Rapunzel and The Abuse it Represents Children all over the world are experiencing child abuse, whether it is mental or physical, and the effects that it holds. Many young adolescents look to fairy tales and stories to help obliterate their everyday struggles, but stories such as “Rapunzel” represent abuse itself. As children, we tend to connect ourselves with what we want to aspire, for example a princess, but some fairytales could be quite morbid. The original story has been previously revised due to the fact that it was inappropriate for children, which is ironic because in 1812, when it was written, it was presented in a fairytale. There are many symbol’s in this fairytale, but the most significant would be the physical and emotional abuse …show more content…
From the very beginning of the book, Mother Gothel destroys Rapunzel’s true identity by naming her after her own misfortune. Rapunzel’s biological parents exchanged their first born child, Rapunzel, for rampion that her mother so desperately craved for. The scientific name for rampion is Campanula rapunculus, hence the name Rapunzel. This in turn shows that Rapunzel's identity was solely derived from the tragic events that were forced upon her, taking away from her sense of self. Self identity is the recognition of one’s potential and qualities as an individual, especially in relation to social context (Oxford Dictionary np). Not only is self identity expressed here, but also when the prince enters their lives. Mother Gothel does not approve of Rapunzel’s daily encounters with the prince because it poses as a threat to their identity. Gothel has shaped Rapunzel into the women she wants her to be, so when the prince spends time with rapunzel, he is interfering with her costly …show more content…
She is constantly putting Rapunzel down and creates an unhealthy relationship between mother and daughter. Parental abuse consists of two sub topics, which include emotional and physical abuse. Although physical abuse is somewhat presented in the text, emotional abuse is the main evidence. Emotional abuse is the injuring of a child's self-esteem or emotional well being, such as regularly belittling or berating a child (Mayo clinic np). Not only is there parental abuse from Mother Gothel but, also from Rapunzel’s biological parents where they give Rapunzel away for their own financial security. Her mother craved rampion so badly, they traded their own child in exchange for their own good. Rapunzel has not had good parenting from the start, which confirms the previous statement of being abused. An example of an effect of emotional abuse is that the child could repel against her
In “The Classic Fairy Tales” by Maria Tator and “Mad Shadows” by Marie-Claire Blais, both texts deal with the idea that suffering and understanding are deeply connected. The authors aim to prove that suffering and understanding go hand in hand in order for change to occur. In “The Classic Fairy Tales”, Beauty and the beast, Snow White and Cinderella, will explore the relation between understanding suffering via transformation, desire, and physical injuries, when compared and contrasted with Mad Shadows.
Fairy tales are a part of childhood. They go back through time depicting magical images of happy children, love stories, beauty, wealth and perfection. Authors, movie and film creators, artists and more draw beautiful images for people to remember and pass on through time. Many times the ugliness of the villains and the horrors that come into play throughout a fairy tale are often not as advertised. However, after careful analysis it is very clear that both authors of the original “Rapunzel” and its retell “The Root of The Matter” by Gregory Frost do not shy away from these evil aspects through their tales, while still capturing the magical moments that make a fairy tale memorable. The Root of the Matter fits the Rapunzel tradition with both
Not only is she the main character in the movie, but she also faces the most trials and tribulations of any other character. When the movie begins, Rapunzel is kidnapped and taken away from her birth parents by a woman who only wants her because her hair has magical properties. She was then locked away in a tower away from everything and everyone except for her pet chameleon and her captor. Rapunzel does not know she is being held captive at first. Mother Gothel, the woman who kidnapped her, has convinced Rapunzel that the world is a cruel place and that if she left the tower, people would hurt her to get to her magical
Throughout the ages myths, legends and fairytales have been used to teach people basic moral and educational lessons. For example, mothers and fathers use the childhood story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" to teach their children that stealing and snooping is wrong. In the end, Goldilocks was either eaten or she ran away, depending on your bloodthirsty nature. By using this comparison between myths and reality the Romans were able to "control" their women, and to discourage them from vain, romantic and adulterous actions. Women themselves had a very low place in Roman society, and could be bought and sold like cattle or slaves. Despite their low legal status, women had immense power and influence over their fathers, brothers and husbands. These myths and legends were society's guidebook, which provided women with a manual about correct conduct.
