Importance
The story of Rumpelstiltskin confirms its place in the literary canon by being a classic example of a reversal involving the main characters. Even though it seems extremely unlikely that the Queen will be able to keep her child, this reversal in who has the upper hand makes it possible.
The particular version I am using is a translation of the original text. This story classifies as a fairy tale as do all of the tales by the Grimms because it is primarily made up of magical elements, such as: how the straw was turned into gold and Rumpelstiltskin himself.
Rumpelstiltskin includes many of the Epic Laws of Folk Narrative, including:
· The Law of Repetition-We see this in the repeating of the straw being spun into gold three times and in the guessing of his name.
· The Law of Three-Refers also to the law above, but there are always three chances or events.
· The Law of Two to a Scene-Each scene in the story only has two characters directly involved.
· The Law of Patterning-The scenes for the straw spinning and name guessing are almost completely the same in the way they are told and patterned.
The particular version I am using is a translation of the original text. This story classifies as a fairy tale as do all of the tales by the Grimms because it is primarily made up of magical elements, such as: how the straw was turned into gold and Rumpelstiltskin himself.
Rumpelstiltskin includes many of the Epic Laws of Folk Narrative, including:
· The Law of Repetition-We see this in the repeating of the straw being spun into gold three times and in the guessing of his name.
· The Law of Three-Refers also to the law above, but there are always three chances or events.
· The Law of Two to a Scene-Each scene in the story only has two characters directly involved.
· The Law of Patterning-The scenes for the straw spinning and name guessing are almost completely the same in the way they are told and patterned.
Themes
The themes that are prominent in this story are mainly power and greed. The poor miller, the King, and Rumpelstiltskin all want power or use what they have to get an upper hand. The poor miller wants to seem more powerful in the King’s eyes and so he tells him about his daughter’s “talent”. The King uses his power by forcing the daughter to spin the straw into gold or face death, and Rumpelstiltskin uses his magical power to gain an advantage over the miller’s daughter in her time of need.
Greed shows up as a theme in both the King and Rumpelstiltskin as well. The King’s greed for more gold keeps the miller’s daughter locked up under the threat of death. He even takes her as a wife because of his greed. Rumpelstiltskin gets increasingly greedy with what he wants from the miller’s daughter for helping her with the straw. He takes her necklace and ring, the only two items she owns of value, and then makes her promise her first born child.
Greed shows up as a theme in both the King and Rumpelstiltskin as well. The King’s greed for more gold keeps the miller’s daughter locked up under the threat of death. He even takes her as a wife because of his greed. Rumpelstiltskin gets increasingly greedy with what he wants from the miller’s daughter for helping her with the straw. He takes her necklace and ring, the only two items she owns of value, and then makes her promise her first born child.