Rapunzel: from Medieval Legends to Spiritual Transformation

Rapunzel: from Medieval Legends to Spiritual Transformation

by Hasan Andrea Abou Saida

The fairy tale of Rapunzel, one of the most famous stories by the Brothers Grimm, has deep roots intertwined with ancient symbolism and initiatory meanings, emerging as a narrative that, beyond being fantastical, is also rich in symbolic and spiritual significance.

Known in Italian as Raperonzolo, Rapunzel originates in the European oral tradition. Although the Brothers Grimm published it in their book Kinder und Hausmärchen in the first half of the 19th century, its origins go back to much older legends. The Grimm version is one of many variations of folk tales that had already been circulating in the Middle Ages and can be found in various European and Middle Eastern cultures.

The story tells of a couple who longed deeply for a child. The woman, seeing a lush garden of rapunzel (Campanula rapunculus) belonging to a witch, desired it so much that she fell ill. Out of love, the husband entered the garden and stole some plants. When he returned to take more, the witch caught him and, as punishment, demanded that he give her the newborn child. The baby girl, named Rapunzel in honor of the plant, was raised by the witch, who locked her in a tower. Rapunzel possessed long golden hair, which the witch used to climb up and down the tower. One day, a prince heard Rapunzel’s melodious voice and, imitating the witch’s command, managed to climb the tower using Rapunzel’s hair.

The two fell in love and planned to escape. When Mother Gothel discovered the plan, furious, she cut off Rapunzel’s hair and abandoned her in the desert. Upon the prince’s return, the witch tricked him into falling from the tower, causing him to go blind. However, after years of wandering, the prince found Rapunzel along with their twin children, a boy and a girl. When Rapunzel embraced the prince, her tears healed his blindness. The prince then led her to his kingdom, where they lived happily ever after.

Es ist nicht nur ein Märchen von Schönheit und Leid, sondern eine Geschichte von Hoffnung und Erlösung, die in allen Herzen einen Widerhall findet.”
(“It is not merely a tale of beauty and suffering, but a story of hope and redemption, which finds an echo in every heart.”)
— Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, Kinder- und Hausmärchen (ed. 1857)

One of the earliest documented appearances of a female figure using her own hair to help her lover climb up is found in Persian mythology, in the epic Shāhnāmeh. In this story, the princess of Kabul, Rudabeh, offers her long hair to the warrior Zāl to help him scale a tower. However, unlike in the Rapunzel fairy tale, Zāl refuses the offer to prevent Rudabeh from injuring herself, suggesting instead the use of a rope for a safer climb.

The fairy tale of Rapunzel may trace its origins to the Italian story Petrosinella, written by Giambattista Basile in 1634. In this version, the protagonist is a young woman imprisoned in a tower, whose name derives from the word for parsley (petrosino), in reference to a plant stolen by the girl’s parents. This motif of the stolen plant is also reflected in the Grimm tale and seems to date back to pre-Christian myths linked to fertility and the natural cycle of life and death, evoking ancient beliefs and agricultural practices.

The earliest versions of Petrosinella may have been influenced by Greek myths, such as the story of Danaë, who was locked in a tower by her father to prevent her fate from being fulfilled, or by the legend of Saint Barbara, a Christian martyr imprisoned in a tower by her father to protect her virginity.

In Greek mythology, Danaë is the daughter of King Acrisius of Argos. According to legend, Acrisius had received a prophecy from the Oracle of Delphi stating that he would be killed by Danaë’s son. To prevent this fate, Acrisius locked Danaë in a bronze tower, an inaccessible prison. However, Zeus, the king of the gods, fell in love with Danaë and reached her in the form of a shower of gold, thus conceiving her son, Perseus.

The legend of Saint Barbara, originating from Turkish and Lebanese traditions, tells of a young woman of great beauty and virtue, the daughter of Dioscorus, a wealthy pagan. To protect her virginity and prevent her from being influenced by Christianity, Dioscorus locked her in a tower. Despite this protection, Barbara embraced Christianity and was ultimately condemned to death by her own father. After her death, Barbara was venerated as a martyr and protector of artillerymen and miners. Here too, the theme of imprisonment in a tower as a means to control and safeguard the protagonist’s virtue is central.

Rapunzel, like Petrosinella, the myth of Danaë, and the legend of Saint Barbara, is not merely the story of a girl locked in a tower, but a tale rich in symbolism linked to personal and spiritual growth. The name Rapunzel, derived from the plant rapunzel (Campanula rapunculus), symbolizes hope and perseverance in the language of flowers. The plant, associated with fertility, represents the spiritual and physical nourishment that Rapunzel receives during her imprisonment and which her mother also consumed during pregnancy. The story is rich in sexual symbolism, also referencing the Eden complex and the forbidden fruit.

