Read the short story of Rapunzel as it was related by the
Brothers Grimm: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm012.html.
Explain the role
of magic in this story using one or a combination of the four theories of magic
presented in class (Philological, Proto-scientific, Psychological,
Functional). Do you think these theories
are adequate? Why or why not?
I think that the functional theory of magic can be seen at the very start of story where it depicts the owner of the garden as being a powerful sorcerer and thus the reason as to why no one would enter the garden, perhaps the old women was depicted as a sorcerer merely because she performed actions that were not in line with the social norm at the time. The physiological theory of magic can be seen in the story where the lush green rapunzel caused the man’s wife to desire it to the point of becoming deathly ill and then upon receipt of the rapunzel became better but desired more. There is an interesting interpretation of this story in the movie “The Brothers Grimm” (2005) where the woman locked herself in a tower to escape from disease what would supposedly remain close to the ground and not be able to reach her in the tower. This interpretation could play to a proto-scientific theory in that perhaps people could escape disease by having houses that were elevated and isolated. Over all I think that these theories are adequate in describing the different roles of magic as portrayed in this story.
ReplyDelete-Joshua Rennecker
This story at the very beginning focuses on the psychological aspect of magic. The man's wife starts with desperately needing the vegetables from the sorceress’s garden most likely due to magical reasons. She may have also wanted it as it was forbidden by a higher power to be eaten much like Eve eating the apple in the Garden of Eden. Later the story focuses more on the functional purposes of magic that Rapunzel possess. She has two main functional magical things, her tears and her hair. Her hair is used as a ladder so that the sorceress and prince can climb up to her; it displays magical properties mainly due to the extreme length and tension strength of her hair. Her tears are used to cure the prince’s blindness that the sorceress had cursed him with as he fell from the tower. These two theories of magic, the functional and psychological, are portrayed well and work well with one another. The psychological aspect of the story aids in building up the backstory and showing the power of magic on the mind. The functional theory of magic is used in the story to resolve issues that previous magic had created.
ReplyDelete~Maxel Moreland
The theories of magic that are seen in the story are the psychological, philological, and functional. The way to see the psychological theory of magic is to first define this theory as magic through wish fulfillment. In this story, characters wishing for things is what set the story in motion; the woman wishes for a child and she gets one. This can be seen as magic, from the standpoint as she made the wish and her wish was granted. She also wishes for rapunzel from the garden next store and then receives it. While she receives it from her doting husband, it is still another example of wish fulfillment. Freud would say that all of her wishing represents some repressed sexual desires, which could explain why she could not become pregnant in the first place.
ReplyDeleteThe second theory of magic seen in the story is the philological theory. The definition of this theory that can be seen in the story is that this theory refers to 'fairy tales' with gods and heroes. In the traditional fairy tale sense, the prince is the hero of this story. Rapunzel is the damsel in distress, being locked up by the evil witch and he has to come to her rescue. He shows her that there is more to life than being in this tower room, which opens her eyes and causes her to plan an escape with him. Of course, she then ruins the whole plan by mentioning it to the witch, but that is just stupidity, not magic. The witch did not need to be magic to find out her plan.
The functional theory of magic is the third theory that is seen in the story. The functional theory describes the most 'practical' theory of magic, in the sense that magic is used to solve problems. The witch, once she gets a hold of Rapunzel, she never wants to give her up. In order to keep her always, she traps her in a tower, which one can assume requires magic. It is not very practical to build a tower with no doors or stairs. Where logic ends, magic begins and that is the best explanation to how the tower was built. Magic also is a good explanation for Rapunzel having hair long and strong enough to climb, another logic defying feat. This magic is functional, solving the problem of first how to trap Rapunzel, but then also how to visit her. Later, at the end of the story, when Rapunzel is banished to the wilderness and the prince is blinded by the witch, he is able to find Rapunzel, an after finding her, her tears cure him of his blindness. This is an example of magic that solves a problem, thus being practical and being an example of the functional theory.
