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Rapunzel is another fairy tale that surely became part of our childhood. Some of us may have a childhood dream of growing a beautiful hair with the same length Rapunzel has. Disney even brought life to this fantasy in its 2010 animated movie, Tangled. Just like Cinderella, I also heard of a dark story about this fairy tale and just like Cinderella, I'm not sure if this is a fact or just a conspiracy too.
DISNEY VERSION
Just like Cinderella, Rapunzel is also one of the fairy tales that Disney gave justice to. In the Disney movie, Tangled, the story starts with a witch, Gothel who approached a golden flower. This flower has magical healing powers that can both heal and give youth to the witch as well. Years pass by, the queen of the kingdom suddenly had an unfamiliar and incurable disease. With the help of the healing powers of the magical flower, the queen recovered. She was pregnant that time and the power of that flower was passed on to her child's hair and so Rapunzel was born.
Since the healing flower is gone, Gothel took Rapunzel with her in a tower, knowing that the healing powers of that flower is in her hair. Gothel brainwashed her so she won't have the courage to step out of the tower, thus making her stay.
Later on, Rapunzel figured the truth and this is where she had her adventures with Eugene, also known as Flynn Rider. She fought for her freedom but Gothel won't let go of her. She will die if she can't get some healing powers from Rapunzel's hair. Gothel fatally stabs Eugene and tries to drag Rapunzel with her to another hiding place. Rapunzel offers to go willingly with Gothel if she allows her to heal Eugene. Realizing this, Eugene knew it means Rapunzel will get old and die so he cuts her hair before she can heal him. Gothel dies instead and turns into dust. Rapunzel cries and unaware of some powers remaining, one of her tears heals Eugene. He takes Rapunzel to her parents and was given permission to marry her as she reunites with her parents and the kingdom celebrates.
THE VICIOUS TALE
Here goes another claim stating that Rapunzel is Story no. 12 from the Grimm brother's book of fairy tales way back 1812. In this version, Rapunzel's parents are not king and queen. The story starts with a couple expecting to have a child. The wife is pregnant with Rapunzel. She got ill and the cure for that is the flower in the witch's yard. In this version, the witch is their neighbor. Upon listening to the story, the witch agreed to give these flowers under one condition, that they give Rapunzel to her. She promised to take care of the baby like her own child. The husband agreed to this condition so he can save his wife and so, Rapunzel was born and was given to the witch.
The Tower
As promised, the witch raised Rapunzel like her own child. When she turned 12, the witch decided to take her to the tower to confine her. Just like the Disney version, this tower doesn't have doors and stairs. The only way to climb the tower is through Rapunzel's hair. The famous line "Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Lay down your hair" became their secret code. Rapunzel lays down her hair to let the witch climb the tower. in this version, it was stated that Rapunzel's hair is 75 feet long.
Rapunzel Meets the Prince
Recalling the Disney version, Rapunzel is a princess and her love interest is a thief. But in this version, it's the opposite. Rapunzel is the commoner while her love interest is a prince. Two years later, the prince passed by the tower and heard Rapunzel's voice. It caught his attention. One day, he found out about the secret code the witch is saying so she can climb the tower. While the witch is gone, he tried to do the same thing and so Rapunzel laid down her hair. The prince was able to climb the tower. Rapunzel was surprised. It's her first time seeing a man. Later on, they fell in love with each other and got married without the witch knowing. The prince would secretly visit her and later on, she got pregnant. The tragedy starts.
The Wrath of the Witch
Rapunzel started to notice that her clothes are getting tight so she asked the witch why. The witch examined her and figured that she's pregnant. She found out that a man is secretly visiting Rapunzel. The witch was so enraged that she cut Rapunzel's hair and she sent her to the desert so she dies. The witch decided to take her revenge so she disguised as Rapunzel. One night, the prince came to visit Rapunzel. The witch laid down the hair she cut to lure the prince as he climbs the tower. He was surprised to see the witch instead of Rapunzel. The witch told him that she sent Rapunzel to the desert to let her die. The prince can't accept it so he committed suicide by jumping at the window of the tower. This is where the creepy thing happened. As he lands on the floor, his eyes popped out. Unfortunately, his suicide attempt was unsuccessful so he continued to live without his eyesight.
The Reunion
Despite his blindness, the prince roamed for years to search for his wife until one day, he reached the desert. He heard Rapunzel's voice while he was roaming around. He was so happy to know that the woman he loves is still alive and she gave birth to their twins. The prince told Rapunzel everything he had been through while searching for her. Rapunzel was so touched that she cried. Similar to Disney version, one of her tears fell on the prince's eye. Getting healed and regaining his eyesight, he took Rapunzel to the kingdom and they lived happily ever after.
Comparing the story with Cinderella, I personally like Rapunzel's story better if I base it on the dark versions. Despite the brutality of the tragedy that happened to the prince, he got healed and reunited with Rapunzel. It was indeed a happy ending without having a tragic ending for other characters like what happened to Cinderella's stepsisters. I have no idea if these dark stories are the original ones as they claim. It can be true since the setting of these fairy tales is around 19th century in Europe where the culture used to be violent and it manifests in these dark stories. Since I've never seen a legit copy of the book that can serve as a proof, I was thinking that these are conspiracies. But the last time I shared Cinderella's dark tale here, someone told me that these dark tales are actually the original versions and the documents about the studies conducted on these tales are kept in a university.
The version may have been changed by Disney but for me, a fairy tale is still supposed to be a magical story that makes people feel good. It should serve its purpose to entertain. Disney version still wins my heart. What are your thoughts on this? Which version do you prefer? Feel free to share here.