Traditional Literature: Rapunzel

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Zelinsky, Paul O., Trans.  1997.  RAPUNZEL Ill. by Paul O. Zelinsky. New York: Dutton Children’s Books. ISBN  0525456074

PLOT SUMMARY

The story of RAPUNZEL begins with a married couple who find out they are expecting a child. With this new pregnancy, the woman craves a green vegetable called Rapunzel that grows in a sorceress’s garden behind their home. She craves it so badly that it affects her health dramatically. The woman’s husband climbs down into the garden and picks some of the herb for his wife who eats it and wants more. Quickly, he returns to the garden where the sorceress catches him and offers him a deal for the herb. The sorceress tells the man he can take more but he has to give up the child to her when it is born. When the sorceress takes the child, she names her Rapunzel. She takes care of the girl and places her in a tower when she is twelve years old. After a couple of years, a king’s son hears Rapunzel singing and starts to visit Rapunzel every night and eventually proposes marriage to her. One day, Rapunzel claims that her dress is too tight and the sorceress finds out she is pregnant and forces her to live in the wilderness to have the child on her own. Rapunzel eventually gives birth to twins. The sorceress visits Rapunzel and cuts off her long braid to trick the prince to visit. When he reaches the top, the sorceress pushes him out and he falls to the ground. He does not die but is blinded, living off berries and herbs while wandering around the country side. He stumbles upon where Rapunzel and her children are living in the wilderness and her tears heal his sight. The family travels back to the kingdom where the story was first set and they live happily ever after.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Paul Zelinsky’s version of Rapunzel is a very “classic” retelling harkening back to the story telling of the Grimm Brothers. It does not hold back in its tale and the illustrations help mirror the dramatics of the story. The illustrations are very beautiful, detailed and created in the renaissance style. The setting of the story is very fairytale-like and set in a time very long ago.

The reader can see all of the emotions and action taking place in the story. The sorceress’s face is very scary and frightening during scenes when she is confronting the male characters of the story. Also, when the prince first visits Rapunzel, we see her fear as she has never seen a man before.

The diction and tone used in the story is done masterfully. We can feel exactly as the characters feel whether scared, devastated or joyful. Readers will have no problem connecting emotionally to the characters. They will empathize with Rapunzel and her prince and may ask why the sorceress is so evil and mean. But by the end of the story, readers are re-affirmed in the theme that good wins over evil. They can see this when Rapunzel is given her happily ending after all of the hardships she has had to face.

This story may get confusing for some younger readers who will not understand why Rapunzel’s dress becomes smaller/tighter. They may not be able to connect some of the story elements. Readers may also find this version of the tale hard to relate to if they have seen some of the more “Disney-like” versions of the story.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: "A breathtaking interpretation gives the fairy tale new art-historical roots, with illustrations that daringly-and effectively-mimic the masters of Italian Renaissance painting."

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “An elegant and sophisticated retelling that draws on early French and Italian versions of the tale. Masterful oil paintings capture the Renaissance setting and flesh out the tragic figures.”

KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Suffused with golden light, Zelinsky's landscapes and indoor scenes are grandly evocative, composed and executed with superb technical and emotional command.”

HORN BOOK: "Simply put, this is a gorgeous book; it demonstrates respect for the traditions of painting and the fairy tale while at the same time adhering to a singular, wholly original, artistic vision."

CONNECTIONS

* Caldecott Medal Book

*Other versions of Rapunzel stories:

Isadora, Rachel. RAPUNZEL. ISBN 0399247726 (African Setting)

Hale, Shannon & Hale, Dean. RAPUNZEL’S REVENGE. ISBN 1599902885 (Graphic Novel)

Gunderson, Jessica. REALLY, RAPUNZEL NEEDED A HAIRCUT!: THE STORY OF RAPUNZEL AS TOLD BY DAME GOTHEL (THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY) ISBN 1479519502 (Fractured Fairytale)