Spinning with Fate: Rumpelstiltskin and the Decline of Female Productivity

Author(s): Jack Zipes

Source: Western Folklore, Vol. 52, No. 1, Perspectives on the Innocent Persecuted Heroine in
Fairy Tales (Jan., 1993), pp. 43-60
Published by: Western States Folklore Society
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SpinningWithFate:
and the
Rumpelstiltskin
Declineof Female
Productivity
JACK ZIPES

"Rumpelstiltskin"is a disturbingfairytale, not because we never

reallyknow the identityof the tinymysteriouscreature who spins so
miraculously,even when he is named by the queen, the formermill-
er's daughter. It is disturbingbecause the focus of folklorists,
psycho-
analysts, and literary criticshas centered on Rumpelstiltskin'sname
and hisrole in the tale despite the factthatthe name is meaningless.'
Indeed, it reveals nothingabout Rumpelstiltskin's essence or identity.
The naming simplybanishes the threateningcreature frominterfer-
ing in the queen's life. Moreover,his role has alwaysbeen presented
in a misleadingway.Accordingto the Aarne-Thompsontale type500,
Rumpelstiltskinis categorized as a helper, while he is obviously a
blackmailerand oppressor. In short,the categorizationhas strangely

1. I wantto thankCristinaBacchilega and StevenSwann Jones fortheirhelpfulsuggestionsfor

revisionsthat I incorporatedinto the finalversionof this essay.
Folkloristshave focused on tracingthe originsof the name of Rumpelstiltskin and connecting
the tale to legends about dwarfs and devils. See Clodd (1898); Kahn (1966/67:143-84); Luthi
(1971:419-36); and Marshall (1973:51-7). Psychoanalystsand psychologicalcriticshave generally
emphasized the phallic aspects of Rumpelstiltskinor have interpretedit as a narrativeof sexual
anxiety,whichthe femalecharacteror analysand mustlearn to overcome. See Roheim (1949:365-
69); Schurman (1950:509-18); Rowley (1951:190-95); BuIhlerand Bilz (1977:103-09); Bergler
(1961:65-70); von Beit (1965:535-543); Katz (1974:117-24); Rinselyand Bergmann (1983:1-14);
and Miller (1985:73-76). For a comprehensive view of the differentapproaches to "Rumpel-
stiltskin,"see Lutz R6hrich'sstimulatingessay (1976:272-291). Even in his essay,however,spinning
and the role of the spinner are not examined in depth.

Folklore52 (January, 1993): 43-60

Western

43

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44 WESTERN FOLKLORE

resultedin concern for a villainwhose name is just as meaninglessas

the scholarshipthat has been absorbed in naming him.
"Rumpelstiltskin"is a tale about a persecuted woman and female
creativitysymbolizedby spinning.The factthatit has been primarily
studied as tale type 500, "The Name of the Helper," for so long by
folkloristshas more to do withthe male bias of scholarshipthan the
specificproblem posed by the tale,namelyfemaleoppression and the
change in the social attitudestoward the metierof spinningand fe-
male initiation.My major concern in thisessay will be to counter the
myopicapproaches to the tale by exploringquestions of female pro-
ductivityand relating"Rumpelstiltskin" to other tales about spinners
and the socio-historicaldevelopment of spinning in the eighteenth
and nineteenthcenturies.2
Before I begin my exploration,I should like to qualifymy argu-
ment to make it clear that I am not entirelydismissingthe motifof
naming, but endeavoring to re-focus attention on the substantial
featuresof the tale that,in myopinion, constitutedits meaning with-
in a historicaltraditionof female initiationof spinners (mainly in
Europe) that has become obfuscated. There is no doubt that the
naming of the blackmailer/persecutor/demon fulfillsan important
functionin the tale, and thisfunctionas essentialepisode has several
purposes:
1) As a riddle, the naming added tension and humor to the nar-
rativeand was obviouslyrelated to various puzzles and games within
the oral traditionof differentcultures.The namingis comic reliefand
points to the optimisticdispositionof the tale, intended to demon-
stratehow the spinnercan overcomeobstaclesand realize her desires
and purpose in life.
2) The naming demonstratesthe cleverness,skill,and luck of the
spinner,who liberatesherselfand comes intoher own throughguess-
ing the rightname.
3) To name someone or somethinghas alwaysbeen linked to gain-
ing power over the unknown. To name is to know, to recognize, to
become secure throughknowledgeso thatone can protectoneself.In

2. This is not to say thatthe aspect of spinninghas been totallyneglectedbyscholars.As we shall

see, Marianne Rumpf (1985 and 1976), Gerburg Treusch-Dieter(1983), and Gonthier-LouisFink
(1964) make the issue of spinningthe centralthemeof theirresearch. My endeavor in thisessay is
to bringtogethertheirfindingswitha sharper focuson the socio-historicalreasons forthe changes
in "Rumpelstiltskin" and the transformation of female productivity.

