The Man Who Spins Straw into Gold

At first glance Rumpelstiltskin is nothing more than a cowardly man who sacrificed his son and his love in his self-destructive quest for power, he is the character that never learns from his mistakes and everybody loves to hate. Rumpelstiltskin demonstrates three very important characteristics that classify him as a trickster; he is morally ambiguous, often turning to distasteful means in order to fulfill his own agenda, he is a renowned shape-shifter, not only in the sense that he can disguise himself physically but because he is capable of disguising his true nature and intentions from both the villains and the heroes, and finally he is a master situation manipulator, often able to turn his losses into opportunities and capitalize on winning strategies.

In Storybrooke he is Mr. Gold, the ruthless businessman who has most of the town in his pocket. In the Enchanted Forest he is the Dark One, the last chance of the desperate and feared by all. He is ambiguous in nature, constantly changing sides, never stable in his loyalty, one moment fighting the powers of evil, the next moment double crossing the heroes in order to save his own skin. In one episode he admits “If I have to choose between everyone else and me, me wins every time” (Kitsis).

His character is constantly shifting, unpredictable, and uncontrollable but watching this all-powerful character be the instrument of his own misfortune reminds all of us of our own shortcomings and warns us about the pitfalls of going down a path of antisocial darkness. In one episode Mr. Gold gives Belle the dagger that is needed to control the powers of the Dark One, asserting that he wants her to have it because he wants her to trust him, however not long after the audience discovers that the dagger he gave Belle is fake, even though he seemed completely sincere in his desire to give her a token of his trust. Rumpelstiltskin has the ability to throw the audiences into an uproar over the different facets of his deceptions. Even while he is manipulating everything he touches, he doesn’t seem to understand the consequences of his actions until he finally loses everything, and even then he doesn’t change his ways, he just becomes even more single-mindedly determined to right the perceived wrongs he feels he has been given.

Even though he is constantly influencing the actions of others going on around him, he rarely appears to be completely in control. Even the best laid plans go awry and this happens over and over to Rumpelstiltskin. He hungers constantly for more power, and more often than not, is thwarted in his attempts. It is only on the seldom occasions that he truly joins forces with the heroes of the story that he is able to accomplish anything of note, such as his use of Emma and Henry to finally be reunited with Baelfire, or joining up with one of his greatest enemies, Captain Hook, along with Snow White, Prince Charming, and Emma in order to rescue Henry from the clutches of Peter Pan.

Rumpelstiltskin is one of the most fascinating characters on television today, he is a classic example of a trickster and even as his character develops within the series he retains the core elements that make him what he is; a deceiver, a master of disguise, and a morally ambiguous character with a hunger for power that will never be satisfied.