Naturally, given the task of explaining how displacement works in the Rapunzel myth, I have chosen to outline a few key points in a blog post, both to demonstrate the utility of the blog, as well as to help me remember all of the things I wanted to point out to you all. I have taken the liberties of being rather selective with the William Irwin Thompson chapter "Cosmology Lost" and of adding a few things of my own that demonstrate classical mythological elements, likely to be present throughout many of our readings.

So, without further introduction, here are a few notable things:

1) Rapunzel is a plant. How cool is that?! Not only does the plant share a name with the main character, it also lends a few more elements to the myth, such as the tower, the split sexuality, and the idea of "one becoming two." 

2) "One theme of the story is the achievement of a stable couple." 

ex. 1- mother/"brother" - matriarchal

ex. 2- crone/maiden      - matriarchal 

ex. 3- maiden/man        -attempted intervention of the patriarchy

ex. 4- crone/man          - interruption of that intervention

ex. 5- maiden/man        - the patriarchy succeeds

     

The other major theme being the history of sexuality (i.e. reproduction vs. replication)

3) We see that the Crone is immediately associated with plants (i.e. her garden), just as Demeter is associated both with plants, and with a short stint as the crone in the Persephone myth. But this is not necessarily a Persephone myth, just a reflection of the idea of conflicting interests surrounding the maiden.

4) The Persephone myth seems to contradict the idea that the stable couple must involve a male, insinuating in fact that the seperation of mother and maiden is death in itself. In Rapunzel it is initially women who prompt the abducting, and men who do the recovering.

5) Descent is associated here with the Sorceress, not with death. The Woman being a symbol of life is somehow unable to inflict the harshest of consequences, and must therefore "remove life" vicariously through the re-abduction of "Rapunzel"

6) The story is largely regressive, moving forward only when the man is above his instincts, and the woman is twice fertile (not childless like the Crone, or a repetition of the mother). 

7) The young prince enters through a window he is not supposed to be in. The result is an attempted bed-trick to upset the sexual dynamic of the story, which occurs when the Sorceress pulls up the young prince using Rapunzel's hair.

8) Later this deeply mythological sense of plants is replaced by a more literary/metaphorical significance. The Cedars and "incense-bearing tree[s]" of Kubla Khan allude certainly to the Bible, symbolizing wisdom, or godliness, if not perhaps to the Myrrh tree, symbol of unrequited love/something a little darker. Still, these are only symbolic of previous myths, not derivative. Likewise Connie in Joyce Carrol-Oates' short story has no association with flowers at all, rather, she and her mother almost bond over coffee.

9) these pools may very well all be fed from the same artesian spring, even if the water color differs. A damsel with her dulcimer, an Abssynian maid, from the cradle of life may be singing songs we all know, but can't remember. But if only we could!

10) feel free to make your own comments on plants, myths, astronomy, or any elements of the sadly neglected cosmology.