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Freud and Rapunzel

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In the fairy tale “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 “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 …show more content…

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 “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 “Let down your golden hair” and the Prince climbs up (2). At first, the prince scares Rapunzel but he then “spoke to her so kindly” and that “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 “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

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