Between all four theories, I believe that they adequately cover the magic used in this story. Because it is a fairy tale, much of the magical back story can be explained by the philological theory, that the magic that the witch has may have been bestowed on her by a god or some other mythical way. Therefore, I feel that, through a combination of a few theories, there is an explanation of some sort for all the magic.
~Maryellen Mouch
Although many experts within the area of the study of magic would disagree with the notion that the physical urge to ascertain pleasure above all else is the main drive to commit certain acts, via the psychological theory, this story or "faery tale" of Rapunzel shows the psychological theory of magic at its best.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all Freud is adamant that the desire of someone, or some item is a true manifestation of pleasure, the psychological theory believes that magics true end is pleasure. This point is adequately shown with the relentless pursuit of Rapunzel's beauty, or perhaps even Rapunzel herself with her powers and wits by the sorceress. The "witch's" quest for Rapunzel's beauty and or hair can only me attributed to the need to fulfill some Freudian goal for pleasure.
Finally, I believe though not through the use of "magic" that the prince had a psychological drive for Rapunzel. Although he was the victim of a curse upon his vision, the princes relentless pursuit of assumed sexual conquest of Rapunzel can be seen through a psychological Freudian lens. At the end of this story it has to be duly noted that many magical theories are implemented by the brothers Grimm, however the pleasure drive or psychological theory of magic, in my opinion is the most relevant.
After reading the story of Rapunzel, I believe there are two theories of magic present in the tale - psychological and philological. However, I believe psychological magic definitely dominates the story. The wife is drawn to the rapunzel after seeing it in the beautiful garden. She has never even tasted the weed before, but for some reason she desires it. Once she tastes it, her desire become more of an obsession due to the fact that she'll die if she doesn't eat it. Also, the wife is willing to sacrifice her husband's safety in order to get the rapunzel - climbing into the sorceress' garden, which is very dangerous and risky. Once her husband is caught stealing by the sorceress, he is willing to do whatever it takes to take the rapunzel back to his wife, even agreeing to give his newborn child away to the sorceress. These examples of desire for the rapunzel and doing whatever it takes to possess it are clear examples of psychological magic.
ReplyDeleteAnother example of psychological magic in the story is how the prince is drawn to Rapunzel. He hears her beautiful singing voice and without even seeing her before or knowing who she, proclaims his love for her and asks her to marry him. He also risks his safety by coming to the tower to see her, knowing he may be caught by Frau Gothel. Another example of psycological story magic in the story stems from the villain of the story - Frau Gothel. She demands that Rapunzel's parents give their new baby to her because they stole from her garden. Frau Gothel desires Rapunzel before she is even born. She is obsessed with the girl, hiding her in a tower where only she can see her by climbing her long hair. When the prince comes and threatens taking Rapunzel away from her, she goes mad, cuts Rapunzel's hair off and sends her away, some place where once again, only she knows where the girl is.
As mentioned before, I believe philological magic is also present in the story. As one of my classmates pointed out, the story of Rapunzel reflects details of the biblical story of Adam and Eve. In the Bible, Eve is drawn to the forbidden fruit, an apple, just like the wife is drawn to the Rapunzel. Frau Gothel is like the devil; she desires the innocent child just like Satan desires the innocence of mankind. The husband, in order to have the rapunzel, makes a deal with Frau Gothel, very similar to the way people make deals with devil throughout other tales in literature.
The parents in the story give away their innocent baby to Frau Gothel in order to have the rapunzel. Adam and Eve also traded their innocence (and therefore achieved original sin) in order to taste the forbidden fruit.
I believe the theories of psychological and philological magic play an adequate in the story. The types of magic weave their way into the story and allow for strong analysis of the story. Psychological magic is the base of the story - without desire, the story would never have taken place. Therefore, it is the foundation upon which the tale is built. I believe the Grimm Brothers, through the use of philological magic, created a parallel between their story of Rapunzel and the tale of Adam and Eve.
-Ethan Zucal
After reading "Rapunzel" I believe the main theory of magic that is repeated throughout the story is the psychological theory. In the beginning of the story the wife sees the rapunzel growing in the garden and starts to desire it more and more every day until the point where she becomes deathly ill. I believe this is an example of the psychological theory because she desires the rapunzel and wishes to tastes some of it so badly, that she has convinced herself that she will die if she does not taste some. However, once she tastes the rapunzel she desires more and more to keep her satisfied.
