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Doni Lopez

Mrs. Jurczyk

ECE 1011

March 13, 2017

Rumpelstiltskin Essay

The Evolution of a Pragmatic Love in Rumpelstiltskin

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

experienced in their time and country.

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

1 A love that originates from utility rather than romance.


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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

husband and wifes relationship.


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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

Kuhn was exposed to in 19th century Russia.

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

Rumpelstiltskin. Schneller in Tarandand writes of a woman who doesnt want to do any

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

of a pragmatic love in familial relationships is depicted in accordance to the societal standards

Schneller was exposed to in 19th century Austria.

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.

Word Count: 1338

Works Cited

Fairy tale origins thousands of years old, researchers say. BBC, 20 January 2016.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35358487

Denecke, Ludwig. Brothers Grimm GERMAN FOLKLORISTS AND LINGUISTS. Britannica,

July

20, 1998. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Brothers-Grimm

Sagarra, Eda. A Social History of Germany: 1648 - 1914. 1977. pp. 405.

Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. Rumpelstiltskin. Eastoftheweb.

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Rum.shtml

Kuhn, Adalbert. Zirkzirk. 2000. http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0500.html


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The Editors of Encyclopdia Britannica. Aldabert Kuhn German Scholar. Britannica,

July 20, 1998. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adalbert-Kuhn

Rosslyn, Wendy . Women and Gender in 18th-Century Russia. Ashgate Publishing, 2003.

pp. 228229.

Schneller, Christian. Tarandand. 2000. http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0500.html

Kaplan, Gisela. Contemporary Western European Feminism. Routledge, 1992. pp. 133

Christian Schneller Folklorist and name researcher. Sagen.

http://www.sagen.at/doku/biographien/schneller.html

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