Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin

Spinning wheels serve as a motif for the theme of Fighting Fate. The spinning wheel is an essential component of the traditional Rumpelstiltskin tale, and the device takes on added layers of meaning in Shurtliff’s reinterpretation. The spinning wheel that belonged to Rump’s mother, Anna, is especially significant. Oswald the merchant, who later becomes the Village’s miller, gives her the spinning wheel years before the start of the novel. This backhanded gift signifies his control over her and his intention to force her to spin gold for him for the rest of her days. Although Anna manages to flee to the Village, she brings the spinning wheel with her, indicating that she is unable to escape her fate. Indeed, the curse so weakens her that she dies immediately after giving birth to Rump, unable to even tell Gran her son’s full name.

Gran tries to protect Rump from the fate that claimed his mother by hiding Anna’s spinning wheel behind the woodpile. Despite her efforts, Rump finds the wheel and spins straw into gold. His discovery sets the novel’s rising action into motion and suggests that his fate is inevitable. Throughout the novel, Rump believes that his destiny is tied to the spinning wheel and his magical ability to spin straw into gold. Initially, he believes that the spinning will bring him good luck and a life of plenty. After spinning his entire straw mattress into gold, he exalts, “This was my destiny, to be rich and fat and happy!” (39). However, Oswald the miller soon plunges Rump and Gran into starvation and misery to ensure that all the magical riches come to him. Months later, Rump goes to the castle with a heroic vision of saving Opal, but he realizes that he has simply traded one avaricious man for another: “This was my destiny—to spin gold at the whims of a greedy king for the rest of my life” (111). Rump attempts to regain control of his life by swearing off spinning, but trying to run from his fate is not the answer.

When the curse forces Rump to return to the castle, he is once again filled with dread that his destiny is nothing but the drudgery of laboring for a greedy man’s gain. The miller binds him to a spinning wheel to reinforce this idea. With some help from his friends, Rump realizes that there is more to his destiny and to his magic than a life of toil and exploitation. He asserts his control over his destiny by declaring that his bargain with the miller is invalid, thus preventing the avaricious antagonist from claiming the fruits of his spinning. In the story’s resolution, Rump returns to Gran’s cottage. Looking at his mother’s spinning wheel, Rump reflects, “It had caused so much trouble, but it was still beautiful to me, because it was hers. Because now I knew the destiny she had wished for me” (256). The spinning wheel is still bound to his destiny, but now he knows his true name and his full identity: He is not merely someone who is cursed; he possesses the power to set himself free. Rump proves that the curse is broken by spinning straw on his mother’s wheel without turning it into gold. This action confirms Rump’s triumph over fate and brings the novel full circle. Spinning wheels develop the theme of fighting fate, play a vital role in the plot, and make significant contributions to the protagonist’s character development.