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Doni Lopez
Mrs. Jurczyk
ECE 1011
Rumpelstiltskin Essay
The story of Rumpelstiltskin has existed for over 4,000 years, with a myriad of
variations originating from all over the world. The Rumpelstiltskin variations feature differing
characteristics, details, and themes that have adapted to the societal standards their authors
witnessed. However, through the evolution of Rumpelstiltskin, the theme of a pragmatic love1
reappears frequently, indicating a notion of flawed familial relationships in the 18th and 19th
century in which the authors lived. The Rumpelstiltskin variations illustrate notions of a
pragmatic love in familial relationships, that are influenced by the societal standards the authors
The Grimm Brothers were exposed to German law, culture, and societal standards throughout the
1700 and 1800s, directly impacting their version of Rumpelstiltskin and the notions familial
relationships it suggested. Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm were born and raised in Germany,
according to Ludwig Deneckes Brothers Grimm biography, and as a result witnessed the gender
inequality that existed many in German families. A Social History of Germany by Eda Sagarra
explains Germany was a place where law assigned women to a subordinate and dependent
position relative to men (405), showing a heavily male dominated society. The Grimm Brothers
Rumpelstiltskin reflects the sense of male superiority in Germany, by using a daughter who
gets volunteered to spin straw into gold. A man wanting to seem important (Grimm 1) to the
king, falsely claims to the king that the mans daughter is capable of spinning straw to gold. The
king then unknowingly commanded her to spin [the straw] in one night if she valued her life
[and the] girl knew not how to help herself (Grimm 2), the kings power over the daughter
leaving her helpless. The Grimm Brothers roles of the dominant man and the innocent girl are
exaggerated to hint at the conditions many German women faced during the 1700 and 1800s.
These roles are further exaggerated when a little man saves the daughter's life, verifying female
dependency on men. The relation between the Grimms exposure to German law, culture, and
societal standards influences the details of the story. However, a core theme of the Grimms has
remained constant throughout many of the Rumpelstiltskin variants through the storys
evolution. After the king sees that the daughter has provided him with mounds of gold, he took
her in marriage and does so because Even if she be a miller's daughter [he] could not find a
richer wife in the whole world (Grimm 2), revealing what the king finds most valuable in a
wife. The daughters social status brings negative connotations as seen the king's use of even if
she, implying her status must be compensated for with wealth. If the girl had simply been a
miller's daughter without the capability to spin straw to gold, the king wouldnt have even
considered wedding her. The importance of what the wife must be able to provide before
wedding her provides a notion of the pragmatic love within the familial relationship between
husband and wife. The notion suggests that German women in the 18th and 19th century must
have a definitive value in order to be worthy of a mans hand in marriage, because of women's
lawful inferiority. The Grimm Brothers Rumpelstiltskin adapts to fit the German societal
standards the authors were exposed to, illustrating a notion of a pragmatic love within the
Adalbert Kuhns Zirkzirk gives insight on the familial relationships in 19th century
Russia, with the use of characteristics, details, and themes that conform to the standards of the
time and place. The editors of Encyclopdia Britannica write in the biography Adalbert Kuhn
that Kuhn grew up in Russia, meaning he was exposed to Russian culture and Russian societal
standards of family. According to Wendy Rosslyn in Women and Gender in 18th-Century Russia,
around the time Kuhn was alive, it was not uncommon that Russian peasant families needed
help in the fields and to manage the household; not being able to hire anyone for these tasks
(228), making any help from family members a valuable and necessary contribution to survive.
The need for labor and the impacts it has on familial relationships are illustrated in Kuhns story
Zirkzirk , involving a husband and wife. The story begins with, Once there was a woman who
did not want to do any spinning. Her husband often scolded her for not accomplishing anything
(Kuhn 1), demonstrating the effects the womans unproductivity has on her relationship with her
husband. Unlike the Grimm story where the task given to the female stands impossible, the task
given to the female in Zirkzirk stands achievable, but the wife simply does not want to
complete it. The wifes indifferent attitude towards labor angers the husband, identifying the
source of issues in familial relationships during the 19th century in Russia. The obligation to
contribute to the family in labor creates tension in familial relationships, due to the need to
produce to stay alive. Kuhn notions productivity in marriages as a key component to a familys
happiness, indicating a pragmatic love. Zirkzirk primarily originates from the Grimm Brothers
Rumpelstiltskin, and alludes to the idea that females must have a definitive value to be
considered a good wife, and expands with the idea that an unproductive wife makes for a bad
wife. Adalbert Kuhns Zirkzirk maintains the notions of a pragmatic love familial
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relationships, while adapting the characteristics, details, and themes to the societal standards
Christian Schneller experienced the Austrian society and culture for a majority his life,
influencing the notions of familial relationships illustrated in his story Tarandand. Gender
inequality in Austria during the 19th century appeared as commonplace. Gisela Kaplans
Contemporary Western European Feminism explains marriage was traditionally based on the
husband's legal authority over the wife [and] Until the late 1970s, married women's rights were
legally restricted (Kaplan 133), showing the longevity and strength of male dominance. Gender
inequality undoubtedly played an active role in Schnellers life, and as a result, his version of
work, and a man who marries her based on the false information the woman is extremely
productive. The man has the expectation of a productive wife, and when he discovers the woman
does not like to do any work says to her "Do you think that I took you for a wife so you would
not have to work? If you want to be lazy then you can go back to your own house" (Schneller 1),
showing the man does not want her unless she acts productively. The mans actions suggest that
being married to him is a privilege that must be maintained and earned, and can potentially be
lost. Schneller gives the notion that the familial relationship between husband and wife relies on
a pragmatic love, and when the wifes productivity diminishes, so does the love. This notion
extends to the familial relationship between mother and daughter when Schneller writes [the
daughter] would rather eat and be lazy than work [and] Such daughters bring little joy to their
mothers The daughter could do nothing right for her mother, who for an entire year never
stopped scolding her (Schneller 1), showing that mothers also require the daughters
productivity to be happy. The daughters struggle with familial relationships suggests that the
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pragmatic love originates from the laziness she shows towards work. In Tarandand, the notion
Although they all come from the original Rumpelstiltskin tale, each variation comes
with its own message on a pragmatic love in familial relationships based on the societal
standards each author experienced. Fairy tales after all are a message to their audience and in
Rumpelstiltskin, the messages change from audience to audience. Through the evolution
Rumpelstiltskin, an image of what constituted love in a family during these authors lives can
be constructed.
Works Cited
Fairy tale origins thousands of years old, researchers say. BBC, 20 January 2016.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35358487
July
Sagarra, Eda. A Social History of Germany: 1648 - 1914. 1977. pp. 405.
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Rum.shtml
Rosslyn, Wendy . Women and Gender in 18th-Century Russia. Ashgate Publishing, 2003.
pp. 228229.
Kaplan, Gisela. Contemporary Western European Feminism. Routledge, 1992. pp. 133
http://www.sagen.at/doku/biographien/schneller.html