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 critical analysis, however, strips this guise and reveals the naked truth at a lower place fairy tales be actually vicious, logical and sexual stories wearing a mask of deceptively easy language and an apparent moral. Two nineteenth Century writers, the Grimm brothers, were masters at writing these exaggerated stories, bewitching offspring 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 composition. The relation between Rapunzel and the story of Christianity is apparent immediately as a result of the setting. The witchs garden is describe as a beautiful garden full of the finest vegetables and flowers, depicting dead the Garden of Eden from generation. Now, with the scene in place , the Grimm brothers begin further correlation 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 subject in mind for offer and Eve. The serpent knows that if man sins against God, he is futile to enter heaven and therefore must face the alternative, a flavour of eternal suffering 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 endure earthly hardships, characterized by childbirth. In Genesis 317, Eve is cursed to bear children through intense pain sensation 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 move ups the witch waiting there for him. At this point, the witchs assumption and belief that she has won coincides perfectly with Satans arrogance in believing that by killing Christ, he would forever have dominion everywhere man. To the witchs dismay, the Prince hurls himself from the tower, putting out his eyeball 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 destruction is a realization of Gods promise that through Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and find everlasting life.