Today we will be looking at the fairy tale of Rapunzel from a psychoanalytical perspective. We will be exploring some of the key themes in the story and how they might relate to real life experiences. Rapunzel is a classic fairy tale that has been retold countless times. The basic story goes like this: A couple are expecting a baby. And behind their house is this awesome garden that is filled with glorious rapunzel, this is kind of like spinach and the roots taste like radish.
She sends her husband down into the garden to steal the lovely vegetable which haunts her brain. Because the husband is such a woosy, and fearing for his life, and because he feels his wife cannot live without that plant, thus jeopardizing the life of the baby , he says yes in the moment.
So he gets the plant β but NOW the witch is coming. And come, she does. She takes the baby in the still of the night and locks her away in a tower. Well one day, a young prince happens to hear her singing and is entranced by her voice. He begins to visit her regularly, and by wooing her with his own version of songs β she eventually lets down her hair so that he can climb up to see her. Anyway, before you know it, you know what happens. Hold onto your puritan ears. They start doing it.
What do you expect? This is probably the scene where Rapunzel sees the witch side of her mom for the first time, for real. In some versions the witch cut his eyes out herself, and in others they were maimed in the fall from the tower on some roses down below. But, at his lowest of lows he retreats to the wilderness or the desert thinking this is just it. But lo! Guess who is there! The Prince and Rapunzel are finally reunited and live happily ever after. There are many different interpretations of this story, but some of the key themes include: abandonment, isolation, betrayal, and redemption.
One of the main themes in Rapunzel is abandonment. Rapunzel is abandoned by her parents at a young age and left in the care of a witch. This abandonment can symbolize feelings of being unwanted or unimportant. It can also lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, as Rapunzel feels cut off from the rest of the world when she is locked away in the tower. Another theme in Rapunzel is isolation. As mentioned before, being locked away in a tower can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness.
