Jeffrey Marlin

Rapunzel and the Imp Jeffrey Marlin

We all know Rapunzel hated that tower. But 1. How did she fall into the hands of the love-starved witch who imprisoned her there? And 2. Why was it considered necessary? Exhaustive research lays it all out: First, the wrinkled Imp of Obsession turned saintly young Flora into a dangerous, not to say licentious, predator. Decades later, he drove the aging witch to claim a neighbor's infant whom she raised as her own. Obsessed with Rapunzel's purity, Flora hid the child in a tower, then exiled her to servitude in the poorest of faraway towns. This did not stop a handsome, directionally challenged Prince from galloping to Rapunzel's rescue as often as needed. Key themes include: unseen beings, mother-daughter conflict, symbolic implications of virginity, fear of the afterlife, and natural pharmacology. The Devil is clearly discernable in the details.