Most of you will jump the gun and say it is Rumpelstiltskin. However, I do not believe this is the case. Rumpelstiltskin was an honest person who stuck to his deals. He offered to help a woman in need, spinning an entire room of straw into gold and taking only a ring or necklace as payment. By that logic, it is obvious that he had no need of money. Why help her for such a small payment in return?
Perhaps it was so he could manipulate her into giving up her first born child. But no where in the story does it say Rumpelstiltskin could see the future (unless we are going by Once Upon a Time - which is completely different). There is no way he could have known for certain that the king would offer marriage or that a first born would be an option.
Further proving he is not a bad guy, he agrees to amend his contract and give the grieving mother three days to guess his name. Now, his name was obscure and yes, he had no intention of her figuring it out. But if you look at it from another perspective, it is giving a mother three more days with her child in order to prepare for the separation. It is a kindness.
So, assuming that Rumpelstiltskin is not the bad guy, who is? Some may argue that it is the Queen who breaks her contract. Yet I question - did she really break it? She, of course, did not want to give up her child and cried over it but she did not say she would not give up her child as their verbal contract stated. It was Rumpelstiltskin who pitied her and changed the terms. And yes, she was happy when she guessed his name but was she really happy to see Rumpelstiltskin die? The story does not say.
What about the King? Well, he is certainly a negative force. "Spin this straw to gold or die" and what not does not exactly ring the tone of a paladin. He is the driving force that continues to push Rumpelstiltskin and the girl together until the final deal is made. If I were to pinpoint where the bad guy truly resides, I would have to say it is the King.
Talk about being married to a prick.
Point 1: Kudos for using the word "paladin" in a blog post. Nicely done!
ReplyDeletePoint 2: This reminds me of a post I made a while ago about what the moral of Rumplestiltskin is supposed to be (I still have not received a satisfying answer). You bring up a valid point. Who is the villain here? Possibly Rumplestiltskin? Probably not the Queen. The King certainly does not come off well... perhaps him?
Point 3: What did Rumplestiltskin even want with the child? Was he going to eat him? Was he just lonely? What was his goal here?
Point 3. As you already mentioned... "I have threatened to kill you over the last two nights unless you preformed the impossible... if you preform the impossible again you receive the honor of marrying me!" what kind of reward is that?
Poont 5: Does this story even have a clear villain? Or a moral? Or a purpose at all? Or is it just a bunch of stuff that happened? It is certainly an interesting story, and worth telling in my opinion just for the entertainment value, but seriously... what the heck? The more I think about this story the more questions I have that I can not answer.