It's been many moons since my last post on this subject, which you can read here (which you might need to before proceeding onwards, because I might be referencing back to it a lot). I mentioned there that I could easily go on. Well, here we are. I wasn't joking.
Rumplestiltskin from the TV show, Once Upon a Time. Why do I insist on continuing to analyze and write about him, you wonder? Well, I find him an absolutely fascinating character. He's my favorite, as I mentioned in my previous post. I'm learning more about him and his motives as the show progresses, but he still continues to intrigue me. He's not a very straightforward character like most of the other characters in the show. This time as I write, I will not be worried about spoilers, so beware if you have not watched the show up to the latest episode. (I have recently rewatched all the episodes from the pilot to the most recent one with my mom and have had a chance to look at things more closely and to notice things I didn't notice the first time around, thus sparking another reason why I've decided to write this post.)
I covered most of my thoughts in my last post, about how he is certainly not a good guy, but I don't think he's necessarily a bad guy either.
I'm going to do my best to summarize his story so far. I see him as a Faustian figure. He was once a widower wool merchant with one son who would be taken away from him when he turned 14 to fight in the pointless Ogre Wars. Rumplestiltskin once ran from the wars himself and was abandoned by his wife and shunned by everyone else because of his cowardice. Shortly before his son's 14th birthday, an old beggar tipped him off
of how he could gain power over those who would come to take his son. He would have to break into the Duke's castle and steal a dagger that had "The Dark One"'s name inscribed into it. The dagger was the reason why the Duke could control the Dark One's great powers and use it to get people to fight in the wars. If Rumplestiltskin stole the dagger, he would control the Dark One's powers. If he killed the Dark One, then he would take the power for himself.
Rumplestiltskin used his wits and managed to obtain the dagger. Rumplestiltskin summoned the Dark One and declared himself his master. The Dark One was not impressed and wondered aloud what the timid little man would have him do. Rumplestiltskin's answer was "Die!"and he killed him. The Dark One revealed himself to be the beggar from before. He laughed and told Rumplestiltskin that "All magic comes with a price". The magic transferred into Rumplestiltskin, changing his appearance and he became the new Dark One. His name then became inscribed on the dagger. He returned home and used his power to save his son from the Duke's men, declaring that he was not scared of anything. But his son was afraid, seeing that the man in front of him was no longer his father. (We have yet to find out what became of the son after that. There's supposed to be an episode about it in the very near future.)
After this, Rumplestiltskin's story came in chunks. He lived on a large estate somewhere, like a castle. He began using his great power by making deals with people that they thought were to their advantage. Examples of his actions include playing the role of Cinderella's fairy godmother after killing the real one, arranging for the secret adoption of Prince Charming and his twin brother by the king, and giving the evil queen the curse that sent everyone to the real world. At some point, he took a young woman, Belle, as payment for one of his deals, to be caretaker for his estate. In a very Beauty and the Beast fashion, he fell in love with her, though not so obviously until she was gone. He is considered the "most dangerous being in all the realm". Eventually he was trapped by Cinderella when she had him sign a contract with an enchanted quill. He was then put into a special cell built especially for him in the dwarf mines where he remained until the evil queen's curse was enacted, then he became a wealthy pawnshop owner in Storybrooke, Maine, named Mr. Gold.
Mr. Gold, although no longer magical, still possesses a great deal of power and influence over the residents of Storybrooke. From real estate to politics to the personal lives of the town’s residents, his knowledge and involvement is infinite. In fact, he’s got his hands in so many things happening in the town it’s almost scary. According to Granny he “owns” the town. Also, most of the citizens seem to be more intimidated by him than the mayor, Regina (the evil queen). He continues to make shady deals with people who are willing to pay the price, except he plays by the rules of our world. Eventually it is revealed that he remembers his past life as Rumplestiltskin.
Rumplestiltskin will do whatever someone asks, so long as they can pay the price. This is why I don't see him as either good or bad. He has helped both sides at one point and both sides are afraid of him. The Beauty and the Beast episode, where he played the role of the beast, showed a bit of his softer side. That he is still just as alone and cowardly as ever, but it is now hidden under his mad and powerful exterior. He has a power-complex. He desires to be the most powerful being in the realm (which he is) and stay that way. He wants to
do the impossible, such as bottle love (which he eventually manages to do). He is paranoid about losing his power. I think that he feels that he will be like he was before, but worse since he doesn't even have his son anymore. He says of himself before he got his power, "All I got is my boy. And they're going to take him away from me. If I lose him, then I will truly... truly become dust." So I think that his power has replaced his son in a way.
He's like the representation of people's greed, I think. Like "I can give you what you want without having to work for it... but it'll cost you." Also, I've observed that although he's creepy and a little bit insane, he does have his own code and morals that he always seems to follow, they're just different from everybody else's. For example, he has never actually lied to anybody before, but he gets away with so much by manipulating them and/or avoiding the truth.
Back to my claim of him not being good or bad. Lots of people say he's a villain, which I can easily see why they would think that (in some episodes, he sort of is. That's the role he plays for some). But, I don't see him as such because he only does things that are to his advantage. He could easily take over the entire fairytale world and rule over everybody, make everyone his
slaves, or whatever, but he doesn't. He could also help save people from whatever trouble they may be in (genuinely help them), and use his powers for good, but he doesn't. I think this is partly because then what would he do once he had accomplished that? The other reason, and main reason is that it doesn't really benefit him in any particular way. Also, he has a very subtle style most of the time and taking over the fairytale world or something wouldn't fit in his code. So if someone wants his help to take over, he will help them if they can pay the price. A perfect example of what I'm talking about is while he is Mr. Gold in Storybrooke. He is fully aware of the predicament that everyone is in (that they are all storybook characters trapped in the real world, unaware of their true identities, stuck without their happy endings), but he chooses not to do anything about it... because how does it really benefit him? But he doesn't hesitate to give other characters a little nudge if they start to remember their past lives.
Yeah, I think I've covered all the thoughts I've ever had on the subject. So I guess I'll wrap it up by saying that although he's a creepy, insane, sneaky, strange, crafty little devil, Rumplestiltskin is still my favorite character (and marvellously portrayed by Robert Carlyle. I almost forgot to praise this guy for his outstanding performance. He's absolutely brilliant in this role.)
and
easily the most spine-chilling scene with his counter-part, Mr. Gold here.
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