Golden
In Golden there again is a backstory which changes the story somewhat and removes the element of female sexuality in the reason behind Rapunzel being in the tower, however the elements of pregnancy cravings are retained. Love and the heart is a very strong theme in Golden and the curse Rue is under requires her to open her heart to escape. Much of Rapunzel’s life includes people closing their hearts towards her, the girls are both parallels and opposites at the same time. Rues hair can still be viewed as a symbol of chastity as it is there because of the curse and the curse can be broken by her falling in love.
With the damsel in distress trope Rapunzel and Rue both represent completely different sides of the female stereotype in the original fairy tale context. Rapunzel is the hairless girl who suffers being shunned by the majority of people and they believe she has been cursed. As the boy in the market says “you must have done something” they don’t understand that and innocent blameless person could be born without hair. However Melisandes support means that she doesn’t lose her true sense of self to this. Rue on the other hand is the beautiful damsel in distress with the lustrous long golden hair, however she knows she is younger than she should be and her hair is longer than it should be because of the curse, and because of this sees her beauty as a sign she is a freak. Rue longs for a knight in shining armour to rescue her, Rapunzel longs for a quiet life with her family and friends. There is a strong message in the fact that both girls who are beautiful in completely different ways see themselves as freaks but both find people who have places in their hearts for them. Nobody is a freak and nobody should be treated so.
Melisande challenges the typical stereotype of a sorceress and she and Rapunzel discuss this. Her gift is only to be used for good, yet the people of the village blame her for all that goes wrong. As far as the attitudes of the ‘masses’ in Golden it remains very true to the attitudes in the time of the original fairy tale.
Harry and Rapunzel have a sweet relationship which begns as a childhood friendship, Alexander and Rue’s relationship is based far more on the forced marriages of the nobility, they both need someone and make a place in their hearts accordingly. Both relationships show that they need to grow from a seed of love to something more. This is a nice change from the fairy tale account of instantaneous love.
With the damsel in distress trope Rapunzel and Rue both represent completely different sides of the female stereotype in the original fairy tale context. Rapunzel is the hairless girl who suffers being shunned by the majority of people and they believe she has been cursed. As the boy in the market says “you must have done something” they don’t understand that and innocent blameless person could be born without hair. However Melisandes support means that she doesn’t lose her true sense of self to this. Rue on the other hand is the beautiful damsel in distress with the lustrous long golden hair, however she knows she is younger than she should be and her hair is longer than it should be because of the curse, and because of this sees her beauty as a sign she is a freak. Rue longs for a knight in shining armour to rescue her, Rapunzel longs for a quiet life with her family and friends. There is a strong message in the fact that both girls who are beautiful in completely different ways see themselves as freaks but both find people who have places in their hearts for them. Nobody is a freak and nobody should be treated so.
Melisande challenges the typical stereotype of a sorceress and she and Rapunzel discuss this. Her gift is only to be used for good, yet the people of the village blame her for all that goes wrong. As far as the attitudes of the ‘masses’ in Golden it remains very true to the attitudes in the time of the original fairy tale.
Harry and Rapunzel have a sweet relationship which begns as a childhood friendship, Alexander and Rue’s relationship is based far more on the forced marriages of the nobility, they both need someone and make a place in their hearts accordingly. Both relationships show that they need to grow from a seed of love to something more. This is a nice change from the fairy tale account of instantaneous love.