Rumpelstiltskin. Would you be able to spell his name? It is an almost impossible task. And it is there, in fact, where the peculiar magic of this story is found, in the strange name of this somewhat evil dwarf who always seeks his own benefit and that others have the task of guessing. If you usually follow the well-known series "Habia una vez" (Once upon a time), it is likely that you associate the name of Rumpelstiltskin with the always stupendous actor Robert Carlyle , embodying the role of this dark being that usually plays his cards very well on both sides, both in the good and the evil.
In fact, analyzing a little the wake of this classic character in children's literature, we can not classify Rumpelstiltskin as a villlan to match those evil witches of Hansel and Gretel or even from Snow White . Our little dwarf is the classic example of the character wise and witty that always seeks its own interest, establishing agreements through which to obtain a good profit. But today let's delve into this classic figure of European folklore ...
Rumpelstiltskin, remembering the classic story
Do you remember what is the story of Rumpelstiltskin? It is not as well-known nor does it have that almost perfect urea of stories like those of Cinderella , Snow White or the Little Mermaid. In this case, the princess of the story is almost in the background to give relevance to the villain of history .
Here there is no prince, here there is no love story . In the story of Rumpelstiltskin, only one word is distilled: greed . But let's see it in detail. The story begins with a poor miller who is somewhat proud and whose tongue is too long. Such is his quackery, that one day, when the king visits his mill, they have no other idea than to say that his daughter is capable of transforming straw into gold.
And what is the reaction of the sovereign? Take the young woman to perform the test in her palace. He locks her in a room and offers her a spinning wheel and a reel, asking her to transform all the straw in that room into gold . The poor girl, seeing herself alone, can not help but cry and mourn lamenting the stupidity of her own father.
Until, suddenly, a small being appears before her. A restless dwarf with an ironic face who, intrigued, asks the girl what is the reason for her sadness. The girl then explains everything that happened. "No problem" , the dwarf replies. I will turn all this straw into gold, in exchange for you giving me a gift: the necklace that you wear around your neck. The young woman, grateful, agrees.
The next day the king, surprised, seems not to have enough with that spectacular show, which, confined in a new room even larger, telling him that if he turns everything into gold, he will forgive his life . What happens then? That once again appears that strange magical dwarf who accedes, again, to turn straw into gold in exchange for another gift. The miller's young daughter offers her the only value she has: her ring.
But did the king have enough with that new room full of gold? Absolutely. This time, he offers an immense room full of straw and an interesting proposal: if he turns it into gold, his wife will do it. The girl, once alone, required the help of the dwarf. But on that occasion, the latter asks him for an even higher gift: if he turns that straw into gold and marries the king , he, in return, will stay with his first child. Is there maybe a way to prevent that from happening? Of course, the only way you will not take your child will be if the girl manages to find out what her name is. The name of that jumping and magical dwarf.
The young woman agrees And, evidently, everything happens in that way. A wedding is celebrated and after nine months the girl gives birth to a boy. He knows that the dwarf will soon arrive and take away from the cradle that creature he loves so much. What is the girl doing? Send soldiers all over the kingdom so they can find out what that being's name is dark and magical.
And, indeed, they find it. Our dark being is something playful and at night, likes to sing and dance around a bonfire. In the midst of his frantic humming, he keeps saying a name over and over again. A strange and very sonorous name ...
The next day, the miller's daughter, turned into a queen, receives the visit of the dwarf with her son in her arms. It seems defiant, before which, the dwarf is surprised but also approaches to ask if he dares to guess what his name is. The young woman then evokes a word out loud: Rumpelstiltskin.
Seconds later, the magical dwarf, humiliated, kicks on the ground and disappears sinking his body into the ground.
Curiosities about the character of Rumpelstiltskin
- This story has not undergone any variation, the brothers Grimm they picked it up in 1812 in his book "Cuentos para la infancia y el hogar", and to this day, we keep it in its purest, authentic essence. Its origin is German, a classic Germanic story entitled " Rumpelstilzchen ".
- The name of Rumpelstiltskin , comes from the term "Rumpelstilz ", Which means evil goblin. A root very similar to that of Polstergeist. " Rumpeln " , refers to the act of making noise, shaking, kicking, or banging under the table.
- The final suffix of Rumpelstilzchen, (chen) is used to build the diminutive, to give reference to the small size of this troll.
- Historically, Rumpelstiltskin is considered as the classic demon that establishes deals with those more greedy people who want to achieve impossible things for their own benefit. The dark dwarf always wants to gain something in exchange for such an agreement. But the truth is that it rarely ends up triumphant.
- This story is also the classic example in which a magic name is used to invoke or to make the evil entity disappear. A traditional example of how the word entails a great power. As is the case with demons: " A demon for each Capital Sin. Do you know their names? Traditionally, they give you power over them "
- In this case, pronounce the word "Rumpelstiltskin" it causes the spell, the curse or the deal to break freeing the victim from the agreement. In a way, it also reminds us of that classic example we have in the world of cinema.
Do you remember the movie Beetlejuice ? The protagonists had to pronounce his name three times to seal an agreement or to invoke it. - It's funny, but it's never clear why Rumpelstiltskin wants the baby the miller's daughter. What do you think? Some people think that it is a tool to show the excess of confidence, the arrogance, of Rumpelstiltskin, who loses his "big prize" for beating in public, while dancing, of the impossibility of anyone guessing his complicated name.
- The next curiosity in this story has a lot to do with the previous one. The teaching of the story is in the danger of being arrogant and having an excess of confidence in oneself: the miller, the king and Rumplelstiltskin himself are guilty of arrogance. This leads them to provoke and have many problems. In the case of death, it even leads to death.
- It is also striking the use of number 3 , since they are three times in which Rumpelstiltskin appears in the life of the miller's daughter. This number also appears, for example, in "Goldilocks and the three bears".
- Some people interpret that the fact that straw is what turns into gold and the will of both the miller and his daughter to sacrifice their offspring to achieve this phenomenon, is a way to represent human sacrifices that those who were engaged in agriculture they performed to the gods, in exchange for having a good harvest. If the crops went well, they would translate into more wealth for the family and there would be those willing to do anything to get it.
What do you think of these curiosities about Rumpelstiltskin? If you know some more, do not hesitate to tell us and we will expand this list! We will love reading you!
Image: Hytok , Denny Pewsey , Mr.TinDC , Jonathan Morris , Flood G