Hello! Just a warning that this is not a story per se. I have actually done some minor research on Rumplestiltskin's fairytale origins and connected it to how those different origin stories contribute to the Dark One in "Once Upon a Time". It was so fascinating to read up his history that I thought maybe other Oncers would be interested in reading it as well!
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One would think the Evil Queen or the Big Bad Wolf are the baddest villains in children's fairytales. Why wouldn't they? They personify the traditional archetype of evil with their wickedness and deadly deeds. But, behind the forefront of classic storytales, such as Snow White, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood, lies a lurking shadow pulling at the threads of fairytale lore. A character that has been identified in pop culture as a darkness much worse than evil. The best representation of this character is none other than ABC's hit tv series Once Upon a Time's Rumplestiltskin. Once Upon a Time explores a present day Maine town called Storybrooke where fairytale characters live normal lives, and are cursed from their mystical realm, the Enchanted Forest, into a realm without magic (i.e. our modern world). One of the pivotal characters that creates mayhem and chaos for five seasons is none other than pawnbroker Mr. Gold, a.k.a. the magical wizard-of-all-trades, Rumplestiltskin.
A fearsome foe with a penchant for striking deals, Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin, played by British actor Robert Carlyle, is the opposing force preventing happy endings. His mastery of magic and nefarious title of being called the "Dark One" fortifies his reputation as the villain of all villains. From contracting infants away from mothers and unraveling the deep, dark secrets of Storybrooke, Rumplestiltskin is a formidable player moving the game pieces to fulfill his goals. A father, grandfather, a husband figure, a liar, a manipulator, a sorcerer, and ironically a coward- Rumplestiltskin is beloved for his wickedness and complexity yet pitied for his weakness to the Darkness. So, how can one character embody all these conflicting roles?
All cultural variations of Rumpelstilzchen weave a tale about a miller's daughter or wife that is forced to spin straw into gold and make a deal with a magical being, usually resulting in the exchange of a firstborn child. Whether it is the Icelandic Gilitrutt or the Grimm retellings of Rumpelstilzchen, the demonic "helper" is the protagonist's enemy. Once Upon A Time's Rumplestiltskin usually ends up with his side of the bargain intact, rarely defeated, and is immortal because of his resourceful dark powers. The modern adaptation requires basic knowledge of the original tale in addition to modern cultural references as any adaptation "adjust[s] to fit a new audience regardless." However, the current version of Rumplestiltskin intersects and evolves from the original tales.
In Once Upon a Time, the sexualized, independent and outspoken miller's daughter, Cora, challenges the king she can spin straw into gold. The king agrees to her challenge on pain of death should she fail. Cora encounters the "Dark One" Rumplestiltskin in her cellar filled with straw. Finding her dark spirit attractive, he shows his art of spinning straw through demonstration of dark emotions to fuel his dark magic. He tells her:
Once, a man made me kiss his boots in front of my son. Now, in my mind, I go back, and I rip out his throat, and I crunch his veins with my teeth. And that, dearie, is how magic is made.
Cora is enticed with the dark magic and uses her hatred for her lowly position and the king to untap her own magic. Cora wins the challenge through her new magical talent and falls in "love" for Rumplestiltskin and his power. They make an exchange for Cora to run away with him and provide him a son, their son, after she kills the king to get out of her impending marriage. To Rumplestiltskin's wrath, Cora chose power over love by marrying the prince and securing a wealthy position and is no longer bound to his contract as she swears she will never have a child by him. Rumplestiltskin curses her name and vows to have her firstborn one way or another.
The English and Germanic Rumplestiltskin or Rumpelstiltskin, Scottish Whuppity Stoorie, the Icelandic Gilitrutt and other cultural variations contribute to the modern adaptation of Rumplestiltskin. In Once Upon a Time, Rumplestiltskin is a sorcerer called the "Dark One": the epitome of evil and the powerful villain. Being the "Dark One" means doing the wrong things and deceiving others for own interests. Rumplestiltskin's powers are similar to early versions such as the Scottish tale of Whuppity Stoorie, who ironically is depicted as an elder fairy, gentlewoman. Both of them use incantations and odd bits of potions to command their magic.
The more recent versions of Rumplestiltskin utilize magic and prestige to sensationalize the story. As a wizard, Rumplestiltskin uses magic by making seemingly fair deals with protagonists. His dark powers propel him to make deals in order to maintain his dark status. Rumplestiltskin's motif is his saying "Magic always comes with a price [dearie]" to emphasize one must sacrifice in order to get the desired results when using easier methods such as magic. Wielders of magic represent power in the show and cross-culturally. In Whuppity Stoorie, the magical elder-woman is revered by a single mother trying to revoke the deal of her child through acknowledging her status, "Lady mine" and "Your Ladyship", signifying their is a significant class difference with those that strike deals with either of the "Rumplestiltskin" characters. Power, through sorcery or title, is evidently important to the character, especially to Mr. Gold (i.e. Rumplestiltskin's alias in Storybrooke) whose name suggests a love for precious, politically powerful objects.