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SPINNING WITH FATE 45

this regard, the naming is the appropriate ending for the spinner,
who has come to know herselfand identifyher enemies. Though the
name Rumpelstiltskinmay have no revelatorymeaning, the act of
naming itselfis significant.
4) The significanceof the naming,the act, is in the shiftsthat the
naming undergoes, depending on the versionone reads or hears. As
we shall see, the act can be a designationof the oppressor, a separa-
tion fromthe devil, a capitulationto male authority,or a completion
of the initiationas spinner.
5) The act says somethingabout the spinnerand not about the tiny
figure,who has intervenedin her life. By acting,she definesher fate
or allows her fateto be definedforher. The act of naming completes
the spinningas a productiveand narrativeact. As Karen Rowe sug-
gests,"in the historyof folktaleand fairytale, women as storytellers
have woven or spun theiryarns,speaking at one level to a total cul-
ture,but at anotherto a sisterhoodof readers who willunderstandthe
hidden language" (1986:57).
If the namingis meaningfulin the tale,it is mainlyin relationto the
initiationthat the female spinner undergoes. By depictingthe pro-
tagonist'slearninghow to spin and to maintaincontrolof spinningas
production, the "Rumpelstiltskin"narrativescelebrated at one time
the self-identificationof a young woman. However, these narratives
also indicate how men insertedthemselvesinto the initiationprocess
and intervenedto appropriate the narrativetradition.Consequently,
initiationbecame framed withina male discourse.
To demonstratehow initiationbecame manipulation(or how per-
secutionhas been overlooked) withinthe traditionof spinningtales, I
want to make clear from the onset that I shall be dealing with the
BrothersGrimm 1857 versionof "Rumpelstiltskin" and treatingit as
a literary
fairytale,whichhas antecedentsin folkloreand in the French
literarytradition,namely Mlle L'H6ritier's "Ricdin-Ricdon"(1705).
Afterdiscussingthe nature of the changes that the Grimmsmade in
the oral rendition,which theyhad recorded in the Olenberg manu-
scriptof 1810, I shall focuson the spinningaspect of the tale thathas
received so littleattentionfromscholars,even though it is the most
consistentmotifin almost all the oral and literaryversionspublished
up to the present. Indeed, as early as 1898, the famous Britishfolk-
loristEdward Clodd, who wrotethe firstimportantstudyof tale type
500, called "Tom Tit Tot" in the English tradition,remarked,

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46 WESTERN FOLKLORE

Wellnighall theheroinesin the'Tom Tit Tot' groupare setthetaskof

spinning,in a magicspaceoftime,a largequantity offlax,or,as in the
Swedishvariant, thestillhardertaskofspinningstrawintogold,and so
forth.Prominence is thereforegivento thewheeland distaffas wom-
an's typicaloccupation.[1898:36]

It is time now thatscholarshipgive back prominenceto the wheel

and distaffin the "Rumpelstiltskin"tradition.

"RUMPENST UNZCHEN"

Once upon a timetherewas a littlemaiden who was given a bunch

of flax to spin, but she continuallyspun only gold thread fromit and
could not produce yarn. She was verysad and sat down on the roof
and began to spin,and forthreedays she onlyspun gold. Then a tiny
man appeared and said, "I'll help you out of all your troubles.Your
young princewillcome by and marryyou and take you away,but you
must promise me thatyour firstchild will be mine."
The little maiden promised him everything.Soon thereaftera
handsome young princecame by,and he took her withhim and made
her his bride. Afterone year,she bore him a handsome boy. Then the
tinyman appeared at her bedside and demanded the baby. She of-
fered him everythingelse instead,but he accepted nothing.He gave
her threedays' time,and ifshe did not knowhis name on the last,she
would have to give him the child. The princessthoughtabout it fora
long time.She thoughtfortwodays but stilldid not come up withthe
name. On the third,she ordered one of her faithfulmaids to go into
the forestfromwhich the tinyman had come. That night the maid
went out and saw the littleman riding on a cooking ladle around a
large fireand cryingout: "If the princessonlyknewthatmyname was
Rumpenstiinzchen."
The maid rushed with this news to the princess,who was very
happy to hear it. At midnightthe tinyman came and said, "If you
don't know my name, I'm going to take the child withme."
Then she guessed all sortsof names untilshe finallysaid, "Could it
possiblybe thatyour name is Rumpensttinzchen?"
When the tinyman heard this,he became horrifiedand said, "The
devil must have told you," and he flew out of the window on the
cooking ladle.3
3. My translationof "Rumpenstiinzchen,"fromRilleke (1975:238-40).

