Preface by Maria Tatar
1. The Story's History
2. Meaning is Purpose
3. Rumpelstiltskin's Author
4. The Spinner's Libido
5. Fairytale Contracts & Commerce
6. Supernatural Zoology
7. The Talking Cure
8. The Devil vs. Motherhood
9. The Unknown Name
10. A Bad Reputation, Unearned
11. A Lamentable Example of Self-Abuse
12. Rumpelstiltskin's Competition
Biography
Harry Rand is a senior curator of cultural history at the Smithsonian Institution.
"Who has not puzzled over Rumpelstiltskin at one time or another, a fairy-tale figure utterly lacking the charm of his folkloric cousins? Using the sleuthing skills of historians, the interpretive finesse of folklorists, and the artful insight of psychologists, Harry Rand helps us understand the origins of this figure and make sense of the stories in which he flourished."
-- Maria Tatar
"With stimulating psychological, linguistic, and historical analysis of one of our oldest tales, Harry Rand has created a lively book that persuades us a name is more than a name when it comes to women’s humor in the spinning room."
-- Dr. Katharyn Howd Machan, Ithaca College
"Astonishing depth"
-- Harvard Magazine
According to Rand, "Rumpelstiltskin could be seen as a kind of antihero...very relevant to the lives of 21st-century women."
-- Washington Post