“Every fairy tale is the reflection of an ancient rite of passage, masked by the fantastical plot and passed down from generation to generation.”
— Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folktale

The pregnant mother, upon seeing the rapunculus, desires it so intensely that she falls into a state of frenzy, and out of love her husband enters the witch’s garden to gather some. On his second attempt, the husband is spotted by the witch, who demands to know why he is stealing. The rapunculus thus becomes the forbidden food, the fruit of unattainable desire—like the apple in the Garden of Eden.

He tells her of his wife’s craving, and without mentioning anything about sexuality, the witch says: “If it is as you say, you may have as much rapunculus as you wish, on one condition: the child that will be born must be given to me.”

As in the case of Adam and Eve, the punishment for eating the forbidden fruit is expulsion from Paradise and the awareness of one’s own mortality. For Rapunzel’s parents, however, the price of desire is the loss of their daughter, who is claimed by the witch.

When Rapunzel reaches adulthood, she is locked away by the witch “in a tower in the middle of a forest, and in it there were neither doors nor stairs, only a small window at the top.” In this narrative, the tower becomes a powerful archetypal symbol of isolation and separation, but also of potential spiritual ascent. The act of climbing, in fact, recalls the journey toward the heavens—a common theme in stories of spiritual initiation.

In a more esoteric reading, such as that offered by the Tarot, the tower represents a symbol of destruction and radical change—a cathartic event that leads to liberation from old patterns and the birth of new awareness.

Similarly, the Garden of Eden is a place of beauty and abundance, but like Rapunzel’s tower, it is defined by separation from the outside world and by control over those who dwell within it. In Rapunzel’s case, the tower can also be interpreted as a phallic symbol, in which the witch—representing control and repression—locks the young woman away to prevent her from discovering her own sexuality and maturity. This act of repression is akin to the prohibition imposed on Adam and Eve against eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge—a symbol of the transition from innocence to sexual awareness and maturity.

In both cases, the control exercised by the witch and by God serves to keep the protagonists in a state of innocence and dependence. However, the transgression—whether eating the forbidden fruit or escaping from the tower—marks the beginning of a journey toward independence and maturity. For Rapunzel, the escape from the tower represents not only a physical liberation but also a metaphorical release from the confines of her childhood and the beginning of a new adult life. Likewise, for Adam and Eve, the choice to eat the forbidden fruit leads to the Fall, but also to the start of their life outside the Garden, where they must face the reality of the world with a newfound awareness.

Rapunzel’s golden hair, the magical element of the fairy tale, symbolizes her power and the young woman’s identity. The cutting of her hair marks a metamorphosis—an initiatory passage from imprisonment to a new phase of freedom and independence. Although the cutting of her hair represents a loss, it is part of the journey toward regaining freedom and autonomy.

In the fairy tale, Mother Gothel embodies the archetype of the witch, the negative maternal figure, and the dark feminine, representing an oppressive and manipulative mother figure. Her jealousy and possessiveness contrast with the archetype of the loving and protective mother. The love of the negative mother is conditional and possessive, focused more on using Rapunzel’s magical hair to maintain her own youth than on the young woman’s well-being. The obstacle represented by Mother Gothel is fundamental for Rapunzel, as it provides the challenges and motivations necessary for her journey of growth and liberation.

“The witch is the shadow of the mother; she is the devouring aspect of the feminine, feeding upon the life-force of the child to preserve her own power.”
— Marie-Louise von Franz, The Interpretation of Fairy Tales

The prince, on the other hand, represents the archetype of the hero who rescues the damsel in distress, symbolizing the power of change and the possibility of redemption. He is the one who discovers and uses Rapunzel’s hair to access the tower and free her. His presence brings the resolution of the conflict and Rapunzel’s liberation from captivity, thus completing her journey of growth and freedom.

In conclusion, Rapunzel goes beyond being a mere fairy tale: it is a story imbued with symbolic and spiritual meanings, deeply exploring the sacred feminine and its initiatory journey from girlhood to adulthood. Just as in the stories and myths of Petrosinella, Danae, and Saint Barbara, Rapunzel faces the imprisonment of the tower as both a protective element and an obstacle to her liberation and self-realization as a woman. With its rich symbolism, the story of Rapunzel remains a beacon of fairy-tale and folk tradition, illuminating the path toward self-awareness and the fulfillment of one’s potential.

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