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SPINNING WITH FATE 47

In the Olenberg manuscript of 1810, the "Rumpenstfinzchen"

version of "Rumpelstiltskin" is based on an anonymousoral tale that
Jacob Grimm recorded in 1808 in Hessia. By the time the brothers
revisedthe textforthe publicationof the firstvolume of theirKinder-
und Hausmdirchen in 1812, they had made various changes based on
a tale told to them by Dortchen Wild and materialfromJohann Fi-
schart'sGargantua(1582). Later theycombined thistale withanother
oral versiontold to themby LisetteWild,and thereare also clear signs
that theywere aware of the French literaryversion "Ricdin-Ricdon"
by Mlle L'Heritier,4whose tale also influenced the Grimms' "The
Three Spinners." In short,the 1857 "Rumpelstiltskin" is an amalgam-
ation of literaryand oral tales thatthe Grimmscarefullyreworkedto
representthe dilemma of a young peasant woman who cannot spin to
save herself. Moreover, as Gonthier-Louis Fink has maintained
(1964:63), the oral traditionhad undergone a crucial change during
the Enlightenmentwith the result that the duping of a prince was
combined withthe mockingof the devil in a tale of wish-fulfillment on
the part of the lower classes. What he, however,forgetsto note is that
the storytellerswere probablyfemalespinnersand thatthe oral tale of
the seventeenthand eighteenthcenturiesunderwenta literarytrans-
formationat the same timethatthe metierof spinningwas undergo-
ing a significanttransformationdue to industrializationthroughout
Great Britainand the European continent.
Clearly,by the time the Grimmshad begun hearing the oral tales
and reading the literaryversions,the nature of spinning,the control
of spinningas a craft,and the attitudetowardspinningbecame crys-
tallized in their final version of "Rumpelstiltskin."If we compare
"Rumpensttinzchen"(1810) with "Rumpelstiltskin"(1857), we shall
see that (whether consciously or unconsciously) the Grimms were
making a social-historicalstatementabout the exploitationof women
as spinnersand the appropriationof the art/craft of spinningby men.
First,let us examine the crucial changes, which the Grimms made
afterrecordingthe oral version.

4. The Grimmsmention it in the thirdvolume of their notes, which theypublished in 1856:

"The French 'Ricdinricdon'in the Tour Tindbreuse by Mlle L'Hdritieralso belongs here, and there
is a Danish versionbased on it" (1856:107). The Grimmsallude to a fewother literaryversionsin
thisnote,indicatingto whatextenttheytook thesenarrativesintoconsiderationwhileformingtheir
finalversion of 1857.

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48 WESTERN FOLKLORE

"Rumpenstiinzchen"
1) Thereis simplya littlemaiden
(withouta father)who spinsflax
intogold.
2) The maiden'spredicament is her
failureto do herjob properly.
3) The maidenwillinglyagreesto
the conditionsset by thesmall
man.
4) The maiden,now a princess,
sendsout a femaleservantto solve
the riddleofRumpenstiinzchen's
name.
fliesawayon
5) Rumpenstiinzchen
a cookingladle.
"Rumpelstiltskin"
A poormillerboaststhathis
daughtercan spinstrawintogold.
The predicament ofthemiller's
daughteris thelie toldbyherfa-
therthatcan make it seem she can
perform an extraordinaryfeat.
The miller'sdaughteris threatened
bytheking.She lateracceptsthe
littleman's bargainunderduress.
The miller'sdaughter,now a
queen,sendsout a male messenger
to solve theriddleofRumpel-
stiltskin'sname.
tearshimselfin
Rumpelstiltskin
two.

Crucial in bothversionsis thepredicament of a peasant girl,who cannot

perform adequately. That is, the plot of the tale depends on the
nature of the spinning,on the inabilityof the girl to do her job as a
spinner according to social expectations. Without this predicament
thereis no tale. No need to tell the tale. And as we all know,tales are
born out of necessityand desire.
We do not know who the source of the "Rumpensttinzchen"ver-
sion was, but it is interestingto note that the tale would appear to
represent a peasant woman's perspective. First of all, it was more
importantto be able to spin flaxintoyarnthanintogold fora spinner.
In fact,yarn was her gold. Her value was measured by her industri-
ousness and yarn,and gold would have been a preposterouslyironical
symbolof her clumsinessand inabilityto learn to spin correctly,i.e.,
the gold that most people would cherish is notvaluable in women's
eyes because spinningis tied to regeneration,narration,and creation.
So, the entiretale is a spoof. This is not to say thata peasant woman
would not wantto turnflaxinto gold, but everypeasant woman knew
thatshe stood a betterand more realisticchance of findinga man and
earning a livelihood by spinningflax into yarn. Therefore, the little
man as proper spinneris importantand knowshis worthas does she.
He does not need to blackmailher. He is more a prophet or miracle-
maker,who makes a straightforward bargain,and when he returnsto
receive the first-born child, he offersanother deal in the formof a

