After watching the “Price of Gold” episode for Once Upon a Time, I wondered about Mr. Gold’s true identity. He knows more than the rest of Storybrooke’s inhabitants, in both their American and fairytale incarnations. Additionally, his evil feels slightly more sinister. While Regina took petty ends to abolish Emma from Storybrooke including booting her car, getting her arrested, and pushing her out of lodgings, Emma easily overcame those obstacles. However, Mr. Gold appeared to work on a totally different level. Come on, he killed a fairy godmother! How much more evil can you get? Aren’t they analogous to angels in the fairytale world? Malefecent’s statement about an evil greater than all of Once Upon a Time‘s villains resonated with me.
Eventually, Emma will overcome Regina, but who or what will the villagers fight then? Considering Once Upon a Time isn’t confined to the Disney-verse or Grimm’s fables, they could pull from Faust or any number of sources.
The only ultimate, allegedly mythological, evil greater than wicked stepmothers and jealous queens is the red guy with cloven hooves and big ass horns. You know … Beelzebub. I’m talking Tim Curry in Legend and Ray Wise in Reaper. I’m talking about what gets the Church Lady’s knickers twisted. I’m talking Evil with a capital E.
The producers have left multiple hints in the text and I’ve picked up on them. After hours (or minutes) of heavy duty google searching, I believe Mr. Gold could be * dum, dum, dum * …. Satan. What about you?
1) Mr. Gold and the Devil are all about deals. Don’t you remember, never make a deal with the Devil? Only by making a new deal or having someone deal for you, will the Devil let you out. Remember, when Gold wouldn’t free Cinderella until she made a new deal and he wouldn’t free Ashley until Emma agreed on her behalf? Um, that’s Satan. Allegedly, the fable is seen as an example of deal with the Devil.
2) Mr. Gold and Rumpelstiltskin are all about contracts. Remember all of the cartoon images showing the Devil forcing people to sign on the dotted line? Yea, Gold is Satan.
3) Never tell Rumpelstiltskin or the Devil your real name. Remember when the guard warned Charming and Snow to hide their names and faces? According to Dresden Files and Faust, telling a demon your name gives them power over you. And your name is your soul. Why else would the producers invert that little detail about Rumpel unless he’s … Satan?
4) Rumpelstiltskin IS the evil greater than everyone else … SATAN! Think about it, the fairytale villains enjoy their protagonist’s suffering, but they typically focus on just one person on a small scale. What catalyzes their evil is pretty petty. Malefecent’s mad because someone didn’t invite her to a party. The Evil Queen’s angry because her mirror thinks Snow looks prettier. The stepsisters push Cinderella around and rip her clothes because they want the prince. This isn’t evil, this is high school. That’s Mean Girls.
But, Mr. Gold is something else. As Malefecent stated, the person who owned the dark spell works on a plane of evil greater than they could ever know. Who is the greatest, mythical evil, ever other than Lucifer himself?
5) Rumpelstiltskin and the Devil both take souls. The Evil Queen didn’t become soulless until Rumpel prodded her. And, taking someone’s child is analogous to taking their soul. So, yea, Rumpel’s the big evil guy in the red pit.
6) Rumpelstiltskin invokes the Devil. In the original fable, when the queen correctly guesses Rumpel’s real name, he stamps into the ground while crying “the Devil has told you.” A nineteenth century British version, Duffy and the Devil, draws more direct comparisons. So, what if the original Rumpel were in league with the Devil? Come on, he didn’t want to tell his name, he stamped himself into hell, and then, he called out his master’s name. So, either he’s the Devil, a minor demon, or a pedophiliac creep.
7) Rumpel’s name means demon. Rumpelstilt means demon, imp, or poltergeist. Enough said.
8) Demons, like Rumpelstiltskin, can be bound. Imps are typically bound by crystal or stone. Allegedly, King Solomon bound a demon with chains and we see Cinderella and Charming binding and imprisoning Rumpel. Yes, normal humans can undergo incarceration, but are magical implements needed for them? Say it with me now, Ssssatan!
9) Rumpelstiltskin is always drawn by fire. Google Rumpelstiltskin. You’ll see multiple images portraying him dancing by fire. But, they typically aren’t nice little campfires, but something huge that looks like hellfire. Who else likes fire than the evil guy downstairs?
10) Like some demons, Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin only makes pacts with women. Have you noticed that so far Mr. Gold only made pacts with Cindy, Emma, and the Evil Queen? According to my source for everything, Wikipedia, the Malleus Maleficarum details that only witches or women make deals with the Devil.
