Rapunzel: The Grimm Fairy Tale

“‘Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair’” (Grimm 44). Famous words that many people know from their childhood. The tale of Rapunzel. A story that many adults and children are fond of. A picture of a beautiful princess with long golden hair looking out of a tower towards her handsome prince appearing in thousands of minds. Though most of the American population knows the general plot of the myth, most fail to realize that the story has changed greatly from the original Grimm fairy tale version. The role of Rapunzel taking a drastic turn. This can easily be a reflection of how the role of women has changed over time as well. When looking at the contrast between “Rapunzel” and Tangled, there is a clear difference of how women are culturally viewed in the eighteen hundreds versus today. Many people wish to see even the original Rapunzel as a princess. This is untrue. The original Rapunzel in fact came from ordinary parents. The parents even give her away with no fight at all. According to Grimm, “In his fear the man agreed to everything, and when his wife had the baby, the sorceress appeared at once. She gave the child the name Rapunzel and took her away” (43). The baby was not a princess. Her parents are referred to as “man” and “his wife”. They do not live
in a castle at all, but a simple home described to overlook the sorceress’ garden (Grimm 42). This makes Rapunzel a normal girl. One that her parents give away easily. Not even searching for her. This being quite the contrast to the movie Tangled.
In this movie a the king and queen have just had a baby girl. The baby seems to have magical powers so a sorceress kidnaps her, raising the child like her own. The king and queen search frantically for their new daughter. All of their attempts fail and for eighteen years they do not find her (Tangled). In this version Rapunzel is a valued princess. One that has a whole kingdom looking for her. Being more modern the message of giving away little girls would not have gone over too well. It shows that in today’s standard girls are more worth keeping and looking for. It also shows that the wife has a say in giving up the child or not. Her opinion matters as
well. The Rapunzel in Tangled is not only a princess, but a stronger character. The Rapunzel in Tangled is very fearful of the stranger that appears in her tower. She even hits him in the head with a cast iron skillet. Later she ties him up with her long hair and stuffs him in the closet (Tangled). This is a show of force that in modern times it is what many would expect a young woman to do when a stranger invades her home, or to at least be fearful and less trusting. IMore women are being encouraged to fight back and in a movie aimed at young girls this is what many parents want to instill. The ideals today being a little different than in the times of the Rapunzel who resides in the Grimm fairy tale. This Rapunzel is much more trusting as well as timid in her approach. Even if she is slightly fearful at first it does not take the handsome prince long to convince her of his trustworthiness (Grimm 44). In this part of the story it was more obvious that strangers were not considered very dangerous, especially when they were royalty. Woman were mainly seen as fragile creatures that did not hit people with frying pans. The myth reflects this in how Rapunzel reacts to the handsome stranger. Girls were encouraged to find a man, hopefully a rich handsome one, and fall in love as soon as possible. The timeline for the fairytale Rapunzel is not perfectly said but it can be interpreted. She has two children with her, twins, when the prince finds her again. It could be implied that the children are the princes, and therefore they have known each other for at least nine months and a little longer. It more than likely has been less than two years, most of that time being a part from each other. When the prince does find Rapunzel again they both go back to his kingdom. That is where the story ends. It can be interpreted as that they married as well.
The Rapunzel in Tangled also marries at the end of the story. She has even less time with the mysterious man, only a few days. It is an interesting message to young girls and boys alike. This Rapunzel may not be as young as the Rapunzel in the original story, but they both marry quickly. As of 2010, and even now, it is still the cultural norm to be married at one point. Love is still something that many believe in today. It is still strange for a woman to be unmarried at a certain stage in her life. That is one cultural aspect that has changed very little since the eighteen hundreds.
Something that has changed a lot is the amount of adventure woman are allowed to go on. Even if they still should be accompanied by a male. The Rapunzel in Tangled is very quick to drag the, now trusted, stranger all the the way to the city to see the floating lights. She is very quick, and even excited, to leave the tower that she has been trapped in for all of her life. She seems to not need the man that accompanies her, except as a guide, and even is the one that rescues him from the danger of the bounty hunters that are after him. This is a step towards encouraging independence for young girls. It also reflects the cultural change in how independant women are encouraged to be in this day and age.
This is very unlike how the Rapunzel in the original fairytale behaves. She requests the Prince brings her silk so she can make a ladder to climb down from the tower. She cannot even come down on her own. When the sorceress takes her away to a different land she does not wander the forest or attempt to leave. It is in fact the prince that finds her. Rapunzel cannot do anything without the sorceress, an older woman, or the prince, a man. The only thing she does do alone is raise to children. Something that would be considered a woman's job. The prerogative taken by the Rapunzel in Tangled would not be allowed.
Many things women do today would not be allowed in the eighteen hundreds. Original fairy tales and stories give those who read them an idea of what life use to be like. Woman were not regarded highly and had very different things expected of them. Marriage and children were often a given, and though we still expect that from women today it is not expected to as much. Women were seen as gentle creatures that needed to be protected and accompanied. Their independence was not something even thought of.
Compared to today’s standards it is a little different, but not complete opposites. Women still have some similar expectations. The main difference being how independent woman can socially get away with. The way we tell our fairy tales and “princess” stories reflects this. As the times change so do myths or stories. What parents want to convey to their children changes and therefore the writers change the story to something that will sell or be told again and again.
Within the next few years there will be even more of a change as now the internet allows ideas to be interchanged quickly and easily. The culture around us does not change over centuries, but over decades. Women's rights progress quickly. Equality is now the goal.