#would love to talk more about Our Little World and Baker + MM in context of this but im a bit eepy tbh

[strawberryghostlight]

hey!! i just looked through like your whole into the woods tag because im going crazy rn but i was curious if you knew or had any thoughts about why rapunzel’s melody stayed the same or the symbolism behind it? specifically during the different parts where everyone else’s kind of phrase changes (the slotted spoon holds no soup -> the slotted spoon can catch the potato). like, why doesn’t she have a phrase at all? only singing?

First of all omg thank you so much for talking to me about Into the Woods!! The obsession is realll

I think Rapunzel embodies an interesting space where her story doesn't give her room to change. She doesn't have an "I wish" or "I've learned something" moment the way the main cast does, though she is undoubtedly the main character of her own fairytale to the same extent that Red, Cinderella and Jack are. The main difference seems to be her lack of agency- She doesn't venture into the woods, but instead was brought there as a baby and now lives there. She doesn't seek out a prince, but instead is found by one who takes advantage of her position. Things happen to her, but she doesn't do much on her own. Her story not having a lesson (or rather, having a lesson for Mysterious Man and Baker) sort of positions her as this pawn at the whims of surrounding characters, and I think her wordless tune in the Act 1 midnights staying the same reflects that. She is unchanging and unmoving in her tower while the woods play out around her.

In Act 2, though, I'd argue that she does change. Instead of hearing her lovely rendition of the Bean Theme streaming in from offstage during other scenes, we hear her cries and screams. Once removed from her tower and brought to the castle she experiences the same mobility and freedom as the other characters, and from that vantage point she sees a) how messed up her life has been and b) how dreaful the outside world can be as well. We see that the prince is a manipulative cheating scumbag, and Rapunzel is taking care of twins now as well. I think once leaving the tower she's more trapped than ever, hence why she runs from her prince in a direct parallel to Cinderella fleeing her prince in Act 1. I really like the original version of the script where Rapunzel's prince shows up in Act 2 scene 2 during the big conversation with the Giant, and so when she runs into the Giant's path it's because she was cornered- her prince on one side and the Witch on the other, leaving Rapunzel no choice but to flee both (unfortunately leading to her demise). Later versions omit him from the scene so she's only running from the Witch, which also works but is easier to misread imo. Her next appearance is repeating the Bean Theme once again in the finale, bringing her back to where she began- not that different from Jack still being mothered, Red still being overlooked, and Cinderella still cleaning someone's house. The Baker begins the story again, and Rapunzel becomes a stagnant character once more.