A Recurrence of Rapunzels

An Analysis on the Into the Woods Character

Sarah Williams

Stephen Sondheims hit musical, Into the Woods, addresses many complex issues present

in current day society, one of which being the negative repercussions of oppressive parenting.

This theme is brought to life by the character Rapunzel, the fair maiden with the long, blonde

hair who is locked away by her mother in a far away tower. In the musical, this beautiful young

girl is swooned by an unnamed Prince. Not only did this lead to her young pregnancy, but also to

her being banished my her mother into a desert. Rapunzel eventually does return to her mothers

kingdom, but is found insane: ridden with fear and anxiety, prone to frequent crying spells, and

unable to trust anybody, especially her mother. Her anxiety and distrust eventually led to her

being crushed and killed when she ran away from her mother into a giants path and was stepped

on.

This story line provokes a very controversial question to its audience: how strictly should

a child be parented? How much freedom should a child have before she is an adult herself? The

mindset of protecting the child from the outside world, like Rapunzels mother clearly had, leads

to the child being brutally unprepared for adulthood. On the contrary, giving a child too much

freedom in these early years could lead to life-ruining mistakes due to childrens inevitably poor

judgement. This debate is addressed in many musical theater characters, with lives very similar

to Rapunzels. Two shows that confront this issue, in particular, are Spring Awakening and

Sweeney Todd.
 In Sweeney Todd, Johanna is locked away by Judge Turpin all her life. Her distress is

revealed in her solo, Green Finch and Linnet Bird, where she compares herself to a caged bird.

While this sheltering may not have led to the early death of Johanna, it still drove her to

marrying the first man shes ever met. Meanwhile, Spring Awakenings plot also revolves around

the concept of oppressive parenting: the children were not educated about their sexuality or

development, which caused them to experiment for themselves. This uncertainty and

experimentation led to the death of two young characters: Moritz by suicide, and Wendla by

failed abortion. Thus, similarly to Rapunzel, the sheltering of these characters led to impulsive

behavior, psychological trauma, and, in many cases, death.

Psychology discusses three kinds of parenting: permissive, authoritarian, and

authoritative. Permissive parents greatly encompass a laissez faire approach. These parents allow

children to make their own mistakes and learn their own lessons with minimal interference or

discipline. Children learn to trust their parent more, but lose a strong authority figure and risk

making dangerous decisions. On the contrary, authoritarian parents are incredibly strict, giving

children many rules and expecting all to be obeyed. Any acting up would be certain to add to

punishment. This often leads to children either obeying for fear of this discipline, or sneaking

around, acting out but keeping it secretive. These kids also tend to hold the most anger. They

stop opening up to their parents and seeking the direction they need. Thus, while polar opposites,

both of these approaches lead to children not accepting guidance from parents. Meanwhile,

authoritative parents tend to create an active dialogue with their children, enforcing rules with

lessons and compromise rather than strictly punishment (Davis, Susan). The children of these

parents tend to be the most respectful of authority and themselves.

 The children discussed thus far undoubtedly come from authoritarian parents, and

definitely show the symptoms. Rapunzel, in particular, exudes this temperament from the very

beginning of the show, even before she goes crazy. This is made particularly apparent when she

starts sneaking around with her Prince, while the child of a permissive or authoritative parent

would undeniably share this part of her life. She shut out guidance from her mother due to her

built up resentment caused by a lifetime of sheltering, which led her to making the reckless

mistake of getting pregnant. After Rapunzels mother punishes her for her affair, Rapunzel

completely shuts out help or guidance from anybody. She begins screaming and hysterically

crying at the sight of other people, running anywhere away from them. This trauma from

punishment led to this constant distrust and paranoia and prevented her from ever becoming a

functional member of society.

Punishment that authoritarian parents execute tends to scar many children, just like

Rapunzel. Psychology declares that punishment is incredibly detrimental to peoples mental

health, often leading to a resentment towards authority, a more aggressive temperament, and

weaker understanding of morality: those being punished tend to longer remain in the state of

pre-conventional morality, or the mindset of following rules for fear of being punished rather

than for the sake of doing the right thing (Karson, Michael). This is dangerous because once the

child escapes the reign from his or her parent, the fear of punishment ceases and there is less

reason to avoid committing misdemeanors. This explains why, in Spring Awakening, Melchior

rapes Wendla when they are alone: there is no risk of punishment because nobody will catch

him. He does not stop to consider morality, he merely takes advantage of his freedom. This

behavior is typical of victims of punishment and authoritarian parents.

 It is fascinating to contemplate what would have happened had Rapunzels mother been

authoritative rather than authoritarian. Would she have gotten pregnant at such a young age?

Would she have even pursued the Prince? Would fear and paranoia have driven her to such an

early death? It is definitely possible that a more lenient style of parenting could have saved

Rapunzels life. Rapunzel, under appropriate guidance from her mother could have behaved

much more safely and responsibly.

The trend of this type of character in musical theater begs the question: how present are

authoritarian parents in present day society? It could easily be debated that, in Into the Woods,

the relationship between Rapunzel and the Witch reflects that of Sondheim and his own mother.

In Sondheims childhood, his mother did not allow him to visit his father due to her own

bitterness. This led Sondheim to sneak visits with his father, very similarly to how Rapunzel

would sneak visits with her Prince. Sondheim and his mother had a lasting strain in their

relationship, her last words to him being The only regret I have in life is giving you birth

(Cavendish, Dominic). These words are said to have inspired the entire idea of Into the Woods,

which focuses on an initial disregard to consequence leading to deep regret.

Rapunzel represents a large population of sheltered children, including Stephen

Sondheim. Her character, while somewhat irrelevant in the actual plot of the musical, very truly

hits home for a large audience. This serves as a brilliant warning to all parents to give their

children space and respect. She is and will always remain a major building block to the

revolutionary story that is Into the Woods.

 Works Cited

Cavendish, Dominic. "Stephen Sondheim, Interview: 'I'm Not Pretentious, I'm a Product of

Broadway'." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 01 Dec. 2014. Web.

Davis, Susan. "When Parenting Styles Differ." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web.

Karson, Michael. "Punishment Doesn't Work." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 14

Jan. 2014. Web.