Rumpelstilskin, a tale as old as time, has taught generations typical messages we all receive at a young age as this fairy tale strives to insure that our morals are noble. Each character within this tale has a lesson to be learned. The first character introduced is the miller, a father whom lies in order to appear important in front of the, thus putting his daughter in jeopardy for his personal gain. Engrossed by the miller’s lie and future wealth the king insists that the miller’s daughter spin straw into gold in a matter of one night or be killed. In order to achieve safety she promises a manikin her necklace if he spins the straw into gold, in which he does. The greed of the king increases and the manikin is offered more materialistic items until she has nothing else to offer but her unborn child.

Once the child is born the manikin returns to claim it, the miller’s daughter becomes distort and bags for her child. He then offers her the chance to remain the guardian of her child if she can guess his name. This creates the idea that in life we all obtain second chances when in reality this is false, second chances are not easily obtained nor always obtainable. The choices made are the choices lived with. Although the manikin seems like a trustworthy person as the tale tells on, it is discovered that he takes advantage of the daughter’s desperation, playing it to his benefit. This indirectly shapes the idea that the female population is easily manipulated in society as well as dependent on the male population. That being female means that challenges and struggles must be settled by a male. This is proven when the daughter becomes dependent on the manikin and then dependent on the messenger of the kingdom in order to determine the manikin’s name. Yet again a male becomes heroic saving the girl in her time of need.

The hierarchy within this tale clearly states the differences between the upper and lower class as well as the contrast of the male and female power. Due to the era it was written in, this rang true but in modern times this no longer deemed as true. Woman has excelled with modern society becoming independent citizens. Although there still remains class structures the separation between has significantly decreased. In stead of King rulers we now have governments, in which the people of any class can express themselves, even women.