Kelly Janik ENGL 414 Fairy Tale Exploration 3/27/14

Rumpelstiltskin 1) The first question I had regarding the story was what was the moral/ is there a moral to the story? Was Rumpelstiltskin merely just an entertaining story with no true depth or moral in it. What does this story tell us about Rumpelstiltskin s character and relationship with the millers daughter? Why was the miller so eager to please and give up his daughter to the king? Other than pleasing the king what did the miller get out of this arrangement? Why was Rumpelstiltskin willing to give the millers daughter another chance so she could keep her baby? Why was the kings consequence so severe, did his greed get the best of him? 2) One pattern that I have noticed in the story and several other fairy tales is a mystical creature/godmother..etc coming to the aide of a damsel in distress every time. In this story the damsel in distress, the millers daughter, who is in a life or death situation and needs to make the impossible, possible. Another pattern in the story Rumpelstiltskin is greed; the greed of the king along with the greed of Rumpelstiltskin drove them to act out of character. Both of these patterns are significant to the overall plot of the story and the development of the character. 3) Two elements that were present throughout the story were greed v. power and magic v. death. Both Rumpelstiltskin and the king were greedy and took advantage of the millers daughter whether they threatened to kill her or used magic. The king and Rumpelstiltskin had the upper hand in the story due to the fact that they were either royal or had magical powers. I conclude that both the king and Rumpelstiltskin lose in the end because one does not get what he wants and one put his greed in front of his royal family line.