ReplyDeleteThe next important example of the psychological theory is the relationship between the prince and Rapunzel. The prince hears Rapunzel singing and is attracted to her. After unsuccessfully searching for an entrance to her tower, he decides to come back each day and listen to her sing and search for a way in. This desire to marry Rapunzel is like the wife's desire to eat the rapunzel from the garden, both of these characters desire things that they are not allowed to have. The fact that both Rapunzel, the person, and rapunzel, plant, are both forbidden seem to increase the prince and the wife's desire for them. The prince's desire for Rapunzel is clearly sexual as well which strengthens the presence of the psychological theory in this story.
-Deanna Sickafoose
I think that this story could go along with the psychological, functional, and philological theories of magic. The functional theory of magic could be used to describe some of the details in the beginning of the story. The first example of this theory is when the woman came to believe that the Lord would fulfill her wish for a child, and when she started craving the Rapunzel shortly after. She felt that she needed it to survive. I think that this fits the functional theory of magic because it views magic as a way to obtain emotional needs and also somewhat as a way to maintain social norm. The woman and the man both really wanted a child, and the way in which the woman felt she needed the Rapunzel could parallel this burning desire. One might suggest that because the woman ate the sorcerers Rapunzel she was suddenly able to conceive a child. After all the man and the woman had tried many times before with no avail.
ReplyDeleteAnother instance in which the functional theory could apply is when the prince is able to see again after Rapunzel’s tears fall into his eyes. This could be described by the functional theory of magic because you could kind of consider sight an emotional need. While the ability to see is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted, it is certainly not necessary for survival in most circumstances, and this is why I would say it could be considered an emotional need in this context. There is definitely some magic involved in the way that the prince regains his eye sight. It could also possibly be described by the philological theory of magic in some sense just because the power of Rapunzel’s tears to restore the prince’s eye sight could be seen are more a mythical power than something done frequently, or as a ritual.
Finally the psychological theory of magic could potentially also apply to the events in the first part of the story concerning the birth of the child. It could be said that the magic was due to wish fulfillment of the sexual desires involved with conceiving a child. I think that this is more of a stretch though, because the man and the woman were both well aware of how badly they wanted a child, it wasn’t an unconscious desire.
-Becky Plumage
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree that in Rapunzel you can find examples of three out of the four different theories of magic- Philological, Psychological and Functional. You can use this story as an example of Philological magic solely on the basis of the story today being known commonly as a "fairy tale" because Rapunzel and the sorceress are believed to have some sort of magical powers.
ReplyDeleteThere are many good examples to represent the psychological theory such as the woman's (Rapunzel's mother) desire to have some of the rapunzel plant to eat. The rapunzel plant is a symbol because it symbolizes her desire for one, consuming the delicious rapunzel plant and two, having a child. The rapunzel plant did not fulfill her needs, where her needs continued to grow for the rapunzel plant.
But, the most relevant theory present in this fairy tale is the functional theory. The woman believed that the rapunzel plant would magically fulfill her emotional needs and longing for a child, although in reality, those desires were detrimental because she had to give her child away to the sorceress due to her longing for the rapunzel plant. The prince also continuously came to the tower to hear Rapunzel's singing as a way of meeting his emotional needs and desires for a wife. In order to meet his emotional needs, he was willing to make the sacrifice of going to the tower every day in the evening to give Rapunzel a square of silk. Rapunzel uses magic in her hair and tears. Her hair is magical because in reality there is not a person who has hair long enough to throw out of a tower and carry people up to the top, which both the prince and the sorceress used to get inside. At the end, the prince throws himself off the tower as an act of emotional discomfort at the loss of Rapunzel, where in the forest he would eventually reunite with Rapunzel where she would use her magical tears to give him the ability to see again, which for the prince was an emotional need so he could see his beautiful wife, Rapunzel again.
