The Witch Cuts Rapunzel’s Hair and Exiles Her

The Witch’s cutting of Rapunzel’s hair and her exile are the decisive rupture in the tower story: the hair that made access possible becomes the instrument of punishment, and the secret visits that had opened a way out give way to separation. The Witch takes Rapunzel to a desert, while the Prince is lured upward by the cut braids and left to believe that he has lost her forever.

Discovery and Betrayal

Rapunzel’s confinement began when the Witch took her away at twelve and locked her in a tower without stairs or a door. Its only opening was a small window, reached by Rapunzel’s long, fine, golden hair. At the Witch’s call, Rapunzel let down her braids, tied them to the window latch, and made them into a ladder. The same method later allowed the Prince to climb into the tower after he had heard Rapunzel singing and discovered how the Witch entered.

Rapunzel and the Prince arranged secret nightly visits, because the Witch was there during the day. The concealment ended when Rapunzel asked why it was harder for the Witch to climb up than for the young Prince, who reached the window in a flash. Her question exposed what she had meant to keep hidden: Rapunzel had been isolated, but the Prince had found his way into her life, and the two had begun planning an escape.

The Cutting and Exile

The Witch answered the discovery with fury, accusing Rapunzel of betrayal and of defeating her attempt to isolate the girl from the rest of the world. She seized Rapunzel’s beautiful hair, wound the braids around her left hand, and cut them with scissors in her right. The quick succession of cuts sends the scene from accusation to irreversible action: the hair that had served as Rapunzel’s means of connection is severed and left on the floor.

The punishment continues beyond the tower. The Witch takes Rapunzel to a desert, where she must live a miserable and unhappy life. The account later reveals the severity of that exile: Rapunzel is barely able to survive there while raising the twins, a boy and a girl. Her removal therefore does not simply end the Prince’s visits; it leaves her in hardship, apart from the world and from the person with whom she had planned to leave.

The Braids as a Trap

On the very day she sends Rapunzel away, the Witch turns the cut braids into a substitute for the girl. When the Prince arrives and calls for Rapunzel to let down her hair, the Witch ties the braids to the window latch and lets them fall. The familiar means of entry still works, but the person who used to lower the ladder is gone. The Prince climbs into the tower expecting Rapunzel and finds the Witch waiting for him instead.

The Witch tells him that Rapunzel is gone and that he will never see her again. Her warning that the cat will scratch his eyes turns the threatened separation into a further disaster: in despair, the Prince jumps from the tower. He survives, but thorn bushes scratch his eyes, leaving him unable to see. The hair-cutting thus shapes not only Rapunzel’s fate but also the Prince’s path from deception and grief to blindness.

Consequences and Reversal

For many years the Prince wanders through the forest, unable to see, living on roots and berries and lamenting the loss of his wife. At last he reaches the desert where Rapunzel is struggling to raise their children. Hearing her familiar voice, he follows it; Rapunzel recognizes him when he comes near and embraces him. Her tears fall into his eyes, and his sight returns clearly.

The reunion reverses the Witch’s claim that the Prince will never see Rapunzel again. Her cutting of the braids had severed the route into the tower and enabled the deception, but it did not end their connection: the voice that first drew the Prince to Rapunzel guides him back to her. They return to his kingdom together, where there is great celebration, and live happily for many years.