Religious Symbolism in Grimms Rapunzel Essay -- Grimm Rapunzel Essays

Religious Symbolism in Grimms Rapunzel A fairy tale is seemingly a moral fiction, intended mainly for children. A lesson in particular analysis, however, strips this guise and reveals the naked truth beneath fairy tales are actually vicious, logical and sexual stories wearing a mask of deceptively easy oral communication and an apparent moral. Two 19th Century writers, the Grimm brothers, were masters at writing these exaggerated stories, bewitching young readers with their prose while padding their stories with allusion and reference an example of which is Rapunzel. Grimms Rapunzel is packed with religious symbolism, which lends a new insight to the meaning of this classic story. The relation between Rapunzel and the story of Christianity is apparent immediately as a result of the setting. The witchs tend is described as a beautiful garden full of the finest vegetables and flowers, depicting perfectly the Garden of Eden from Genesis. Now, with the scene in place, the Grimm b rothers begin further correlational statistics between the two stories. The witch, indicative of the serpent, tempts the mother and father with her rampion so that she might steal their child. In the story of creation, the serpent has the same idea in mind for Adam and Eve. The serpent knows that if man sins against God, he is unable to enter heaven and therefore must face the alternative, a life of eternal wretched in hell. In eating the forbidden fruit, the parents are cursing their child, humanity, to a life apart from God. But, just as with Adam and Eve, the parents must also run away earthly hardships, characterized by childbirth. In Genesis 317, Eve is cursed to bear children through intense pain consequently, Rapunzel was born. ... ...shown through Rapunzels response. The witch learns of Rapunzels interaction with the Prince and places her in the desert, and when the Prince climbs the tower to seek Rapunzel, he marks the witch waiting there for him. At this point, th e witchs assumption and belief that she has won coincides perfectly with Satans arrogance in believing that by killing Christ, he would forever have dominion over man. To the witchs dismay, the Prince hurls himself from the tower, putting out his eyes on the thorns below. This is symbolic of Christs conscious sacrifice for humanity on the hills over Nazareth. The Prince wanders blindly through the desert, and, after several years, is reunited with his beloved Rapunzel. Ultimately, the storys happy ending is a realization of Gods promise that through Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and find everlasting life.