In the year 2015, approximately 683,000 children became victims of child abuse. Of those 683,000 children, approximately 1,670 children died from child abuse (National Statistics). Child abuse is defined as “when a parent or caregiver, whether through action or failing to act, causes injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to a child” (What is Child Abuse). There are many different kinds of child abuse: neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation and emotional abuse. The purpose of this paper is to enlighten the readers to the fact that throughout the story the parents and caregivers abused their children. In The Glass Castle, Jeannette talks about the many memories that she had with her parents, but it is clear that even
We all grew up hoping that we were the princesses who met the dreamy prince and lived ‘happily ever after’ like in a fairytale.People debate over whether or not Disney fairytales are beneficial for children. Like Melissa Taylor the author of the piece ‘10 reasons why kids need to read non disney fairy tales’, I am against disneyfied fairy tales. In this essay I will argue on why kids should not only watch disney fairytales but also the real versions.
Gothel, who kidnapped Rapunzel for her own selfish needs demonstrates bad parenting persistently through the movie, Gothel demonstrates narcissistic behavior toward Rapunzel. When they are both standing in front of the mirror Gothel says, “Look in that mirror. I see a strong confidant young lady. Oh and look, you’re here too!” Gothel tends to her own wants and needs, neglecting the wants of Rapunzel. The adolescent stage of life is a period of time where teenagers need to find a personal identity and sense of self. Receiving positive reinforcement and encouragement from parents allows an adolescent to be able to find out who they want to be in life and gives them a sense of direction. According to Erik Erikson’s theory of development this is important to the process of forming a strong identity. (Kroger, 2006) Rapunzel is given no sense of self when is she is constantly being put down by what she thinks is her “mother”. She often receives more criticisms then she does compliments.
In the original Cinderella, the stepsisters cut off parts of their feet so they can fit inside the shoe, golden not glass, and at the end pigeons peck out their eyes until they 're blind. In Rapunzel, when old lady Gothel found out about the prince visting Rapunzel she cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and sends her into the dessert to live alone and trunks the prince to climb the hair un the tower and tells him that she 's dead which leads him to jump out the tower’s window. It’s clear to see that Grimm’s tales are graphic and most parents now wouldn’t want their kids reading or hearing those stories. Even though the brothers just copied the stories as they were told the stories are a far stretch from reality, Maria Tatar says “These tales are not politically correct. They are full of sex and violence.” While the Grimm brothers did well on preserving the stories exactly as they were told, in today’s time there are a lot better books aimed towards children unlike the brothers’ tales were. Young children shouldn’t be allowed to read the harsh original versions of the stories they love; they should be able to keep their minds as innocent as they can for as long as they can. If kids were to read the original Grimm’s fairy tales, it could scare their little minds
...lassic fairy tales is not the problem here, it’s the parents who try and raise their children in a perfect world. Children should be told the truth so they can be prepared for the real world before they grow up. I’m no parent, but I have been around children who do not know how to act in public places because their parents seclude them from the world. The violence in the classic fairy tales can be explained why it happen and ways children can learn what to do and what not to do. Parents can elaborate that not all step mothers are evil and that when hard times come they will not abandon them. The reality if the world would not be misleading if parents took the time to explain to their kids how things work in the real world. The classic fairy tales are nothing but entertain stories and they should not be taken so seriously by parents.
It is around this clearly defined three-part structure of the plot, that invisible layers of meaning exist – often very different for each reader. Between the clever design of the plot – which allows several stories to surface within a seeming individual tale – and multiple layers underneath the literal action, exists a limitless journey of personal exploration. A fairy tale such as Rapunzel has many possible functions in a child’s life and development – explaining the desire for the tale to be read time and time again by the eager young mind.
