Rapunzel Untangled by Cindy C. Bennett Discussion (Spoilers included)

*Spoilers ahead*

What was unique about this modern-day version of Rapunzel compared to the traditional fairy tale?

Facebook was defiantly very modern and just having a computer made this story modern.


Do the character seem real and believable? Are their predicaments relatable?

It was still a fairy tale after all and at times the characters seemed pretty real, but at other times there was very unrealistic things happening so the characters seemed less believable in those points. Such as Vedmak at the end. Rapunzel predicament is really not relatable because their is no way any sane woman would lock their child in a tower for 18 years. I do relate to Rapunzel sometimes in the feeling of being trapped and not knowing the way out. Fane has a very normal life and if a very relatable character besides the fact that he sneaked off into the woods to meet a girl that he had met online and had never seen a picture of or heard of until she contacted him on Facebook.

How do you feel about  Gothel? Could you relate to some of her ideas and reasons for things she did, even if they were extreme?

I hated Gothel from the start even before I knew her plan. The mother in Rapunzel is always supposed to be evil she couldn't have been any different. I understood her reason to keep Rapunzel in the tower because of her disease, but I had a funny feeling about the disease even from the beginning. I understand that Gothel was grieving for her diseased child, but even warlocks can't bring people back from the dead. Gothel held on to this fantasy for 18 years that she would have her daughter back. Gothel defiantly had a mental illness and she needed help. Not from a person like Vedmak.

How did Rapunzel change or evolve throughout the story? What do you feel triggered those changes?

Rapunzel never questioned the carefully built world her mother created until Fane came into her life. Fane triggered the change in Rapunzel. Suddenly Rapunzel began to question why she was trapped in the tower and who Gothel really was. She wanted answers and Gothel wouldn't give them to her. With Fane's help she ventured outside of her rooms for the first time in her whole life. She gained confidence and intelligence throughout the course of the novel.

Rapunzel was doing things she'd been forbidden, such as sneaking out and having Fane over. How do you feel Rapunzel's story would have been different had she complied with all of the rules Gothel set for her?

Gothel had a plan for Rapunzel and Vedmak had a plan for Rapunzel. If Rapunzel followed every rule set for her their plans would have still went forward and Fane would not be there to rescue Rapunzel. She wouldn't have the will to fight because she wouldn't have had the confidence she found later in the novel. Rapunzel would have most likely ended up dead if she followed all of Gothel's rules.

Do you think Fane was key to Rapunzel's evolution or do you think she would have been able to come to the same conclusions and the same ending without him? How important was he to her story?

Fane was a key part of this novel. If Rapunzel never met Fane she would have never left her tower, she would have never questioned Gothel, and she would have confined to live a miserable life trapped in her tower. Fane was everything to Rapunzel's story. Fane saved Rapunzel.

Do you Vedmak held too much influence over Gothel? How do you feel about him using Gothel for his own ends?

Vedmak had a lot of control over Gothel, but Gothel is the one who chose to believe him. If Gothel just walked away from him and said to herself he is crazy her life would have been much different. Rapunzel's life would have been different also. Villans use each other and Gothel and Vedmak are no different. Gothel wanted Rapunzel for something and Vedmak wanted Rapunzel for a different thing. Either way Rapunzel was a means to an end. They both had silly notions that may or may not have ever come true.


Thanks for reading

Rachael