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SPINNING WITH FATE 49

riddle to see if she has perhaps become smarterthan she was before.
She passes this test by sending out a femaleservant,who discovers
Rumpenstiunzchen's name, and the littleman is not killedbut accuses
the devil of betrayinghim. Symbolicallyhe fliesthroughthe window
on a cooking ladle. That is, he is banished by a utensilassociated with
women, who have united to defeat him.
In a reading of thistale thatmakes spinningthe centraltheme,we
can see thatthe narrativeconcerns a young woman who advances in
societythrough spinning. The littleman could be interpretedas a
masterspinner,who wants to receive his paymentafterteachingher
the value of spinning. Symbolicallyhe is the miraculous agent who
setsthingsrightforher by doing whatmustbe properlydone, namely
spinning flax into yarn. By the time he demands payment,she is
capable of rectifying her mistake.The bargain was an unfairone. She
was exploited at a timewhen she was naive and clumsy.Withthe help
of anotherwoman, she names her exploiter,who is carried away on a
female utensil.
The Grimmsaltered the "Rumpensttinzchen"versionin a manner
thatunderminesthe value of spinningand the autonomyof the spin-
ner. In theirliterarynarrative,itis apparent thattheywere concerned
to provide clearer motivation,better transition,and a fluid,logical
plot. Here the miller'sdaughteris totallyat the mercyof men. In fact,
her whole life is framed by men: her fatherthe boaster, a king the
oppressor,Rumpelstiltskin the blackmailer,and a messengerthe sav-
ior. The only thingshe appears capable of doing is givingbirthto a
baby. Even spinningis not taken seriously,for it is esteemed only if
the miller'sdaughter can spin strawinto gold. This is not a valid test
of a young woman withinan initiationprocess determinedby other
spinners,because the Grimmsdid not reallygrasp the value of spin-
ning for women. For the Grimms,the good woman was the woman
who knew her place, and theirtale concerns a woman, who is put in
her place and given her place by men. It is a tale of domesticationin
which the art of spinningflax into yarn becomes irrelevant.Clearly,
the Grimms' literaryversion of "Rumpelstiltskin"makes the male
presence in the tale crucial fordeterminingthe predicamentand fate
of the miller'sdaughter,whereas the maiden decided her own fatein
conflictwithmen in "Rumpenstiinzchen."As a result,it is possible to
argue that the two tales represent a female and male perspective
about women and spinning at the beginningof the nineteenthcen-
tury.

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50 WESTERN FOLKLORE

However, thereis a similaritybetweenthe twoversionsthatshould

be taken into account before we consider the connectionof the tales
to the metierof spinningin Europe. Unlike the Grimms'tale, "The
Three Spinners," these two versions place spinning in the hands of
men.Whetherit is spinningflaxintoyarnor strawinto gold, the artof
spinninghas been appropriated by men, and it does not matterwhat
theyare called. They are, bluntlyspeaking,the men who controlthe
means of production,and women are beholden to them. In fact,I
would argue thatcontrolover spinningand the value of spinningare
the key themes of the "Rumpelstiltskin"type tales, which have been
erroneouslycategorized under the label "The Name of the Helper."
A few words about the social historyof spinning and attitudes
toward spinningare necessaryhere. In her provocativestudyabout
women and spinning,WiedenFrauenderFaden aus derHand genommen
wurde: Die Spindel der Notwendigkeit, Gerburg Treusch-Dieter has
maintained, "it is a historicalfact that the spindle remained in the
hands of women until the inventionof the spinning machine. Spin-
ning can be considered as the paradigmof female productivity"
(1983:12).5 Treusch-Dieterstudiesthe evolutionof spinningas a craft
and analyzes artifacts,symbols,and documentsfroma period several
centuriesbeforethe birthof Christto the nineteenthcenturyto dem-
onstratehow spinningas an art formwas an inventionof woman and
a manifestationof femaleproductivity.6 When a woman spun, she not
onlyhad the threadin her hand, but also the wool or flaxout of which
it originated.In otherwords,she held the distaffin the leftand spun
the yarnwiththe right.In Greek mythology, the spindle was an image
of the cosmos that contained the Platonic spindle of necessityin it.
The fates of the souls about to be reborn are brought about by the
spindle and prepared by it. As a parthenogeneticmachine,the spin-
dle does not give the soul its existence but it prepares the soul for
being. It resides in a middle realm before birth and after death.
Withoutthe spindle as the embodimentof female productivity, there
is no existence; it/shecreates the basic conditions for all being. As
Treusch-Dieter points out, if we examine the way the spindle of
necessityfunctions,we can see how it has served to determinebasic
aspects of female productivity:

5. The studyincludesa contributionbythe sociologistWernerSiebel. In Englishtranslation,the

titleannounces the thesisof Treusch-Dieter'sbook: "How the Thread Was Taken Out of the Hands
of Women: The Spindle of Necessity."
6. This point is also stressedin importantbooks by Baines (1977) and Weigle (1982).

