One of my favorite stories from childhood would have been Rapunzel.  I’ve always been a fan of long hair.  And I think the idea of escaping is another thing that I am sure attracted me to the story.

In my parents’ religion, it was considered sinful for a woman to cut her hair.  My mother was constantly cutting her own hair.  She would wear it up for a while to hide the fact from my father.

When I was in third grade my sister, who was ten years older than me, took me to a hair salon and had my hair cut very short.  I remember my father threw a tantrum over it.  My sister’s theory was that my hair was baby fine and if it was cut it would get thicker.  It must have worked because I have plenty hair on my head and other parts of my body as well.

Thinking about Rapunzel, I had to go on line and re-read the story.  I wondered as a child how the witch got Rapunzel up into the tower.  I envision this old hag carrying a little baby by its long hair up into the tower.  And also, if she didn’t want anyone to find the child, why didn’t she silence her, so she couldn’t sing and draw the prince to her?

The first dream I ever remember as a child was where I was locked in a castle room.  I was lying on a stone bed and was crying.  The door to the room was opening and I just knew whatever came through meant danger.  I wonder if the reading of the Rapunzel story triggered this nightmare of mine?

There were many stories relative to the Rapunzel story.  It was fascinating.  One was even considered “bawdy”.

I read that Rapunzel’s name came from rampion, which is a name given to several plants, one of which is campanula.  I thought campanula was bell flowers but it seems that it was formerly grown as a green for salad.  This is what Rapunzel’s mother craved while pregnant with Rapunzel, and which got her into trouble with the witch that owned the garden that her husband was stealing from.

There is also a Rapunzel syndrome where the person eats their own hair and gets an intestinal malfunction.   How disgusting is that?

I also wondered about how Rapunzel gave away that she was having a prince visit her.  One story tells that she complained that her dress was getting too tight, indicating that she was pregnant.   Suggesting that she and the prince have been doing more than talking.  This is in a children’s story?   Another version, Rapunzel asks the witch why it is easier pulling the prince up than her.  Suggesting that the witch is overweight.  I have to believe this is the story my mother read to me not the one about the unmarried pregnant woman.  I just know I would have had questions.

I think, all in all, the story just fascinated me.  I even played a game as a child and tied a long towel around my head and pretended that I was Rapunzel with long lovely hair.

I had to cut my hair when I was a senior in high school because the school felt the cheerleaders looked better with shorter hair.  I will never forgive them for that, but in a couple of years, I had my long hair back.  Now when I have my hair cut, I get it cut as short as possible.

Peace be with you.