Rumpelstiltskin’s (Queer) Secret: Nonbinary Bodies Buried between the Lines of the Brothers Grimm

Abstract

The strangeness of "Rumpelstiltskin" continues to fascinate audiences and perplex folklorists long after reaching the Grimms from women storytellers in the spinning chamber. Despite its discovery in the tale, Rumpelstiltskin's identity remains mysterious from beginning to end. While previous scholarship decodes the figure as an avatar for male oppression or opportunity for female resistance, this article argues that Rumpelstiltskin is not interchangeable with or symbolic of patriarchal institutions but rather an ambiguous body victimized by them. "Rumpelstiltskin" read queerly with an expanded spectrum of gender and sexuality challenges the heteronormative assumptions embedded in the text and gives voice to queer subjectivities.