Honestly, the deal’s pretty much done in my opinion (unless he’s a Tea Party member). However, what do you guys think? Do you agree with me or no?
And, if you truly doubt me, check out the lyrics and music from Warlock‘s Mr. Gold about a “master of evil,” with “needle” like fingertips, who “makes a deal” and wants your “soul” at any price. Sound familiar?
I rest my case.
Clacked by An Nicholson 
on Nov 28, 2011 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
Was there ever a question he was not the devil? “Mary” Margaret wears a cross and her fairy tale name is Snow White, alluding to purity, or lack of sin. Snow White gives birth to Emma the saviour. Of course this story is touched by the bible. I don’t know what you are getting at withe tea party comment, kinda odd. . ?
*POST AUTHOR*
Agreed about Mary Margaret’s affiliation with biblical purity. However, when it comes to the big ‘D,’ some shows typically shy away from making him the big. Normally, they use a minor demon or some such.
Regarding TP, that’s partly my own personal dig but also partly my inability to think of anything else evil that Mr. Gold hasn’t done. Hmm, kicked puppies, strangled kittens, and killed fairies? Check. Abused orphans and isolated pregnant teens? Check check. Become a landowner, pawnbroker, and friends with an evil politician? Check Check Check. Come across as a creepy pedophile and obsess over people’s children? Quadruple check. Honestly, the only thing he hasn’t done, which people might classify as evil, is become a shock jock, work for FOX news, and become a Tea Party member (or become a liberal Creationist working for ‘The View,’ whichever you personally view as more evil).
Huh.
I’ll leave the second part of your comment alone, because, well, its the right thing to do.
But I do agree that being evil =/= being the Devil. I think there is enough evil in fairy tale cannon without needing to bring Satan into the equation.
It’s kind of obvious he’s supposed to represent the devil. But that certainly does not make him evil. He’s wounded, you see that in the last few shows. He was tricked into taking on a power he couldn’t understand after being beaten down and demoralized his whole life, his kid was taken from him, his wife left him, and he becomes so “ugly” he doesn’t believe anyone could ever love him. He’s always having to look over his shoulder because he knows the queen wants to take the only thing he has left in the world. And when Bella came along, it terrified him. He would have had to take a leap of faith, and believe that Bella did truly love him, the queen wasn’t trying to trick him horribly and it was too scary for him. Then he finds out his leap of faith might have been his last chance at a normal life of love and happiness, which is all he ever wanted, because Bella killed herself after being shunned by her father and throwing herself off of a tower. He ran away, again. Which I don’t blame him for, I’d not give up that laugh for a second! I think if Mr. Gold were real though, we’d get along nicely. I’d make a deal with him that whenever he got that sad look I’d give him a hug. And it’d be awkward.
I agree with Ivey completely. But I am open to the idea he is “satan” I suppose. More lucifer than satan though. I always thought the queen was more evil than him anyway, considering she cut out the heart of her own father, killed her lover despite having obvious feelings for him and is just in general a huge meanie who keeps hurting Gold every chance she gets.
I’m not sure, my friend, that it is as connected to the Bible as you think. I just think that so many of our stories (including the Greatest Story, as it were) contain so many of the same themes.
I mean, Harry Potter = King Arthur = Neo = Luke Skywalker = Emma.
The Bible too, contains the story about a reluctant hero from humble beginnings with a wizened teacher, if I remember correctly.
Well since Our Saviour predates Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker, and Neo I think my statement holds…. :P
(I have not seen you around of late, Dorv!)
Not my fault you don’t watch any of my shows!!!
Well since I’m convinced that there is real evil in the world, I would never assign the word so casually to a political movement, even the ones I disagree with. But we can agree the Rumpy is one baaaaad hombre. :)
Ah, I will give you that. You’re always the voice of reason, BSG. And, true, Rumpel is one bad mama jamma *shut your mouth *
Personally, I could do without the unnecessary political snark. It’s what drove me, and likely countless others, from that “other” TV blog that has since been renamed and turned into goo. Please don’t go there if you don’t really need to. I like it here *because* it hasn’t turned into some left/right snarkfest.
*POST AUTHOR*
I wouldn’t call it unnecessary. But, if you can think of anything else that Mr. Gold has done that our world would view as evil or you view as personally evil, let me know.
