Book Review: The Tale of Rapunzel and the Evil Witch by J. Pageau et al.

The Tale of Rapunzel and the Evil Witch written by Jonathan Pageau and illustrated by Heather Pollington

This reformulation of the classic tale of Rapunzel starts with the usual story. A woodsman and his wife live near an old hag who has a garden full of cabbages, called "rapunzel" in her old language. The wife becomes pregnant and has cravings for cabbages. The woodsman steals one and the witch confronts him, insisting that if he steals again, he will have to give the baby to her. He relates this to his wife but she soon returns to insatiably craving cabbages. The woodsman breaks down and takes all the cabbage from the witch's garden as she watches. Later, the child is born but the couple forget their debt. The witch takes the baby in the night and flees deep into the woods where she will raise her new Rapunzel. At first, they live in a house with magical protections around it. Rapunzel, as a restless twelve-year old, leaves the house when she spots a boy up a tree. He helps her climb up and they have a wonderful afternoon. Soon the witch returns, the boy flees, and Rapunzel admits what happened. The witch drags her off and builds an unscalable tower with the only access being Rapunzel's long hair. So she has the long view like in the tree but no companionship at all. She sings out the one window. A prince hears her singing and comes to the tower. He hides as the witch shows up, bringing food and telling Rapunzel to let down her hair. After the witch goes, the prince asks Rapunzel to let down her hair, starting their romance. This companionship also goes awry when the witch discovers it. She sends Rapunzel off with shorn hair to live in the forest since Rapunzel is now pregnant and "ruined." The witch uses the hair to trick the prince into climbing, then drops him to the thorns below where his eyes are ruined and he becomes a wandering pauper. Rapunzel finds the witch's original home and fixes it up while delivering twins. The elderly neighboring couple, a woodsman and his wife, help out. Eventually, the wandering, destitute prince finds Rapunzel and they are reunited after many years. Her tears cure his eyes and they live humbly in the cottage since the prince's sister has married Jack (from the previous story) and he has become king. Rapunzel and the prince live a happy, humble life.

The plot is an interesting expansion of the Rapunzel story. Pageau ties it in with his other stories. Jack takes the kingship, freeing the prince to live a different life. Also, the prince's mother is Snow White and it is implied that the witch here is the same witch from Snow White's story. The plan is for eight different fairy tales to be tied together, so I am curious to see how that will pan out. The theme of selfish people being punished is an interesting one, as is the reward for persistence in virtue. Rapunzel is a victim of circumstance who takes agency for her situations rather than waiting around for someone else to solve her problems. Her agency is bolstered by others (the two guys and then the couple who are secretly her parents), so she is not some icon of American individualism. She is more like a real woman even in an unreal, fairy-tale situation.

The illustrations are gorgeous. They are rich in detail and have a somewhat Byzantine look, with slightly exaggerated poses and ornamental details that look deliberately tied to the story. Many images have three moments of the story combined, like the prince climbing the tower, the prince wooing Rapunzel, and their parting kiss. It's intelligent and delightful all at the same time.

Recommended.