We attend to the story of Rumpelstiltskin, which, like many other fairy tales, depicts a young woman coming of age. Here she discovers her inner gold, and the power of a name. You are invited to attend. [As heard on Cambridge 105 Radio]

2 Responses to “Evening under Lamplight 280: Rumpelstiltskin”

  1. Bob Sather says:

    in her remarkable
    “Wittgenstein: A Personal Memoir” (Recollections of Wittgenstein, edited by Rush Rhees), Fania
    Pascal writes: Wittgenstein was ill in bed and sent me a translation he had made of a Grimms’ fairy tale from German into Russian. . Whether the fairy-tale Wittgenstein trans- lated was “Rumpelstiltskin” or another I am not sure, but I remember him picking up the volume of Grimms’ tales
    and reading out with awe in his voice:
    “Ach, wie gut ist daß niemand weiß
    Daß ich Rumpelstilzchen heiß.” [Oh, how good it is that nobody knows
    That I am called Rumpelstiltskin. J “Profound, profound,” he said. I liked “Rumpelstiltskin,” understood that the strength of the dwarf lay in his name being unknown to humans; but was unable to share Witt- genstein’s vision. To watch him in a state of hushed, silent awe, as though looking far beyond what oneself could see, was an experience next only to hearing him
    talk.

  2. rla says:

    Well done. Thanks for this!
    RLA

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