Rumpelstiltskin

Because who doesn't need spools of gold?

This week, we're back on familiar ground with Rumpelstiltskin. You can read it here. I always forget about Rumpelstiltskin's death. What a drama queen.

This tale is another where a peasant rises up to become royalty. Although, in this case, the only extraordinary thing about the miller's daughter is that someone with magic powers comes to her aid. We need to look at Rumpelstiltskin's motivation here. Clearly the ring and necklace were just a build-up to getting the baby. If he can make gold out of straw, what use would Rumpelstiltskin have for jewelry like that?

Making the queen guess his name was a pretty solid test since he never introduced himself. However, he blew it by dancing around singing his name. There was only one day left, but he just couldn't hold it in. Then, once the queen guesses his name, he tears himself in half. This is a pretty stupid guy. However, I prefer an alternate view. What if Rumpelstiltskin was actually smart? What if he needed to fake his death?

There would be no more public place than a king's throne room for his act, especially after he threatened the prince or princess. Everyone would want to know what happened to him and word would get around pretty quickly about his stunt.

That's one of the things I love about folk tales: there's so many ways to interpret them and different parts to look at. I might look at this story again later. We didn't even talk about the king or queen.

Have a folk tale you want me to talk about? Comment below!