Viewing the Story of Rapunzel Through Marxist, Reader Response and Feminist Lenses

Does anyone really know the perspectives behind the story Rapunzel? In the fairytale, which is written by the Brothers Grimm, the reader reads about a girl who is taken from her parents by an enchantress and is locked away in a tower. As Rapunzel grows, her hair becomes longer, and she becomes beautiful. Later on, a prince is drawn to her voice and he proposes to her and tries to help her escape. While trying to escape they are caught by the enchantress and separated. Luckily, hey are able to be reunited at the end of the story. Rapunzel has always been a timeless piece but, when you add critical lenses the reader is able to see the story in a whole new way. There are many different examples of critical lenses provided in the story but, three main lenses are Marxism, Feminist, and Reader- response. Marxism is the lens of social structure and identifying the people with resources and the people without resources. The Feminist lens shows the place of a woman or what we identify a woman’s role to be. Lastly, the Reader Response lens lets the reader ask themselves what their opinion of view of this passage is. What did receive or take form the story.

In the fairytale, an example of Marxism is when the husband goes to get rampion from the enchantress. The enchantress address the husband by saying, “How can you dare, said she with angry loo, descend into my garden and steal my rampion like a thief? You shall suffer for it!” The reader can see that the enchantress is speaking to the husband in a stern way as many upper-class people address the lower class in society as explained in the theory. She represents someone with resources while others in society must play the part of those without resources (the husband). The Feminist lens in the fairytale is how Rapunzel is a damsel locked in a tower waiting for the king’s son. For example, in paragraph 3, the writer begins to talk about her beauty. “Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child under the sun.” In society people see women as weak roles that need saving from a strong man. This story also describes her as someone who has long gorgeous hair and is named after a flower which is sated in paragraph 1 when the wife refers to rampion, a plant, as Rapunzel. Many also believe women are valued on their appearance and not who they really are.

Lastly, Reader Response is the conclusion where Rapunzel and her prince are reunited and can live happily ever after. From this point we are able to make our own opinion and decide what to take from the story. This is basically tying the story up and not leave any loose ends. In conclusion, Rapunzel can be seen in many different lenses. The Marxism, Feminist, and Reader Response lenses were the main lenses in the story. From using this lens, the reader can connect many things in the story to what is currently happening in the world today. Each lens provides something to take away after reading a story.