to establish her own identity within the expected role set by her mother. King Fergus encourages many of her interests, and gifts her her first bow when she was younger. It is no surprise the two share similar personality traits, much to the dismay of the queen. King Fergus tries to support both his wife and daughter, trying to help them bridge the gap between them.
King Fergus’ Condition: Traumatic Amputation A heroic warrior king, Fergus lost his leg to the fierce demon bear, Mor’du while protecting his wife and oldest daughter, Merida, from the attack. Since the skirmish, he replaced the missing limb with a knobby peg leg. King Fergus doesn’t let the missing appendage slow him down as he continues to train and secure his position as a strong and fearsome warrior. Also known as the “Bear King”, with the tale of his fight with Mor’du becoming legend, it seems he still harbors some anger and resentment towards the beast. Mixed with anger at the bear taking his leg and fear of his family being put in danger again, his main goal is to eventually take down the mighty beast.
CULTURE, RELIGION & TRADITION Brave is set in medieval Scotland and has strong ties to Celtic lore with Will O’ the Wisps that lead one to their destiny, witches and curses, stone circles, and mythical beasts of legend. Each clan is differentiated by their Tartan, a patterned cloth worn as a kilt, sash, or cloak. Their history is passed on through stories and legends storytelling is also the main form of entertainment. Maintaining tradition is held in high regard, such as Merida marrying one of the clan leaders son to fortify stability of the kingdom. A suitor is chosen through tests of strength – an archery competition in this case – when Merida decides to break with tradition and shoot for her own hand. One legend mentioned throughout Brave is the story of the Lost Kingdom. Ruled by a fair and just king, the kingdom was divided between his four sons. The eldest son was unhappy with this decision and in trying to change his fate, he was cursed and became the demon bear known as Mor’du. A similar fate Queen Elinor might share when Merida turns her into a bear.
STRENGTHS All members of the DunBroch family are fiercely protective of each other, despite lingering tensions. King Fergus lost his leg in protecting his wife and Merida from a bear attack, the triplets (though pranksters), help Merida when she is locked in a room - and she sneaks them sweets every now and then. Queen Elinor protects Merida from harm several times while she is in her bear form.
CHALLENGES The family struggles with communication initially, which is seen through the tension between Merida and Queen Elinor. Both have different expectations for the future, especially surrounding Merida’s betrothal to one of the clan leaders sons. As the eldest, Merida is held to a different standard than her brothers, who could “get away with murder” (Brave, 2012).
COMMUNICATION Verbal
Storytelling is used as entertainment and passing on history and knowledge. Merida tells tales to her brothers to entertain them. Similarly, King Fergus regalls tales of his heroics to entertain the clan members and boost his reputation as a heroic king.
bal r e v n o N
The DunBroch family is very expressive and it is easy to see what they are thinking or feeling without them having to say a word. Even when Queen Elinor is transformed into a bear, it is obvious when she is feeling annoyed or proud. The style of dress is another distinction in the family. Merida’s wild, curly red hair matching her free spirited personality contrasting her mother’s regal and poised appearance.
Family Assessment & Intervention Model Family Assessment and Intervention Model views families as dynamic, open systems that interact with their environment. The family develops defenses against stressors to protect the basic family structures. Stressors from physical or mental problems can disrupt the normal lines of defense, causing the family to work to preserve or adapt the basic family unit and return family stability. This process of adjustment alters the whole family unit (Kaakinen et al., 2015). Primary interventions: Problem identification and family factors. Both Merida and Queen Elinor feel the tension between their relationship based on Queen Elinor’s expectations, but are not communicating well to each other. The triplets are pranksters, but mostly harmless in their tricks. Secondary interventions: Help family handle its problems at lines of defense and resistance. King Fergus tries to mitigate between the two while also balancing the peace between clan leaders and preventing a war between his people. The triplets help remove obstacles preventing Merida from saving Queen Elinor and mending their relationship. Tertiary interventions: Restore or maintain system stability. After mending the bond between them, Queen Elinor and Merida need to continue being open and understanding with each other. King Fergus relies more on his daughter’s help after seeing her mature. The triplets are still young and mischievous, but return to their normal role as the trickster trio.
Interventions & Outcomes Problem: King Fergus lost his leg during a fight with Mor’du, the demon bear, while protecting his family from being attacked. Losing a limb as a result of a traumatic amputation can have a significant impact on an individual. Such a loss is felt through the entire family unit and each member is able to offer support in different ways. Intervention with rationale #3: Assist the Intervention with rationale #1: Use verbal Intervention with rationale #2: Provide individual on returning to daily life and and nonverbal therapeutic communication psychological and community support to living as normally as possible (Fitzgerald, approaches such as empathy, active individual (Jo et al., 2021). Feelings of 2021). Having a routine and planned listening, and confrontation to encourage shock, anger, and grief are common and the family to express emotions like normal with the loss of a limb. Being able activities has been shown to help with the coping process. Having goals to work to discuss these feelings with family sadness, guilt, and set goals (Jo et al., towards also helps provide a sense of members and receive support from 2021). Families that can communicate purpose and improves self-esteem and others can help with the recovery and well are able to better understand the confidence. rehabilitation process. needs of other members. Outcome: King Fergus acted as a buffer for Queen Elinor to practice what she wanted to say to her daughter. He supported both of them along with his daughter’s decision to wait to marry. King Fergus’ tale of how he lost his leg was retold so much it became legend and his family often retell the story with him.
Outcome: The story of how King Fergus lost his leg became legend and he takes great pride in the story, as he frequently retells it to his family. While he seems to have adjusted well to the loss of his limb and still trains, his desire for vengeance is no secret.
Outcome: The whole family participates in maintaining daily life and normal routines King Fergus participated in before losing his leg. He trains Merida on sword fighting and archery and retells stories to his sons during meals. He is driven by his goal to continue to protect his family and face Mor’du in a rematch to avenge his lost limb.
References Denham, S. A. (2016). Family-focused nursing care. F. A. Davis Company. Fitzgerald, S. (2021, December 9). Practical coping strategies to help amputees and their families. Limbs4Life. Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://www.limbs4life.org.au/news-events/news/practical-coping-strategies-to-help-amputees-and-their-families. Jo, S. H., Kang, S. H., Seo, W. S., Koo, B. H., Kim, H. G., & Yun, S. H. (2021). Psychiatric understanding and treatment of patients with amputations. Yeungnam University journal of medicine, 38 (3), 194-201. https://doi.org/10.12701/yujm.2021.00990. Kaakinen, J., Duff-Gedaly, V., Hanson, S., & Coelho, D. (2015). Family health care nursing: Theory, practice and research (5th edition). F. A. Davis Company. Zhang, Y. (2018). Family functioning in the context of an adult family member with illness: A concept analysis. Journal of clinical nursing, 27 (15-16), 3205-3224. https://doi.org.10.1111/jocn.14500.
Visuals https://www.pixarpost.com/2012/04/brave-meet-few-characters.html. https://movies.disney.id/brave/characters https://pin.it/4WoHMAJ https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/The_Disney_Wiki https://www.fanpop.com/clubs/brave/images/30480059/title/merida-photo http://findingmickey.squarespace.com/pixar-animated-features/brave/ https://news.disney.com/brave-quotes