The Theme Of Greed In 'Rumpelstiltskin'

Greed is a powerful emotion. It can be defined as “A selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed” (Merriam-Webster). Among other emotions, negative ones such as this can be found in many fairy tales. In Rumpelstiltskin, written by the Brothers Grimm, greed is very influential as seen in the characters’ constant desires for unnecessary luxuries and how they base their decisions in search for either power or materialistic items. First there is the father, who is willing to give his daughter to the king for the chance of recognition. As well, there is the King, who is always in need for more wealth. Finally, Rumpelstiltskin, who longs for the opportunity to take more from the poor miller’s daughter.
One thing …show more content…
‘The girl knew not how to help herself, and was crying, when the door opened again, and the little man appeared, and said, "What will you give me if I spin that straw into gold for you?"’ He does not address the fact that she is in distress, but only asks what she will give him next. From the beginning he was asking for materialistic items such as jewelry and riches. At the beginning of the story, he approached the miller’s daughter - who was crying when he first saw her - and knew that if she didn’t complete the King’s request, she would be put to death. As opposed to helping her out of the goodness of his heart, he instantly became selfish. When the daughter had no more material items left, Rumplestiltskin suggested that she give him her first born child. He was then looking for more than just materialistic items. When the child is born and the queen rejects the deal between herself and Rumplestiltskin, he offers another deal where she must find out his name. The queen offers more gold and materialistic items since she is now married to the King, but now Rumplestiltskin does not want any of that. When she ends up finding out his name, he ends up becoming so angry that he kills himself. Greed led him down a path of riches until his inevitable downfall occurred. Being greedy may seem like it has a positive outcome, but truly there is …show more content…
The poor miller’s daughter who was practically given to the king by her father so that he could obtain fame. Wealth drove the King to lock the miller’s innocent daughter in a room multiple times in order to gain wealth. Rumplestiltskin’s desire for more than just materialistic objects ended with his death. There is no positive outcome to being greedy. The situation may seem beneficial to start, but in the end someone always gets