Comparing The Fair Angiola By Jacob And Wilhelm Grimm

Fairy tales have, for generations, been a key part of our literature. These stories are captivating; they’re about imaginary beings and lands. Another reason they were so important was their ability to address serious topics in a representative way. Most fairy tales are variations of another story. Some were inspired by ancient literature like Rapunzel was. Her story is similar to that of Danae, a character in Greek mythology, that was locked away by her father. Over the years, different tales have been told about Rapunzel and her name was changed but they all have similar roots: a pregnant woman in need of some special plant, a witch that takes the woman’s child, and a girl stuck in a tower. While these similarities in the stories are important,
In both the French and Italian versions of “Rapunzel”, the captive girl is made unattractive. This is done by the witch in order to make her undesirable to the prince she has run away with. In “The Fair Angiola” the witch turns the girl’s face into a dog’s. Because of this, the prince does not take her to his kingdom. In “Parsillette”, she becomes ugly due to the witches curse and she must return home in order for it to be lifted. In the Grimm’s tale though, Rapunzel is never cursed to be ugly. She gets kicked out and lives in the wilderness until her prince finds her. The Grimm brothers’ tale, in a more relatable way, teaches you about fate. The witch tried to separate Rapunzel and the prince and yet he still found her. The absence of becoming ugly allows for more people to relate to the story. The story becomes more about what is meant to be and not giving up on it rather than looks. The same can be said about Disney’s film Tangled. In the film, multiple lessons are taught. Coming of age is an important part of the movie because it shows the parents and children that everyone has to grow up. Multiple times throughout the movie, the witch claims that she knows best and that Rapunzel is not old enough to know anything. The witch uses this and scare tactics to keep Rapunzel locked in the
Each version uses love in a different way which is key to a developed story. Of course, an hour-long film will have more time to create a love story, but even the background of the love interest matters. In “Rapunzel” she runs off with a prince who is in love with her singing voice and her looks. It isn’t much to base a relationship off of and it makes their relationship mean less to the audience. In Tangled, Rapunzel’s love interest is a man that goes by Flynn Ryder and he isn’t a prince; he’s a thief. Flynn and Rapunzel have multiple moments together where they get to know each other. Flynn reveals his past of being an orphan and Rapunzel opens up about being trapped in the tower. The story is one of redemption for Flynn as the audience witnesses him go from a money-hungry criminal to someone who genuinely loves Rapunzel. Flynn even tells Rapunzel as he dies, “You were my new dream” (Tangled). This amount of character development is heartwarming for the audience. If the Grimm brothers had even used a tiny bit of this love development the story could have had more of an effect on