We have heard the tale of the crazy cruel magical creature that attempted to steal the Royal Baby - but is he as evil as he seems? In today's lesson, we've learnt not to take things at surface value, and instead have an open mind to be proven false.
In this post, I have crafted some questions on Rumpelstiltskin. Please do address the questions by considering both sides of the coin. The purpose of this activity is to practice developing a critical distance between ourselves and the text so that we can evaluate it objectively.
Pen your response in the Comment section below! Homework: Pen two responses (a total of 600-700 words) by Sunday midnight. If you hit the word limit through a single post, you don't have to craft another post. You may wish to reply to your peers' comments as well.
A poor miller was sick of being looked down by the King, and so he boasted that his daughter may be poor, but she could spin straw into gold. The arrogant greedy king took her to a remote cell and made her spin a roomful of straws. Crying, the daughter was visited by a cruel magical creature named Rumpelstiltskin, but he would only help her if she promised him her first born child. She felt sick to the stomach, and Rumpelstiltskin reeled in happiness at her distress. A deal was struck, and eventually the daughter married the Prince after she successfully gave the gold to the King. When she got pregnant, she was worried and tried to break the deal. However, the creature only allowed a forfeit if she could tell his secret name. On pure luck, she outsmarted Rumpelstiltskin and so the Royal Couple kept their heir to the Kingdom.
Rumpelstiltskin was the victim of this story. He is the only one who had not lied to get his way in life. In fact, he worked hard to get the baby, and it was just unfair that he lost the baby only because the selfish woman breaks off the deal.
In fact, the woman is the villain of this tale. If we were to place this context in today's society, it would have resulted in a massive lawsuit as she breaks a contract unfairly. Her action shows that she just wants what it is easy for her - she had Rumpelstiltskin to spin the straws for her, and then she tricked him so she don't have to fulfill her end of the bargain. She is manipulative, and only teaches children that it is acceptable to lie and break promises.
Is Rumpelstiltskin a good or bad character? Is it acceptable to say that the woman is the clear villain in this tale?