Mother Gothel is the Devil

C’mon, let’s all agree: Tangled is the best Disney movie out there. Sure, I love me some Frozen, but Tangled is where it’s at. (Of course we aren’t counting Pixar movies, that would be sacrilege!) ‘Sides, nobody does smolder like Flynn Rider!

But let’s be real for a second. Part of what makes Tangled so amazing is Mother Gothel. Not just because she’s so nefarious, so well written, and a fashion icon ... but because Mother Gothel is Satan. And no, not just because she walks down a candle-filled staircase without catching fire (Satan isn’t flammable, y’all), or because she’s the most narcissistic Disney villain out there. Mother Gothel straight up she abuses, manipulates, enslaves, and gaslights Rapunzel. She’s pure evil!

Like Satan, Mother Gothel presents herself as something she’s not (I mean, she’s what, 400 years old?) and probably more insidious, she presents a view of the world that is misleading. Where God loves us and accepts us where we are at, Satan works to put us down and make us feel less than. For years, Rapunzel’s inner voice is simply Mother Gothel’s voice: there are false declarations of love, mixed with terribly degrading put downs. Comments designed to control and keep us down.

But then there’s the bright side. Tangled literally starts with the Sun (the Son) coming from heaven, with the ability to heal the sick and injured. When the Queen got sick, she looked for this miracle. And that gift, that miracle, is passed on to Rapunzel. Even when her normal way of healing is taken from her, that gift is still inside her. Isn’t that beautiful? She loses her hair, but she can still heal. That’s because God’s gift isn’t housed in a prayer, or the laying on of hands, or in consecrated oil; it’s within us. 

Gothel wanted Rapunzel to believe that her gift was something to be hidden, something that should be covered up in shame. God wants us to use our gifts, to not hide them under a bushel, but to let our light shine so all can see. Rapunzel was much better off when she used her divine gifts to help others. God wants us to use our light to guide others home, much like the glowing lanterns guide Rapunzel back home. God is always there, always looking out for us, wanting us to come home. It’s Satan who wants us to believe that there is no way home, that God’s light is meaningless, that we are better off hiding ourselves away, that we just aren’t good enough as we are.

And that we should just stop with that incessant mumbling! You know how I feel about the mumbling. Blah blah blah, it's very annoying! I'm just teasing, you're adorable, I love you so much.