You may disagree with me that Once Upon a Time's Rumplestiltskin (the brilliant Robert Carlyle) is a Byronic hero, but I'm pretty sure he is. Rumple is certainly not heroic in the the way most of us use the word, but then again, neither is Wuthering Heights' Heathcliff, and few would dispute his status as a true Byronic!
The Byronic hero is a specific archetype in literature of all types – intelligent and magnetic, melancholy and brooding, isolated and always burdened with significant flaws. He is part of a grand tradition of romantic heroes.
Brooding? Melancholy? With his demented laugh and gleeful menace, that doesn't necessarily sound like our Rumple, at least on the surface. But it seems like a pretty good description of his Storybrooke alter ego Mr. Gold.
There is a sadness and loneliness about Mr. Gold that Rumple also possesses, although he does a great job of covering it beneath his flamboyance and bravado, his spells and deals. Yet, in last season's "Skin Deep," there it is. Spinning at his wheel "to forget," contemplating the loss of his son, even telling Belle, when sending her out for straw, that he knows she'll not return to him, it's all there. His intelligence is displayed not by Regina's curse but for its place within the elaborate set of manipulations and consequences he has devised to put it into motion, all designed for one purpose: to find his son Baelfire. It is a romantic quest worthy of any Romantic hero, Byronic or otherwise.
The original Byronic hero was the English Romantic Period poet Lord Byron himself, described by his lady as "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." For some undefinable reason, Byronic heroes seem to draw women like moths to a flame. Whether it is that their wounded souls tug at our hearts or (as some might, I believe wrongly, argue) we just like "bad boys," Byronic heroes come in many guises: vampires, dark knights (and the Dark Knight), disillusioned idealists jaded by injustice or betrayal.
So, that brings me to Once's Rumple. The creators of the show Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis the writers, and Carlyle have collaborated to create in Rumplestiltskin a Heathcliff Byronic hero. He is more in the Byronic mold of Heathcliff, the anti-hero of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights than, than he is the softer Edward Rochester of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, but Rumple is in many ways a very classic Byronic hero.
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Article comments
1 - Betsy
Barbara, fabulous article. I've never read Wuthering Heights, but I don't think that Gold will end up like that. He has such a capacity to love and, in the end, that will save him. The curse is separate from the man and I know that that sweet, kind man is still in there.
Gold is just a completely different person when it comes to Belle, whether he's with her or he's talking about her (to Red and Charming). Nothing matters to him anymore except her safety - not his mask of false bravado, not appearing invulnerable, nothing. He's fragile and vulnerable around her... I get a huge KICK out of his "heys", lol. He's so flustered around her, it's all he can think of to say - it's incredibly sweet.
His intentions in becoming the Dark One were good, but what he didn't KNOW, was that the curse was stronger than he was. He is and never was happy under the curse, but it fought for control of his soul and it won for the most part. For the MOST part, though only the most part - his real soul and spirit are still there inside.
I personally think the coward bit is overblown by everyone who calls him that. It takes courage to raise a child by yourself - and to raise him into a fine boy. What kind of courage does it take for bullying villagers to torment a loney, timid man? None - they are cowards. IMO, being nervous and frightened doesn't make one a coward, it makes one human.
Gold is a broken and damaged man, but he wants to change and he has the love of a woman who knows he can be better than he is right now.
What will redeem him? Jane in response to my tweet said anyone can be rehabilitated. I think that's starting to happen now with Gold because of his love for Belle.
I do think in the end his love for Bae and Belle will be his saving grace.
I'm ashamed as an English major NOT to have read more (any?) Byron.
Thank you, Barbara - this was wonderful!
2 - WML
Thanks for the article, Barbara. I do think, however, that Rumple is a little bit more like Rochester than Heathcliff. After all, if there are to be parallels to the fairy tale Beast, there will be redemption at the end. Something that Heathcliff may not have attained.
I also believe that among all the characters in OUAT, Rumple has most of the qualities of the every man. He was timid, but may have been valiant at one time. He appears weak, but his self sacrifice shows an inner strength that is not readily apparent. He gloats and abuses his new found powers, but blinded by that power, he allows it to overpower his spirit (through the lost of Bae). Yet his inner strength remains, and though repulsed by what he has become, he is still able to give so much of himself to Belle.
I don't see Heathcliff ever reining in his anger the way Rumple has. Would it not be interesting if the curse that keeps Rumple in Storybrooke is an artifact of Rumple's own reluctance to open himself to the world? And if Rumple relinquishes the hold of hate and humiliation and opens himself to love, would it not be fitting that in the reawakening of the kindness in his soul, that the barriers to his search and longing be finally broken?
As an aside, I am ever so glad that the OUAT creators made Belle an integral part of ths story. It probably altered the trajectory of the Rumple character. It may be that Rumple would still have found redemption, but it the realm of fairy tales, nothing quite beats the beauty finally taming and loving the beast.
3 - Outtie
"mad, bad, and dangerous to know" is positively the best way I've heard yet to describe Rumpelstiltskin.
4 - obisgirl
Great article. One tiny point, though. You misspelled Zoso. Yes, it's spelled with a "Z" not two "S"s.
5 - Pixie Michele
Great insights and wonderful article Barbara! Thanks so much! I hope Rumple's character redeems himself taking the Beauty and the Beast cues. I see a comparison between Milah and Belle from BATB.
They both wanted "adventure" in the great wide somewhere (a la Disney's Belle version.) Rumple couldn't give that to Milah, and ultimately lost her to Hook who sailed the world. Not an excuse for Milah at all, but it's there.
Belle also told Rumple she wanted to "see the world". Rumple's been here before, but he doesn't make the same choice and ask her to stay. Right afterward, he let her go to town, expecting her never to come back. There wasn't a child involved, but Rumple made the choice not to control. Shows his growth. When Belle returns, he's amazed and in new territory.
Giving her the library (and that quote and confession) was the next step in growth.
Whichever direction is taken, I think the writers have honored the themes of the fairy tales. As long as that respect remains, wonderful things ahead. Cheers!
6 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
Heathcliff is not as fortunate as Ebenezer Scrooge is by the end of "A Christmas Carol".
7 - Rosie
["Rumple's story is not yet completed, of course, and as monstrous as he can be, his love for Baelfire and for Belle humanize him still after so many centuries. It is that humanity, the light that still remains within him that keeps him from complete darkness."]
Am I supposed to believe that being human equates with compassion, warmth and noblity and indulging in brutal or evil behavior equates to something not human?
Because I can't buy that. Yes, I realize that humans are capable of such positive behavior. But why do fans of sci-fi and fantasy refuse to accept that ugly and evil behavior are also signs of one's humanity? Are human beings really that incapable of accepting how monstrous even the average human being can be?