According to Maria Tatar's Annotated Brothers Grimm, Rapunzel's story is related to a general cultural tendency to lock up young women (daughters) and "protect" them from ill-intentioned young men. A similar story may be found in Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote (Part I) "The Captive's Tale," although in this story, it is not hair but letters that fall from a window toward an eager lover below.
There are many versions of the Rapunzel story, which is thought to have been based on the legend of Saint Barbara, in turn related to 15th century Christine de Pizan's The Book of the City of Ladies. However, Rapunzel's first literary version of "The Maiden in the Tower" appeared in Basile's Pentameron in 1637. One of your classmates has posted a link to this version under Wednesday, March 30, 2011. As she points out on her post, Basile's version decidedly humorous and even bawdy, in particular when compared with the Grimm's 1812 version. Published by the brothers in their Children's and Household Tales, their version of the Rapunzel story varies significantly from earlier versions but comes closer to Disney's 2010 retelling of the story in Tangled.
THE RAPUNZEL STORY AND ITS MANY VERSIONS:
- Rapunzel is Parsilette (trans.) in the French version, The Maiden in the Tower (please follow the link below to read this version--courtesy of the classmate who brought you Basile's version--Thank you, Cristian!) and really "lets her her down," inviting the prince up the tower and into her bedroom.
- In the Italian version, Rapunzel is Petrosinella, but she and the prince do not seek each other for years as in the Grimms story.
- While in the French and Italian versions, the woman who keeps Rapunzel in the tower is a fairy, a witch or an ogress, in the Grimm's original story, she is a fairy.
“The Maiden in the Tower.” One Hundred Favorite Folktales. Ed. Stith Thompson. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1968. 21-3. Print.
Links to older and newer versions:
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