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SPINNING WITH FATE 51

Continualrotation, meredoing.Whateveris produceddisappearsbe-

foreit assumesexistence.At thesame timeit originates as something
newagain.
The levelofan objectivization in timeis notreached.The activity of
thespindledoes nothavea historical relevance.It is thecontinualnow
withouta present.Air.
The activity of thespindleis a purenaturalphenomenon. Without
the assistanceof the personoccupiedin it,on it,and on top of it,it
movesitselfbyitself,bringitselfout of itself.Seemingly. [1983:19]

Treusch-Dieterargues that,as the primarysymbolof female pro-

ductivity, the spindle was mythicizedand mystified because it was that
which was not supposed to be true. In other words, female produc-
tivitywas not to be recognized. Therefore, it appeared only in an
unreal form."A circle made out of fireand water surrounds Plato's
spindle. Lethe, the waterof forgetting.It is thatwhichis forbiddento
be looked upon and known. Since its place is nowhere,it is just as if
it is excluded fromreality"(1983:19).
The spindle as mythand mysterious,the mysteriousmyth,was
transformedinto such a symbol,according to Treusch-Dieter, be-
cause society,if not civilization,was very much dependent on spin-
ning as female productivity. Spinning was not only the basic mode of
productionin the house, the court and temple,but also provided one
of the firstproductsforthe ancientmarketsof commodityexchange.

That meantforwomen,thatthe demandfora surplusproductwas

placedon themin theearliestphasein thedevelopment ofcivilization.
That whichis madeoutof yarnand threadis easyand long-lasting. It
is as ifitwerecreatedjust forcommodity exchange.Sincetheproduc-
tionof therawmaterialforspinningwasa humanmatterand occupa-
tion,therewereno limitsseton it,whether itwasin theformofraising
sheep or plantingflax.The resultwas thatthisrawmaterial,thetow
(woolor flax)becametheembodiment of thenaturalwealth,theabso-
lute symbolof the 'materialof life.'And it becamethe inexhaustible
sourceof workforwomen.[Treusch-Dieter 1983:20-21]

From the early formationof grazingsocietiesup to the nineteenth

century,women participatedin almostall theworkthatconcerned the
spinning. They took care of the animals and helped plant the flax;
they cleaned and prepared the wool and roasted, broke, and
hatcheled the flax.They did practicallyall the spinning.That is, spin-
ning became the privilege of women, and it was considered their
domain also because it allowed for theirdomestication.

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52 WESTERN FOLKLORE

This domesticationwas importantbecause it enabled men to profit

fromthe surplus productionof women thatled to primitiveaccumu-
lation and also enabled men to deny their dependence on women's
productivityby moving it out of theirsight,inside, in the home. On
the other hand, thisdomesticationenabled women to separate them-
selvesfrommen, to draw a line,and to maintainpower over theirown
productivity,viewed as a parthenogeneticsymbol.The spindle was
associated with the womb, a woman's ultimate power of creativity,
her autonomy.The woman as spinnerwas the providerof the thread
of life,the producer of clothes that was one of the earliestmarks of
civilizationdistinguishinghumans fromanimals,and the producer of
surplus profit.
Spinning as productivityalso furnishedthe basis for all sorts of
cultural activities.By the late European Middle Ages, spinningwas
common in all the households of each social strata,the peasantry,the
bourgeoisie, and the aristocracy.7The production of thread, yarn,
and cloth for garmentswas considered so importantthat,by the sev-
enteenth century,numerous courts had begun a primitivefactory
systemby housing spinnersat the courtto maintainthe productionof
clothes. Spinning rooms could be found in peasant houses and also
middle-classhouses, and theywere both a work and social place for
women, children,and men. This is especiallytrue for the peasantry,
whichwas the largestclass to maintainspinningas femaleproductivity
up through the nineteenth century. For the most part, peasant
women would work in spinning rooms or a room that housed the
spindle from morning until evening, and the men and young boys
would join them in the evening,where there mightbe some singing,
games, dancing,eating,and storytelling. In fact,in some instancesthe
socializingbecame too much so thatyoung men were prohibitedfrom
frequentingthe spinning rooms at certain times because they dis-
tracted the younger women.8 Obviously,conditionsvaried from re-

7. Commenting on spinning in households of sixteenth-century Lyon, Natalie Zemon Davis

remarks, "what we seem to have here is a domesticwork culture,hidden fromthe streets,eliciting
comment not from citycouncils, but from storytellers.It drew on certain general features of a
woman's life,as adaptable to spinningas to any othersettingwhere women were workingtogether,
in contrastto 'ancientcustoms,'connectedwiththetechnologyof a particularcraft,whichone might
findin a shop dominated by men. The domesticwork culture provided a kind of verticalidentity
betweenmistressand femaleworker,whichcould sometimesbe used by the formerto hurryalong
the workprocess and sometimesbythe latterto slow itdown. It was available to any woman-at least
to any Catholic woman--who wanted to impose a rhythmon her life" (1982:62).
8. See Rumpf (1985:65).