-Victoria McKinley
When the story of Rapunzel is analyzed, many of the theories of magic can be used to explain the role of magic in this fairy tale. Like most people on this discussion forum, I see elements of the Functional, Psychological and Philological theories of magic in this story.
ReplyDeleteThe first that comes to play is the Psychological theory. This theory actually pops up a lot in the story. Though at first the theory seems quite outlandish, if seen in a different light it can be very relatable. The theme of wish fulfillment for granting a person's own pleasures (thus redefining the complete sexual desire aspect of the theory) is present throughout the whole tale. First, the parents are longing for a child, then the mother is longing for the rapunzel plants, then the witch longs for her neighbors' child and finally, the prince longs for Rapunzel. The Prince longing for Rapunzel and pursuing her after hearing her voice and seeing her beauty can link to the sexual desire nature of the Psychological theory.
The functional theory is also present in this story. The Functional theory is defined as the practical use of magic to solve problems, or make up for when natural human skills and abilities are inadequate. This is the case in this story. Magic solves many problems and solves solutions that basic human skills cannot. For example, building a (presumably) magical tower with no doors to keep people out is a solution to the witch's dilemma, or Rapunzel's magical hair is a solution to get into the tower with no doors, or how her heels can cure the prince's blindness.
The last theory is the Philological theory. The story of Rapunzel has many of the same patterns in plot as old mythology, it also serves the same purpose in the sense that it teaches a lesson, as old mythology, folklore and fables often did. If follows the pattern of a hero using heroic efforts to rescue a weak character from an abusive antagonist who got in a bad situation through 'wrong' behavior (eg, Rapunzel's parents wanting too much lead to Rapunzel being trapped in the tower).
I think these theories provide for an adequate explanation of magic in this tale. However, hey all tie in differently. The Philological theory is the basis for the entire plot, the Psychological theory is behind the reasons which caused the whole dilemma to occur, and the functional theory provides a solution to all of the problems in the story.
Oh, I almost forgot - Petra Mourany (mourany.4)
DeleteThere are definately elements of this story that fit the functional, the philological and the psycological theories of magic. For the functional theory, Rapunzel's hair and tears both servce a purpose, as well as the rapunzel plant in the sorceress's garden; her hair is used as a ladder and is remarkably strong, when hair is normally weaker, and it has grown to an extraordinary length in a short time. I had a friend who would barely trim the ends of her hair most of her life and it was only to her knees. Her tears cue to prince's blindness after he is cursed. The recent movie Tangled, which is Rapunzel's story, in Disney style, and her tears bring the main male character back to life after he was stabbed and her hair was the source of healing magic from the sun. Even the story said that "Rapunzel became the most beautiful child under the sun."
ReplyDeleteHere the philological theory comes into play with the mention of the sun. But this story also depicts a hero saving a weaker character, as in many classic stories. I do find it interesting that the hero traded from the prince, who was to save her from the tower, to Rapunzel who saved the prince from his blindness. The plant served the purpose of fulfilling the desire of the wife, not just for food but for giving her a child. However, these desires led to the wife losing her child to the sorceress out of her greed for the plant. I guess the beginning part of the story is to try and teach something about one of the "deadly sins" from the Bible.
The psycological theory comes into play with the rapunzel plant as well. It fulfills the wife's desire for a child. But, as said before, she gets greedy and desires the plant more and more after the first taste. I suppose, in a similar manner, the prince's desire for Rapunzel grows daily as he visits her after hearing her sing for the first time.
I think that all of these theories are adequate because the philological theory basically sets the tone and plot, as in many other fariy tales. The functional theory explains the purpose of the physical objects in the story and the psycological theory is the analysis of the meanings behind the functions and actions of the characters.
-Victoria Penno
The story best describes the philological theory and the psychological theory of magic.This is a such a world wide-known fairy tale that i have read it in Chinese when i was little. The philological theory presented in the beginning of the story that "the woman came to believe that the good Lord would fulfill her wish". Then, there is a hero-the prince, came to rescue Rapunzel. Besides, it has a happy and joyful ending as most fairy tales does.