From the beginning, she was set up for an unfulfilling childhood. Gothel loathed her job as a mother because she only sought to use Rapunzel for her own gain. As demonstrated through Gothel’s continued put-downs and self-absorbed comments, Rapunzel would have developed an attachment style based on fear and obedience to Gothel. Commonly referred to as an “insecure attachment,” Rapunzel would have grown up to be introverted, anxious and avoidant of large social situations. In addition, Rapunzel spent most of her days alone in the tower. These extended periods of isolation would have halted the growth of Rapunzel’s emotional intelligence, if they hadn’t driven her mad. Not being able to talk to anyone would have increased Rapunzel’s antisocial personality traits and left her incapable of effectively communicating. This drastically contrasts from the girl who readily sang with a group of ruffians at a bar, or danced freely in the plaza of the
Fairy tales portray wonderful, elaborate, and colorful worlds as well as chilling, frightening, dark worlds in which ugly beasts are transformed into princes and evil persons are turned to stones and good persons back to flesh (Guroian). Fairytales have long been a part of our world and have taken several forms ranging from simple bedtime stories to intricate plays, musicals, and movies. However, these seemingly simple stories are about much more than pixie dust and poisoned apples. One could compare fairytales to the new Chef Boyardee; Chef Boyardee hides vegetables in its ravioli while fairytales hide society’s morals and many life lessons in these outwardly simple children stories. Because of this fairytales have long been instruments used to instruct children on the morals of their culture. They use stories to teach children that the rude and cruel do not succeed in life in the long run. They teach children that they should strive to be kind, caring, and giving like the longsuffering protagonists of the fairytale stories. Also, they teach that good does ultimately defeat evil. Fairy tales are not just simple bedtime stories; they have long been introducing cultural moral values into young children.
In the middle of the story, Rapunzel has no idea that the witch will soon show her true color. Before the witch notices Rapunzel’s physical changes, the prince finally gets to see her by climbing her hair, in other words, touching her hair. This symbol, someone is touching the hair indicates“desire for sexual adventure” (Dream Dictionary). Thus even if they are just met each other, prince was might thinking to have a sexual relationship with her in such a short period of time. As time goes by, when the witch gets mad about her pregnancy, Rapunzel looses the most attractive feature; the unbelievably and unrealistically long hair by the witch. Being cut her hair by someone symbolizes “feeling weakened or brought down by someone”, which what she
I am writing this paper because I was assigned to write it as a class project. Along the way I realized the importance of sharing the real meanings of all these stories. Stories are important because in the society we live in things are constantly changing. Fairytales change but the base of the story always remain the same no matter how many times it has been retold. It’s important to reveal the true meanings of these stories, even with its dark characteristics, because the world is dark .Children need to know that there are people that have told stories relatable to what they are going through. Fairytales help the development of children; it helps their maturity as they confront someone else’s tough situations, instilling hope of a more positive ou...
In the story Rapunzel, by Grimms’ Fairy Tales, many events lead up to the tragic, yet happy, ending. The wife, who had a baby on the way, craved some of the enchantress’s herbs to eat. Every day, her craving got stronger until she could not take it anymore, and sent her husband over to steal some. The enchantress noticed the husband and got very angry. She decided to be nice and make a deal with the husband. The enchantress would spare his life if the child that his wife bare would be given to her. When the baby girl, Rapunzel, was born, she was handed over to enchantress. At the age of twelve she was locked away in a tower. There were no stairs leading to the castle, so no one could get in our out. The enchantress would climb up Rapunzel’s hair to get in. The King’s son heard Rapunzel singing and went to go see her. Rapunzel and the King’s son fell in love and decided to get married. Rapunzel told him to bring a piece of cloth every night so she could make a ladder to descend from. The enchantress found out about Rapunzel’s plan, so she cut all of her hair off and dumped Rapunzel in the desert. When the King’s son came by, the enchantress let down Rapunzel’s hair. The King’s son was so frightened by the enchantress that he jumped out of the tower, piercing his eyes on thorns. He wandered the forest until he came upon Rapunzel and his twins. Rapunzel’s tears cleared up the King’s son’s eyes, and they lived happily ever after in the kingdom. In the end, they lived happily ever after because, the wife craved the herbs, the King’s son found Rapunzel, and the enchantress discovered the King’s son.