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SPINNING WITH FATE 53

gion to region in Europe, but there is a great deal of evidence to

demonstratethat the spinning rooms were typesof cultural centers
up to the beginning of the nineteenthcenturyand that tales were
exchanged by the women and also men to pass the time of day.
What were these tales? To be more precise,whatwere the kindsof
tales that concerned spinners and spinning? Marianne Rumpf has
distinguishedseveral differenttypes,which are all related. Since in-
dustriousnessin preparingthe flaxand wool for spinningalong with
spinningitselfwas considered a keyqualityof peasant women, espe-
cially young women of marriageable age, numerous stories focused
on how a young woman proved her mettlethroughdiligentspinning
to gain a husband or rise in society.The major theme involved the
initiationof a young woman as spinner and wish-fulfillment: a good
marriage earned through spinning and hard work. This theme was
varied in differentways. Some tales were humorous anecdotes
(Schwdnke) thatpoked fun at young women who were clumsyat spin-
ning or did not know how to spin and needed the help of older
women or a miracle to show theywere good spinners. Indeed, if a
young woman was not a good spinner,her parentswould be ashamed
of her and would lie to their neighbors or boast, pretending their
daughter was the best of all spinners.Such lyingand boastingserved
as the basis for the plot of numerous other tales, and the young
woman,trapped by a preposterouslie or boast,had to findmiraculous
help to prove that she was as good a spinner as was claimed. Often
tales about spinnerscombined motifsfromother storiessuch as the
duping of the devil or a member of the upper class. Here again
wish-fulfillment played a role: the youngwoman overcomesadversity,
outsmartsthe devil, and passes herselfoffas a miraculousspinnerso
that she can rise in society and marry a king or prince. Another
element added to spinningstoriesconcerns guessing games, puzzles,
and riddles. These activitieshelped pass the time in spinningrooms,
and numerous tales made use of guessingand solvingriddlesto build
suspense in a tale. More than anything,however,the riddle was gen-
erallya narrativedevice and was not intended to become the central
focus of the tale. As Marianne Rumpf states:
There is plentyof evidencein thosetaleswitha spinning-helper that
theywereoriginally riddletaleswhichmusthavealso emanatedfroma
spinning milieu.
What is striking
is thatin all thevariantsthenameto
be guessedis differenteach time.They are nevertheusual namesof

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54 WESTERN FOLKLORE

people rathera teasingname,pet name,or nicknamelike Zistelim

Kdrbel, Kugerl,
Purzinigele, Hahnenkickerle,
Waldkiigele, Winterk6lbl,
Spring-
hunderl, Friemel
Ziligackerl,
Kruzimugeli, Hoppentinchen
Frumpenstiel, and
manyothers.[1985:70]
In other words, the name is irrelevant,and the guessing game is
mainlyimportantbecause it provides suspense in the narrativestruc-
ture of the tale. The major theme frombeginningto end, however,is
spinningas a creativeand productiveact, importantforthe woman to
control,for spinning will decide her fate. Even in those humorous
tales in which the young woman dreams of never having to spin
anymore,she knows that it is throughspinningthat she must prove
her worth: to spin is to create, to produce the threads that will hold
society together. It is through spinning that a young woman was
initiatedinto society. In fact the spindle and spinning formed the
focal point of the European peasant familyduring the Middle Ages
up to the nineteenthcentury,when thismode of female productivity
was ultimatelyeroded and denigrated.
Actually,this process of erosion began earlier. With the invention
of the spinningmachine in 1764 byJames Hargreaves, spinningwas
graduallytakenout of the hands of women and takenover by men. As
Treutsch-Dieterremarks,

itis certainthatthespinningmachinereplacedthespinner.In viewof

the fundamental meaningof femaleproductivity in the formrepre-
sentedbythespinner,one can concludethatthethousand-year-long,
unmediated independenceof thewomanas womband spindle,under-
stoodas a barrierprotectingherproduction,collapsedforever.
Along
withthiscollapse,the last barrierprotecting
the exploitation
of the
cosmosfellso thatitwasnowrawmaterial, without
totally taboos,atthe
disposalofanyone.Machinery tooktheplaceofthedirectly generating
and engendering woman, and fromnowon it tookcare of providing
the basicsof society.The paradigmaticmeaningof the 'Jenny'(the
name of the firstspinningmachine),fromwhose parthenogenetic
wombthe greatindustry emanated,even if it was drivenby steam,
allowsone to makesucha generalization.[1983:35]