I can think of a few things: Creating reality TV, putting barbeque sauce on a pizza, Muppet burlesque (https://www.laweekly.com/slideshow/the-muppets-take-burlesque-nsfw-28819392/4/) don’t look…seriously, Lady Gaga.
I think the larger issue is that you are asking me to think of evil things as an alternative to your example as though you couldn’t come up with something more universally agreeable as evil and less divisive.
A less pressing issue, and perhaps a non-issue if politics is going to begin seeping into this blog, is that I am not receiving email notifications of replies even though the WordPress page I use to confirm them says I should.
*POST AUTHOR*
There we go. We all have our individual items that we view as “evil.” You have yours, and I have mine. But, returning to the main topic at hand, do you believe Mr. Gold is the *dun, dun, dun* … DEVIL? Or am I just reaching there?
Regarding notification, I’ll let Keith know. Sometimes there’s a lag. And, sometimes they go into the filter bin (even if you’ve added anything coming from *cliqueclack* into your address book or ‘keep-in-my-inbox’ filter).
While I definitely think you make compelling arguments for Mr. Gold being the devil, I don’t see this show going that far in terms of mythology. I may be wrong, I’ve been wrong 3 times today and all I’ve done is brush my teeth, but the show has kept its footing in “lighter” territory to this point and I’d be surprised if they went as far as the big, red guy.
Keep in mind this goes against what I have to agree is excellent evidence that you’re right, but I just think the writers are teasing us in that direction and will reveal Mr. Gold to be something more, for lack of a better word, storybook. He will end up being the fairy-tale equivalent of Satan without actually being Satan. Just my pair of copper disks.
Oh, and I found the reason I wasn’t getting updates. On WordPress under “settings” there’s a check box labeled “Block all emails from blogs you’re following” and of course it was checked. Upon un-checking it everything comes through normally. I have only ever followed 1 other blog via WordPress (that I know of) and I must’ve set it ages ago because I doubt it’s checked by default.
Ha!
Cool post An, I am glad that you are here to do the heavy listing and all I have to do is sit back on my couch and be entertained by all your work. You make a great case for the devil. Everytime Mr. Gold is on the screen I am creeped out..your point about his ‘evil’ being so much more than the usual fairytale characters is spot on.
Mephistopheles from Faust is just a demon, and he’s capable of making a deal for Faust’s soul. Mr. Gold definitely has demonic qualities, but he’s not necessarily supposed to be THE Devil. Your arguments suggest to me that Mr. Gold is a sort of demonic imp. I’m not quite certain what he is up to though – didn’t he have a hand in arranging Henry’s adoption? And didn’t he seem strangely pleased to see Emma because he knew it would screw up Regina’s plans? He seems to enjoy making people suffer, but I wonder if he wants Emma to succeed (perhaps to torment Regina?).
Tangent: I agree with BSG and Tom that the political jab seemed out of place in this article. Imagine if you were reading a TV review and the writer said that the only way Mr. Gold could be more evil is if he voted for Obama. Such rhetoric is destructive and only serves to increase the divide between people, when most people actually have much in common. Be a part of the solution – use language to bring people together over what they have in common, and refuse to use language to incite anger and hatred, or reinforce negative stereotypes. I have wonderful friends across the political spectrum, and I’ve found it helpful to treat people as unique individuals, shaped by unique experiences – not as nameless, faceless members of groups that I like or dislike. If my opinion has any value to you, there it is. ;-)
Thanks, Ruby. Said far more eloquently that I could have possibly managed and the support is very much appreciated. Feeling welcome and part of a group with something in common is what makes CliqueClack fun.
Divisiveness is far too easy to find everywhere I’m afraid and I try (probably with far more effort than you know) to remain civil and out of the fray. Nobody likes a good argument more than me, just ask my wife, but that’s not why I’m here and I’d sooner not participate than go there.
At this point, I’m essentially done with the conversation. You’ve taken what was intended as a funny, off the cusp statement and turned it into a full on political one. Some writers aren’t for me and I’ll skip them. If you’re looking for writing to fit into a certain ideal, then perhaps I’m just not your ideal –
I will kindly agree to disagree :) But, as a writer, I’m shocked that you’re pushing for a form of censorship. If you want to talk further, you know how to reach me, but, at this point, I’d rather just focus on the post at hand –
It’s not censorship – it’s constructive feedback. I’m an editor as well as a writer, and what I’m talking about (focusing on common ground instead of antagonizing your audience) is a tried and true method of persuasion, both in writing and in speech. If you disagree, that’s okay, but Aristotle is on my side.