ReplyDeleteFrom the psychological theory perspective, the woman wanted the Rapunzels so badly that without getting it made her "miserably ill". The magic lies in woman's desire for Rapunzel the first sight she saw it, and she eagered for more Rapunzels after she ate them. I think we can compare the Rapunzels in the witch's garden to drugs to some extent. More interestingly, the woman got pregnant after she had the Rapunzels. Hence, it best illustrated Freud's explanation of "magic as a kind of wish fulfillment associated with repressed sexual desires".
What i think is mysteries in this fairy tale is that why did the witch wanted to raise this girl and tried her best to keep her unknown of the outer side? Is it because she wanted to keep the girl and trained her as her apprentice?
---Wenxi Yang
There are many references to various types of magic in the story of Rapunzel. What I realized my second time around reading the tale and thought was very interesting - the supposed "Sorcerer", Frau Gothel, does not necessarily or notably posses any mystical and magical powers as we are made to believe. It is the princess who has incredibly long (and durable - share your secrets girl!) hair and whose tears can cure blindess. However, looking at this story from a much grander perspective, I now see that Frau Gothel possesses what could be the most powerful magic of all. Maybe, just maybe, she purposely made her bed of rapunzel deathly desirable inorder to obtain a child from the couple.
ReplyDeleteOfcourse, Philological theory is present because this is indeed a fairy tale and it is associated with the Grimm brothers. Also, I believe Psychological theory makes it's presence clear - without much explanation, Rapunzel's mother is granted a child after much time longing for one and no luck. A possible explanation for such a miracle - magic!
-Adriana Matusiewicz
The Grimm brothers' story of Rapunzel has three of the four theories of magic within the story. The story exemplifies the functional, philological, and the psychological theories of magic. The first is the functional theory that is portrayed throughout the story because multiple characters use magic to meet his or her personal desires. The sorceress has a beautiful garden where she has grown rapunzel. It can be inferred that she may have put a spell on the plant to make people desire it and in return serve her own desires of having her own child. The women also wishes dearly for a child to call her own, and not being successive she starts to desire the Rapunzel that is in the sorceress's garden. She has somehow convinced herself that she must have the Rapunzel in order to continue on with life, thus the rapunzel does serve a purpose in the women's delirious state of mind because it will keep her alive. Rapunzel's hair and tears also meet personal needs. The hair provides transportation to the sorceress in and out of the tower that has no doors or steps. Her tears also serve as a way of restoring eyesight to her beloved prince.
ReplyDeleteThe philological theory is present in the tale because there are mystical powers throughout the story. The first magical power that can be inferred is that the rapunzel has a spell upon it because the woman in the story desires it so strongly that she has convinced herself and her husband that she must eat some or else she will die. No ordinary plant has this effect of someone, so it is very likely that the sorceress, who is said to possess great power, used her magical powers to make the wife desire the plant at all costs. The second example is Rapunzel herself possesses some form of magical powers because who has hair that is strong enough for another human being to climb up it and also how can a girl grow her hair to that great length? The only way that this is possible is that she must have possessed magical powers, whether she was born with them or the sorceress gave them to her we do not know. She also has the ability to cure blindness, which is another obvious example of mythical powers from a higher power because curing blindness is unheard of, except for in the Bible. Another obvious reason that it fulfills the philological theory is that it is in fact a fairy tale and written by the Grimm brothers who are often associated with this theory.
Lastly the psychological theory is portrayed because the wife has convinced herself that she must eat the rapunzel or else she will die. This can be seen as an example of female hysteria because she has gone from admiring the plant to being obsessed with obtaining it. One other part that can be called into question of fitting this theory is the fact that the sorceress does in fact wish for a child of her own. The question is did she desire a child so much that she cast a spell on the rapunzel in order to obtain a child? If so, then it can be seen that she has lost her senses too because if you are that desperate for a child that you set a trap for an innocent women as your only means of getting what you want, then you are hysterical.
I do think that all these theories are adequate because they support the events that take place within the fairy tale and serve the purpose of making the story interesting. They also fit into each theories idea of magic.
Madeleine Moffatt