Major changes occurred during the latterpart of the eighteenth

centuryand throughoutthe nineteenthcentury.Instead of women,
men attended and took care of the spinning machines. These ma-
chines were taken out of the house, and small factorieswere estab-
lished. Although women continued to work in these factories,they
gradually gave way to men, and in those cases where women re-

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SPINNING WITH FATE 55

mained on thejob, the managementwas predominantlyin the hands

of men. The surplus productsand profitsthatwomen supplied were
taken over by the owners of the machines and factories.To be sure,
spinningcontinued throughoutthe nineteenthcentury,but the role
of the woman as spinner had become degraded. In fact, Patricia
Baines demonstratesin SpinningWheels,Spinners& Spinning,spinning
as a craftwas practicallydestroyedforall intentsand purposes during
the nineteenthcentury,and thisdestructionstronglyaffectedwomen
of the peasantryand workingclasses. It is not by chance thatthere is
a change in the Western social attitudetoward spinningby women
and that it is marked by a shiftin the meaning of the word spinster.
The OxfordUniversalDictionary states that spinsterwas "appended to
names of women, orig. to denote theiroccupation, but subsequently
as the proper legal designation of one unmarried" (1944:1971) in
Middle English. By 1719, a spinsterwas synonymouswithold maid.
In French the termforspinsteris vieillefille. There is a connectionto
filerorfilare:to spin. In German,einealteSpinneis an uglyold woman.
To spin is spinnen,and spinnencan also mean to babble in a crazyway.
These changes in social attitudestoward spinning and the actual
changes in spinning production are importantto grasp if we are
also to comprehend the central theme of "Rumpelstiltskin"and the
otherspinningtales in the Grimms'Kinder-und Hausmiirchen. The very
firstliteraryform of "Rumpelstiltskin,"Mlle L'H6ritier's "Ricdin-
Ricdon,"9demonstratesthatspinningwas cherishedbythe aristocracy
at the end of the seventeenthand beginningof the eighteenthcen-
tury.The queen is most eager to employ Rosanie as a spinner and
cherishes all the articlesthat Rosanie magicallyproduces. We know
that numerous French courts had constructedspinning rooms for
women to produce much-neededcloth,and therewas a greatdemand
for giftedspinners at the time that Mlle L'H6ritier wrote her tale.
Interestingly,her model spinner, Rosanie, takes possession of the
devil's magic wand (i.e., phallus) to create an image thatsatisfiesifnot
exceeds society'sexpectations.She does notspin strawinto gold, but
ratherflaxintoyarnand thread. Nor does she marrya princeon false
pretenses.She exposes herselfand attainsher place at court because
of her "natural" virtues.Of course, it does turn out that she was of
noble birth,but thisdiscoveryonlyreinforcesthe notion thatthereis

9. In fact,this tale is the earliest document that we have of the "Rumpelstiltskin"plot as pro-
duced by the Grimms,indicatingthatthe originsof thistale typemay be found in literatureand in
the high regard that upper-class French women had toward spinning.

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56 WESTERN FOLKLORE

a "natural" hierarchyand proper manner of behavior that is best

exemplifiedby the aristocracy.In the case of Rosanie, spinningbrings
out her qualities of diligence,loyaltyand especiallyhonesty,for she
admitsthather spinningis dependent on the miraculousintervention
of supernaturalpowers. She spins her story,and her fateis entwined
withher aristocraticoriginsand courageous effortsto improviseand
to overcome deceit according to the norms of the French civilizing
process and the values establishedby French aristocraticwomen,who
wanted to proclaimtheirpreciosity.Throughout the entiretale, spin-
ning and femalecreativity remainthe centralconcernand are upheld
as societal values that need support, especially male support. This
theme was reproduced and changed in oral and other literaryver-
sions of thistale during the eighteenthcentury,and by the time that
the Grimmsbegan recordingtheir spinningtales, there was a more
ambivalentattitudetoward spinning. Given the long period (1808-
1857) during which "Rumpelstiltskin"and the Grimms'other spin-
ning tales were collected, published, and revised, they provide an
unusual composite pictureof spinningand attitudestoward women
and spinning during a key transitionalperiod in the production of
thread and yarn.
If we returnto "Rumpelstiltskin" now, we can see more clearlythat
the tale is not only about the persecutionof a young woman, but it is
also about the appropriation of her means of production through
which she would normallyestablishher qualityand win a man. The
miller'sdaughter cannot spin strawinto gold, and there is not even
any mentionthat she can spin. She must depend on a man who has
miraculouspowers of spinning(almost like a machine), and her only
qualitylies in her capacityto reproduce the species. She is reduced to
reproduction and placed at the mercy of men. This image of the
youngspinner'sfatedoes not stemfromthe misogynouspredilections
of the Grimms.Ratheritis an interestingreflection,as I read it,of the
change in the situationof women as spinnersin the nineteenthcen-
tury.
If we consider some of the other spinning tales that the Grimms
revised and included in theircollection,we can see thattheycontain
divergentviewsthatreflectthe high value placed on spinningbut also
show thatchanges in social attitudeswere under way.1' For instance,