Rumplestiltskin's appearance is not for the faint of heart; stories depict him as a midget man that has vicious qualities like clawed fingernails or an impish smirk. Appearances in fairy tales are meant to set characters, particularly social deviants, apart from society. The Grimm's Fairy Stories leave out any noticeable characteristics aside from his stature as a little Man or a Dwarf. In sharp contrast, the English variation, known as Tom-Tit-Tot, describes a small, little black creature with a phallic-like tail that spins the straw as his lecherous grin lusts for the miller's daughter. He is dehumanized in name as the "Thing" or "That" making his persona fearsome. Once Upon a Time's Rumplestiltskin's famous talent is reflected onto his skin. Speckled gold dust is ingrained on his skin. Being the "Dark One" comes with a frightful price, enlarged black pupils and dirtied fingernails outwardly casts him as a monstrosity. As a social deterrent, his inner darkness is reflected on display to warn all those that encounter him. Whereas his counterpart, Mr. Gold, is refined back into a human state, like the Grimms' version, though not without the same ugly demeanor.
Post-feminism shows the dynamic of contrasting gender roles as women have the ability to cure their situations and create their own positive/negative image. Cora, the miller's daughter, has the same curious nature of the other girls in the tales; however, post-feminist Cora takes control of her situation through manipulation and seduction. When the traditional miller's daughter is denoted as the thoughtless "young girl" or the beautiful "maiden", Cora is empowered with her femininity to acquire power and magic through Rumplestiltskin. For a short while they become partners rather than a victor/victim relationship. The "Thing" in Tom-Tit-Tot is a lecherous leper taking advantage of a helpless girl; Once Upon a Time's Rumplestiltskin gives him an impish, mad personality similar to the "Thing" but twists the plot so that the female lead, Cora, saves herself in the end. Generally, spinning is an identification marker of a fledged woman in society; the older tales refer to hard work ethic and knowing one's place is vital to being a productive member of society. Today, hard work isn't just enough, one requires ingenuity and relying on one's self rather than others; Cora moves up in society by using her magic rather than relying solely on Rumplestiltskin to do the work for her.. Following the Rumplestiltskin episode, it is later revealed Cora's new magic aides her to become a dark magician like Rumplestiltskin and victimizes not only those who have wronged her in the past but, in addition to, she makes Rumplestiltskin suffer. Not only is the miller's daughter her own heroine but she becomes her own villain in the process.
In every variation, a child is valued as a bargaining chip between the miller's daughter and the helper. Rumplestiltskin's obsession with children is a moral warning for young girls to stay away from strange men and be careful for what one wishes. Earlier versions such as Tom-Tit-Tot give the baby an unknown gender, signifying the baby is an exchangeable good, not a priceless life. The Grimm's use Rumpelstilzchen as a mouthpiece to commemorate children are more valuable than gold. Once Upon a Time depicts Rumplestiltskin as closer to the Grimms' version as Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin makes deals to take children away as a commodity or a tool for vengeance: as he does with Cora's children as his apprentices. In the rare case, Rumplestiltskin uses children to give them away to another "suitable" parent and helps reunite lost children with their parents.
Rumplestiltskin's complexity stems from a modern twist and original storytelling. Though Walter de la Mare's version of Rumplestiltskin is demeaning and half-mad, he allows the girl to give up everything she had, a coral necklace and silver ring, to make her realize possessions are immaterial in comparison to a child. The television series uses this same motif in de la Mare's story through a painful retelling of Rumplestiltskin's past: starting with his selfish, greedy father that devalued him as a burden and immaterial. His father abandoned him because he saw power and wealth as a more satisfying life. Rumplestiltskin follows his father's tracks later in life when he disappoints his own son, Baelfire, by not giving up being the Dark One for a simpler, nonmaterial life. In consequence, Rumplestiltskin loses his son as a child and once more when Baelfire is grown with a child of his own. Rumplestiltskin came to grips the price of a child is too high to lose and so wants others to feel his pain by taking away their children as a lesson. Whuppity Stoorie roots some of these tragic threads by scolding the single mother, the Goodwife Kittlerumpit, how she is ill-fit to raise her son, Robert, on the meager salary of a sow pig. The ancient fairy reminds the Goodwife of her husband who abandoned in flight for a better, materialistic life and so wishes to punish her by taking Robert away. The Rumplestiltskin character holds some paternal/maternal instinct over children; thus, these fairy tales are directed towards parents to value their children for fear of tragedy.
The lesson taken from Rumplestiltskin digs deeper as each story varies Rumplestiltskin's punishment when his plans are foiled. Most end in humiliation and fleeing from the scene such as in Gilitrutt and Tom-Tit-Tot. Others such as the Grimms' Rumpelstilzchen have the impish creature stumble and injure his foot, making him crippled and a further deviant in society. Some tales take a gruesome step by having the mad Helper literally split himself into two pieces. The modern version exploits the lamed foot as Rumplestiltskin's crippling weakness, a physical reminder when he uses a cane as the human Mr. Gold or rendered powerless without any magic. In the series and in stories, Rumplestiltskin cannot win without overcoming his own deficiencies despite all efforts to conceal them. The power of all the world's greatest evils and divine talents can be conquered through living a moral life and the courage to change one's fate.
Folklorists such as de la Mare and the Grimm Brothers explore the dark realities of their contemporary society and chose the medium of storytelling to express warnings of proper behavior and the values of the people. A new generation of folklorists in the form of producers and scriptwriters, like Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis, analyze the older versions of accepted fairy tales and put them into the context of modern values. The character of Rumplestiltskin has neither progressed nor regressed. Rumplestiltskin, in all his complexities, embodies societal expectations with the socially deviant behavior: a mysterious man with a hidden agenda cultivating opportunities through making a socially-bound agreement with immoral intentions. Becoming the "Dark One" requires acquiring all deviant characteristics to refract the "good" values of society.