gothunzel - Tumblr blog

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Tired of drawing,,

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I also posted the third chapter to this fic, focusing on Rapunzel's feelings and perspective ♡

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one of my favourite drawings of them :3

" love, lay me down under grass & sunlight, and touch me [right herel and here and here, where the ache & hurt have gone to nest. "

[gothunzel]

" love, lay me down under grass & sunlight, and touch me [right herel and here and here, where the ache & hurt have gone to nest. "

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rkgk

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Waiting for Gothel?

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Mother smells like alcohol again.

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rkgk — " Our Little World "

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aaa I didn't post my last few drawings, I'm sorry ! Let me get them from my twitter ♡

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I think Gothel/The Witch is defintely blood type B, while Rapunzel is blood type O.

They aren't ideal compatibility, but frankly they aren't altogether that compatible ... !

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hello !! Sorry I haven't really posted much.

I posted the first short chapter to a fic and hope to finish & post different ones!

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actually, rapunzel runs towards the witch – not away from her. she's not cornered,,, the witch actually turns away from her as the prince asks her to come towards him, him being the whole reason she runs the other way.

hey!! i just looked through like your whole into the woods tag because im going crazy rn but i was curious if you knew or had any thoughts about why rapunzel’s melody stayed the same or the symbolism behind it? specifically during the different parts where everyone else’s kind of phrase changes (the slotted spoon holds no soup -> the slotted spoon can catch the potato). like, why doesn’t she have a phrase at all? only singing?

First of all omg thank you so much for talking to me about Into the Woods!! The obsession is realll

I think Rapunzel embodies an interesting space where her story doesn't give her room to change. She doesn't have an "I wish" or "I've learned something" moment the way the main cast does, though she is undoubtedly the main character of her own fairytale to the same extent that Red, Cinderella and Jack are. The main difference seems to be her lack of agency- She doesn't venture into the woods, but instead was brought there as a baby and now lives there. She doesn't seek out a prince, but instead is found by one who takes advantage of her position. Things happen to her, but she doesn't do much on her own. Her story not having a lesson (or rather, having a lesson for Mysterious Man and Baker) sort of positions her as this pawn at the whims of surrounding characters, and I think her wordless tune in the Act 1 midnights staying the same reflects that. She is unchanging and unmoving in her tower while the woods play out around her.

In Act 2, though, I'd argue that she does change. Instead of hearing her lovely rendition of the Bean Theme streaming in from offstage during other scenes, we hear her cries and screams. Once removed from her tower and brought to the castle she experiences the same mobility and freedom as the other characters, and from that vantage point she sees a) how messed up her life has been and b) how dreaful the outside world can be as well. We see that the prince is a manipulative cheating scumbag, and Rapunzel is taking care of twins now as well. I think once leaving the tower she's more trapped than ever, hence why she runs from her prince in a direct parallel to Cinderella fleeing her prince in Act 1. I really like the original version of the script where Rapunzel's prince shows up in Act 2 scene 2 during the big conversation with the Giant, and so when she runs into the Giant's path it's because she was cornered- her prince on one side and the Witch on the other, leaving Rapunzel no choice but to flee both (unfortunately leading to her demise). Later versions omit him from the scene so she's only running from the Witch, which also works but is easier to misread imo. Her next appearance is repeating the Bean Theme once again in the finale, bringing her back to where she began- not that different from Jack still being mothered, Red still being overlooked, and Cinderella still cleaning someone's house. The Baker begins the story again, and Rapunzel becomes a stagnant character once more.

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Princes, or humans?

In Sondheim's Into The Woods, I've always loved one particular line that the Witch sings to Rapunzel during Stay With Me:

"Princes wait there in the world, it's true / Princes, yes, but wolves and humans too"

It cracked me up as a kid, because doesn't that mean princes aren't human? XD

But yes, actually, it does. Let me explain.

To the Witch, the "princes" she's discussing here are a heavily idealized concept - representing everything Rapunzel longs for. Rapunzel's "wish," you might say. A prince would provide her with company, and be handsome, and show her the world, and give her everything the tower could not.

What the Witch is saying in this line, then, is the breaking down of that ideal.

Although there are men called princes, they are human under it all. Their perfection will eventually crack, as does indeed happen with all the "happy endings" in Act 2. "Princes" may wait, but after a while, the world will show its true colors.

It's no coincidence, either, that the same actor portrays both Cinderella's Prince and the Wolf. Princes are wolves and humans.

And, from the Witch's perspective, it's the latter groups that are important, since they're so dangerous. It's enough to prompt her plea and countering self-identification, "Stay at home / I am home!"

Because the Witch believes herself to be none of those things. She isn't a perfect prince, but she isn't a wolf or a human either, nor any part of "the world." All she's trying to be is Home.

(See her song The Last Midnight for more on that subject: "I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just Right!")

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🕯️🥀 coded. (Witch POV)

Listen to "Caramel" before this, same artist & album for better effect.

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I've always found it fascinating that 'original' versions such as the Brother's Grimm and will often refer to Rapunzel as a 'bird' and Gothel as a 'cat...' She refers this herself too !

When seeing Gothel: "Aha!" she cried scornfully. "You have come for your Mistress Darling, but that beautiful bird is no longer sitting in her nest, nor is she singing any more. The cat got her, and will scratch your eyes out as well. You have lost Rapunzel. You will never see her again."

...hello? "Beautiful bird" "The cat got her" ? Please... Prey x Predator....?

Beauty is prevalent and one of main messages of the Brother's Grimm version. I'd like to note that Gothel is not ugly, she is simply described as 'old' by Rapunzel and that she gave the prince 'poisonous and evil looks.' They specifically chose the word 'sorceress' to AVOID the witch connotations in the english language + all translations not once used the term witch. This got construed over time.

"The sorceress did not notice what was happening until one day Rapunzel said to her, "Frau Gothel, tell me why it is that you are more difficult to pull up than is the young prince, who will be arriving any moment now?"

"You godless child," cried the sorceress. "What am I hearing from you? I thought I had removed you from the whole world, but you have deceived me nonetheless.""

Frau means Fairy in german. Fariy comes from the second version of Rapunzel (Persinette) where Gothel is called this, not Mother.

I find it a little amusing that she is so jealous, because how did Rapunzel deceive you? If anything she didn't realise it was wrong and told you that because she didn't understand...wwww....

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"Look at her complexion.... Still untouched by the sun..."

The witch is Italian, I say this for her first broadway actress is Italian, therefore the looks most well-known to her are with an italian background & the original story of Rapunzel is actually Italian... not German.

I find it rather fascinating that the witch sees Rapunzel as the epitome of perfection down to her skin tone... and being someone of tanned skin tone, might genuinely believe that she is even not as beautiful because of that... She doesn't compare herself directly to Rapunzel to however, rather is in awe of her. It is not jealousy but admiration. So there is that.

The witch only wants to be beautiful for Rapunzel. It's so sad, because even if she was elderly before she was still pretty. The entire story is rooted in this northern european ideal beauty... In the film she even says "You don't have to be embarrassed anymore!" so sad...

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is this anything