10. "In termsof plot foursub-groupscan be distinguishedamong the spinningtales. In the first,
spinningitselfis the subject of the tale. In the second, spinning functionsas an indicatorof the
characteror characteristicsof the femaleprotagonist;whilein the thirdgroup, spinningas an action

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SPINNING WITH FATE 57

in such tales as "Mother Holle," "The Spindle, Shuttle,and Needle,"

and "The Hurds," the emphasis is placed on the industriousnessand
diligence of the young woman as spinner,who wins a prince for her
bride. This is not the case in "The Lazy Spinner" and "The Three
Spinners,"in whichwomen use cunningto avoid spinning.Here spin-
ning is denigratedeitheras exhaustingworkor workthatcan lead to
disfigurement.Though it may lead to marriage,spinning is not re-
garded with much esteem, reflectingthe change in social attitudes
towardthe metier.It is especiallyinterestingto note that"The Three
Spinners," which is clearly based on Mlle L'H6ritier's literarytale
"Ricdin-Ricdon,"reversesthe initiationprocess of the young woman.
Mlle L'H6ritier'stale holds spinningin high regard and as the means
through which Rosanie can prove herself and become a valuable
member of society. The young woman in "The Three Spinners"
never learns how to spin and accepts the help of the three spinners
only so that she will never have to spin in her life, indicatinghow
spinningwould be regarded in Europe toward the end of the nine-
teenthcentury.
In conclusion,the change in technologyand social conventionsthat
brought about mixed social attitudestoward spinningled folklorists
and other criticsin the twentiethcenturyto neglectthe centralissue
of femaleproductivity and persecutionin "Rumpelstiltskin." Afterall,
spinning in the home rarelytakes place, and if it does, the woman
generallydoes it as a hobby. It is unnecessarywork,just as weaving is
generallyconsidered unnecessarywoman's work,oftendismissedor
elevated as arts and crafts.Whateverthe case may be, the issue con-
cerning the neglect of female productivityin "Rumpelstiltskin"has
ramificationsforthe waywe analyze and interpretfolkand fairytales.
A few questions come to mind. Why aren't the tale-typecategories
establishedbyAarne-Thompson re-evaluatedand questioned by folk-
lorists(Lundell:1986)? Put another way: wouldn't it be more useful
to conceive social-historicalcategories for explaining why certain
types of tales originated?Why is it that most of the psychoanalytic
interpretationsof "Rumpelstiltskin" are phallo-centric?Whydoes the
male in the tale receive most of the attention,when the basic plot

serves only to advance the plot. In the last group, spinning symbolizesthe female sex and/or
onerous tasks,"Bottigheimer(1982:146). Bottigheimerargues thatthe submergedfemalevoicesof
the tales indicate that women detested spinning. However, her argument overlooks the fact that
women historicallycherishedspinningand thatattitudestoward spinningunderwentmajor shifts
on the part of both men and women.

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58 WESTERN FOLKLORE

concernsfemaleproductivity? Clearly,numerous tale typesare either

gender-specificor occupational-specificand emanate out of changing
attitudestoward work and societal norms. Whether oral or literary,
tales are often strategiesdeveloped by tellersand writersto convey
their opinions and wishes withregard to value placed on certainoc-
cupations and particularformsof initiation.Refocusingour attention
on substantivecategories instead of formal attributesenables us to
situatetales in theirsocial-historicalcontextand to grasp the dialogic
role theyplayin constituting the civilizingprocess outlinedin Norbert
Elias's works.Coincidentally,Mlle L'H6ritier's"Ricdin-Ricdon"made
its appearance at the dawn of modern westerncivilizationand repre-
sented spinning and female productivityas values that were impor-
tant to the maintenanceof civilization.By the beginningof the nine-
teenth century,these values were in danger of being extinguished.
The thread was taken out of the hands of women, and theywere no
longer able to spin withfate."Rumpelstiltskin" marked the end of an
importantaspect of female productivityand a major shiftin the civi-
lizing process for women thatbroughtabout greaterdependence on
men. In this regard, the problems raised by "Rumpelstiltskin"and
obfuscatedlargelyby male scholarsnow provide a significantkey for
grasping many of the major conflictsin the work place and in aca-
demia, and feministstoday are appropriatelypickingup the thread
that the miller'sdaughter was obliged to let fall.

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