What makes a family?
The idea of what makes a true family is very relevant to today’s society. The idea of a traditional family is challenged on many fronts with homosexual couples having children and increasing rates of adoption and fostering. Fairy tales can often help us look at issues in the world through the lens of faerie and with the issues of family almost every fairytale can have some relevance.
In Rapunzel the main family issue is which of the characters in the story become a true family to Rapunzel. Her birth parents? Or the woman who raises her and then traps her? Each of the appropriations deals with this in different ways as they each portray Mother Gothel in different ways. This section of the site will look at the portrayal of Mother Gothel, Rapunzel’s parents and her relationships with both of these and how this affects the issue of what makes a true family.
In Rapunzel the main family issue is which of the characters in the story become a true family to Rapunzel. Her birth parents? Or the woman who raises her and then traps her? Each of the appropriations deals with this in different ways as they each portray Mother Gothel in different ways. This section of the site will look at the portrayal of Mother Gothel, Rapunzel’s parents and her relationships with both of these and how this affects the issue of what makes a true family.