Sorry for going off-topic, An, but I couldn’t let you drop the c-word on me. I will cease and desist now. ;-)
This started of as a fun post with a fun statement. But, has devolved into something else, which has nothing to do with the original post or intent and you construed as antagonism. If you want to talk about it more off-line, feel free. You know where I am.
I believe you are confusing censorship with discretion. Just because one thinks about something does not always make it prudent to act upon or speak about it. You have a right to say anything you want just like your readers have a right to simply stop bothering to visit.
As someone who’s reaching out to an audience whilst focusing on a topic it would seem you would actually care about said audience over tossing flippant and potentially offensive comments about. Again, perhaps it’s your subtle way of telling your readers you don’t want ones around who may feel differently than you about a completely unrelated subject to television.
It would’ve been easy to write it off as a simple human mistake if you weren’t so vehemently defending what you said with the excuse that if you believe it it’s okay to say it. If that’s how you want to play then I’m game, but when you’re on the receiving side you won’t enjoy it at all. In fact, none of us will enjoy it.
Is that really what you want to do? Are the parading of your political beliefs, which have nothing to do with the topic, more important to you than your readership, at least as it pertains to this blog? Are you really so blind as to think *everyone* agrees with your politics?
Ask yourself those questions and if the answer is “yes” then we can have a political discussion, but I think you’d be making a mistake just like you did in your article, even if you seem oblivious to that fact.
I think the root of the problem is what is fun for one is not necessarily fun for all, or even most. One can often live in an echo chamber without realizing it. I am of a different political bent than all my friends, and it can be difficult to hold my tongue when they go off on a series of rants and cheap shots that are enjoyable for them (I had to leave the room once when one session lasted more than an hour).
I took no offense from your jibes, but it did strike me as intellectually lazier than I have come to expect from you. The TP/Faux News jab is so routine that’s it’s become brainless rote for commentators and comedians. I liked the specific The View strike, and you could have continued in that comic vein, such as Mr. Gold being Herman Cain’s marriage counselor, or Rick Perry’s debate coach. ;)
I guess my point is, please don’t feel the need to censor yourself, just put a little more thought into your zingers.
Getting back to the real subject, I think the likelihood of Gold being Satan just as likely as Ruby’s lesser demon theory. If you’re right, I hope that #10 isn’t true, and that he’s at least not sexist (hey, wait, his deal this week was with Jiminy Cricket!). I also hope that they don’t call him Lucifer. That guy gets a bad rap.
Ryan, I don’t think he is ever going to be revealed as a demon… My thought was just that all the points about him being Satan are equally applicable to a less specific being; therefore, we can’t equate Gold with Satan. He seems more like a classic “trickster” character.
Sorry, Ruby, I confused your explanation of that theory as you proffering it yourself.
I actually meant to ask you guys about the Trickster, as I haven’t a deep knowledge of mythology and literature myself. Can the archetype really be so malevolent as to murder a bystander from behind for her magic wand? I thought that too inelegant to be fitting, but if Wikipedia is offering up the Joker as an example, I suppose it’s a possibility. I’d prefer an exemplar of Mummu myself.
I have not yet watched Once Upon a Time. Is the premise of the show a different fairytale per show?
Check out…
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Once Upon a Time: A quiz (Part 1)
https://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2011/s11110169.htm
In many mythos “The Devil” loses his power over you if you know who he is … if you know his “name”. (It even appears in the Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil”.) Dovetails well with the Rumpelstiltskin story.
I must be in the minority. I don’t see Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin as an evil, malicious character. He’s self serving. He’s amoral (that’s not evil). He’s a mischief maker. “Magic always has a cost” is an ancient concept that predates Christianity. In fact, the concept of a Christian devil as a dealmaker probably comes from the same sources that the legends of Rumpelstiltskin and Genies do. The fairy tale worlds are older than Christianity and most of the stories we know as such come from local legends and were created to teach morality in the absence of a Christian style religion. To say Mr. Gold is Lucifer is as backwards as saying Jesus is Aslan.
I know some have drawn the Christian relation with Mary Margaret and her cross. I think we have to remember that in the absence of her own world where she was a pure and devoted individual, she needed something of our world to be purely devoted to. It’s the best corollary to who she was before, it doesn’t mean that her fairy tale self is Christian, or that the Fairy Tale world is related to Christianity.
I find that trying to layer a Jesus centered framework on top of an independent story just sets everyone up for failure.