Comparison Of Rapunzel And Grimm Brothers

Fairy tales are very powerful stories that have been told to many generations. These are different forms of stories that hold messages for their audiences. These messages are expressed through the various characters in the fairy tales and the techniques used by the author have to portray these messages and re-enforce the importance of them to the audience. In this essay, I will be critically examining a fairy tale of my choice. I will be identifying the similarities and distinguishing the differences between two versions of the fairy tale. I will be discussing the intended audience and the leading theme of one fairy tale in particular. The fairy tale that I will be exploring and evaluating will be Rapunzel.

This fairy tale was originally written by the internationally renowned authors; Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. These authors were known as the Grimm Brothers. The fairy tale begins with a married couple who long for a child to have of their own. However, the wife becomes obsessed with a plant; rampion, that is nestled in

This is a motif that is evident in both versions of the tales, it portrays the enchantress as a cunning and selfish woman, who wishes to make Rapunzel’s life miserable and lonely. In each case, Rapunzel is forced to live in a tower in solitary, isolated from a life of normality. In Grimm Brothers version, at the age of twelve, the child is confined and locked in a tower by the enchantress. This is to prevent the world from being able to wonder at Rapunzel’s beauty. She is also placed in the tower as it is the start of Rapunzel’s sexual maturity; she starts to grow into a young woman. Therefore, the enchantress refuses to allow Rapunzel to engage in any contact with the opposite sex. Rapunzel is put into a tower in the animated tale ‘Tangled’ with no stairs to ensure she cannot escape from Mother Gothel and interact with the wider