Fathers in Fairy Tales
Fairy Tales often employ the use of archetypal characters in the telling of their tales. In fact, they rarely stray from the standard portrayal of their characters, some of the most common being the wicked stepmother, the beautiful princess, and the dashing prince, always there to save the day. However, there is one character that recurs in many fairy tales, but doesn't often receive the attention that is given to the others. Making an appearance in both "Rapunzel" and "Rumpelstiltskin" is the negligent, and often rather selfish, husband and father.In the tale "Rapunzel", as told by the Brothers Grimm, the father makes a very brief, but important appearance. He agrees to trade his only child, which hasn't even come into the world yet, to the witch in exchange for her rampion. The man doesn't even pause to think about the consequences of his actions, but rather "in his distress of mind the man promised everything; and when the time came when the child was born the witch appeared, and, giving the child the name of Rapunzel (which is the same as rampion), she took it away with her," (73). Not only does this man agree to anything the witch demands in exchange for the rampion, but when the time comes to hand over his daughter, he does so without a hint of remorse. He doesn't even seem to care that he just sent his only child to live with a witch. At the time of his actions, his only thought is to appease his wife so that he won't lose her. This may seem like a romantic notion, but it is actually very selfish. The story starts "there once lived a man and his wife, who had long wished for a child, but in vain," (73). The wife very much wants a child, but her husband is more than willing to bargain this much desired child so that he won't have to live without his wife.
Another careless father similar to that in "Rapunzel", is the one that is portrayed in the Brothers Grimm telling of "Rumpelstiltskin". In this tale, it is the miller's lack of fortune, rather than his wife's appetite, that drives him to use his daughter to his own gain. When given the opportunity to speak with the king, the miller uses it to tell him "that he had a daughter who could spin gold out of stray," (50). This father knew that his daughter couldn't actually spin gold out of straw, but he told the lie regardless. When the king ordered him to bring his daughter to the castle, the miller agreed without a second thought, all the while knowing full well that his daughter wouldn't be able to spin gold for the king. As most often happens, the father's child is left to deal with the consequences of his actions. When it was time for her to spin the gold "...the poor miller's daughter was left there sitting, and could not think what to do for her life: she had no notion how to set to work to spin gold from straw, and her distress grew so great that she began to weep," (51). The miller's careless actions bring great distress to the poor girl, but it is not her that he things of, but only himself.
One father who breaks the mold of inattentive fathers is that of Beaumont's "Beauty and the Beast". The father in this tale is a giving one, doing everything he can to give his children, especially his daughters, a better life. When "by some unlucky accident, the merchant suddenly lost all his fortune, and had nothing left but a small cottage in the country," (22), he still does not acquire the same selfishness displayed by the poor fathers in the other tales. Instead, he loves his children, particularly Beauty, and tries to provide for them the best he can. When he receives word that their fortune may have changed, he ensures that all his daughters should get a gift from him. Even though he didn't get the money he thought he would, he still tried to bring back a rose for Beauty. Because he stole the roses, the beast he had stolen them from orders that he will die for it, but allows that he can exchange his life for one of his daughters. Initially, the man recoils at the idea of sending any of his daughters to live with the beast. However, even he succumbs to the traditional selfishness of a father figure common in fairy tales. He allows Beauty to go in his stead, permitting him to live, even if it may mean her death. Despite the fact that he "in vain tried to reason with Beauty who still obstinately kept to her purpose," (24), he still let her go. As a father, he should have the ultimate authority in the household, but, for the sake of his own life, he lets Beauty overthrow his decision.
The most common trait in the father character in all three of these fairy tales is selfishness. This more than likely was formed out of a resentment towards men as expressed by the original tellers of the stories, women. Both "Rapunzel" and "Rumpelstiltskin" were recorded by the Brothers Grimm, but they weren't the original tellers. They collected stories from word of mouth throughout several countries. As women were the primary story tellers to children, they were the ones that produced these archetypal characters, including the selfish and negligent father/husband. Beaumont, however, wrote "Beauty and the Beast" herself. Her father figure is very different from that in the tales of the Brothers Grimm, but it still contains that inherent selfishness that readers have come to expect from fathers in traditional fairy tales.
Source: Classics of Children's Literature by John W. Griffith and Charles H. Frey
"'I must,' sighed the beast, 'for I know well enough how frightful I am; but I love you better than myself.'" -Beauty and the Beast by Mme Le Prince de Beaumont
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