Freud and Rapunzel free essay sample

In the fairy tale â€Å"Rapunzel†, the dreamer, Rapunzel, successfully passes through all the Freudian psychosexual stages of development. Symbolism helps to illustrate the dreamer’s movement through the five stages. The Witch portrays the super-ego figure in â€Å"Rapunzel†. Rapunzel’s mother plays the Id figure. The events of Rapunzel’s life lead the reader to identify the dream as more of a nightmare. Her father agrees to give Rapunzel to a witch, who then locks Rapunzel in a tall tower; only rescued by a passing prince. Yonic and phallic imagery help identify the dreamer’s current stage of psychosexual development. Although delayed by the witch, the dreamer Rapunzel eventually passes through all stages of psychosexual development. The Dreamer first experiences the Oral stage, which can be represented by dependency, food, or other oral imagery. Rapunzel begins her psychosexual journey in the oral stage, when inside her mother’s womb. Her mother, desiring rampion from the witch’s garden, orders her husband to retrieve it. We will write a custom essay sample on Freud and Rapunzel or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Rapunzel’s father, who loves his wife, scales the wall and retrieves the rampion. Upon his return Rapunzel’s mother prepares a great salad â€Å"which tasted so good that her longing for the forbidden food was greater than ever† (1). Once again Rapunzel’s father scales the wall to fulfill his wife’s desire, but finds that now the witch waits for him. After explaining himself, the witch agrees that Rapunzel’s father may have as much rampion as his wife desires if they will give the witch their unborn child. In terror, Rapunzel’s father agrees to the witch’s terms. The oral stage is represented through the mother’s desire for the rampion. The oral stage identifies through acts of eating and dependency. Rapunzel’s mother demands that her husband retrieve rampion or she â€Å"shall die†, the dreamer develops a dependency on the rampion (1). The garden characterizes a yonic symbol. The rampion, referred to as a â€Å"forbidden food†, leads to similarities in the story of Adam and Eve (1). In turn when the father agrees to the witch’s desires, this denotes an act of obedience. His act of agreement transitions the dreamer to the anal stage. The witch takes the baby as part of the agreement, naming her Rapunzel, another word for rampion, symbolizing another oral image. When Rapunzel turns twelve, the witch locks her in a tower to hide her  beauty from the world. Although the tower represents phallic image, it also symbolizes how the dreamer becomes anal-retentive. The tower â€Å"had neither stairs nor doors, only high up at the very top a small window†; the witch tries to keep Rapunzel from the outside world, in theory, keeping her in (1). During the anal stage, a normal child learns to control ones bodily functions. Thus, Rapunzel becomes dependent on the witch. As the story continues, a prince happens upon the tower and learns that the entrance to Rapunzel’s tower is by her, long blonde hair. So the next day he comes to the tower, and repeats the witch’s words â€Å"Let down your golden hair† and the Prince climbs up (2). At first, the prince scares Rapunzel but he then â€Å"spoke to her so kindly† and that â€Å"his heart had been so touched by her singing† (2). Rapunzel undergoes sexual identification through the prince, another indication of the phallic stage. The prince then offers to help Rapunzel leave the tower and â€Å"to marry him† (2). Rapunzel agrees to the prince’s plan, and in effect, she attempts to leave the anal stage. But when her escape is eminent she slips in revealing that she communicates with the prince. After her failed attempt to move to the phallic stage she regresses back to the oral stage until the dreamer then again tries to transition from the anal to phallic stage. When the witch learns of Rapunzel’s communication with the prince she â€Å"seized Rapunzel’s beautiful hair, wound it round and round her left hand, and then grasping a pair of scissors in her right† and cuts her hair off (3). Soon after, she brings Rapunzel to a desert place to live in loneliness and misery. The witch cutting off Rapunzel’s hair illustrates a castration image. When the prince arrives, he is surprised to find the witch instead of the beautiful Rapunzel. Full of grief, the prince jumps from the tower in the process, stabbing his eyes out. The prince wanders, â€Å"blind and miserable† for some years, â€Å"lamenting the loss of his bride† (3). This period of time represents the latency stage. In the latency stage, the dreamer remains free from sexual tension. When the prince finally encounters Rapunzel again, the dreamer transitions into the last and final stage, the Genital stage. Rapunzel’s tears, a yonic symbol, cure the prince of his blindness and the two, â€Å"lived happily ever after† (3). The prince and Rapunzel finding of each other again symbolizes an act of creation and maturity. Rapunzel, finally free from the witch, completes her psychosexual development. By the end of the fairy tale, the dreamer, Rapunzel, remains fine. The dreamer successfully passes through all the stages of psychosexual development. Even with the witch’s attempts to keep Rapunzel dependent, Rapunzel with help from the prince, reaches the genital stage or maturity.