Why I see the Dark Kingdom, Quirin, and Varian as Jewish:
So I promised a post or so again to expand on my Jewish Varian headcanons, and I wanted to explain my rationale for my headcanon.
Adira’s name is Hebrew: אַדִּירָה. It means “strong” or “mighty.” Notably no one else in the series has a Hebrew name except Ruth, which is a common name used more widely. Adira however is a much rarer name and i have not seen it used beyond Star Trek and Hebrew. Given this is a world in the renaissance to the late 1700s (personally, I interpret it in the late 1700s), it also means that the modern state of Israel does not exist yet. Which leads me to my next point.
The Dark Kingdom: Exile and Return
Within Tanakh, there is this major theme of exile (galut) and return as well as the “promised land.” The Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) expanded on this significantly. The Jewish people experienced two major exiles from the destruction of both of their Temples, something commemorated on Tisha B’av. These exiles were also preceded by environmental disasters because Hashem withdrew His protection. The land itself is described as a “land of milk and honey” and incredibly fruitful. However, in times of trouble, the land fails to yield to the Israelites and sees drought, famine, and fire.
The Dark Kingdom sees something similar. The land itself has become infested with near indestructible black rocks. Any attempt to destroy these black rocks has led to severe illness and death. Ultimately, all the kingdom’s inhabitants are forced away from their home to survive even as the black rocks spread from other people’s unwise actions (*cough* Fred *cough*). This leads to my next point.
The Parallel to Court Jews: Quirin
So Quirin’s role is very interesting. Reading between the lines, it seems that King Frederic swore Quirin to secrecy. Quirin has to communicate to the king in code when talking in front of other people about the black rocks. Even when it appears that he lied in front of his son. Quirin warns Varian to stop talking about what occurred (“That’s enough, Varian.”) which contrasts with his usual patient but exasperated behavior. This matter suggests a life or death matter and something that he could not even talk to his own family about.
There are parallels in Jewish history with this too: court Jews were a fixture in the Central Europe from the 16th century onwards (about the time period when Tangled the Series/Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure takes place). They were in a precarious position often wearing multiple hats as banker and protector of the Jewish community. Court Jews got certain privileges in exchange for their services and wealth. Court Jews had personal relationships to the people in power usually a prince. this relationship proved very risky to many court Jews (see Joseph Suess Oppenheimer). One wrong move and the entire Jewish community could be forced to leave or less charitably, killed.
Now whether Rapunzel takes place in Central Europe is debatable. The location of the finale shot is somewhere in modern day France. However, certain parts of modern France (Alsace) were part of the Holy Roman Empire depending on the time period. A lot of names used are German/Central European or used frequently in the region: Rapunzel, Frederic, Quirin (which is only used as a Roman name otherwise according to behind the name), Mother Gothel, Edmund etc.
We see some evidence of wealth or at least past wealth in Varian’s household. First, the family lives in a castle rather than a shack or a cottage. Second, the amount of red clothing in Quirin’s household. Quirin wears a dark red shirt, Varian owns a red scarf, and his mother is seen wearing a lot of red. Red was one of the more expensive dyes with madder being the cheapest version. There is also use of furs in Varian’s coat and Quirin’s vest, which was not cheap either. However, Quirin and Varian also straddle the line with being commoners. We see Quirin farming pumpkins and they are clearly inferior to the king. In addition, Old Corona appears to be impoverished, which only worsened from the black rocks.
Jewish Values: Education and Promises
Education is a major Jewish value. We believe in questioning and wrestling with Hashem. Literacy was of major importance to us and Jewish communities often had high literacy rates often higher than the rest of the population. Part of the reason is because we’re people of the book. The other reason is because literacy and knowledge are mobile skills that can be taken with us when we got kicked out again. Varian owns many books, and we see him read and write on the regular. Books weren’t. Education expanded in Western and central Europe during the enlightenment but schooling as a system was still in its early stages. Books were expensive, yet it is likely that those who place a higher value on education would invest in such.
The idea of a promised land forms a major ideological core for Judaism because it provided hope. Hope allowed the long-suffering Jewish people as a whole to keep going even during Egyptian enslavement, massacres, and pogroms. There’s a reason Israel’s national anthem is named Hatikvah (“the hope”). Some of our biggest quarrels come from when covenants and promises are broken. Vows in the biblical era were taken extremely seriously.
Within the show, Varian emphasizes the promises that Rapunzel made but ultimately broke. It may not just “bad behavior” or massive hurt but a major breach in values. Rapunzel broke the agreement between subject and ruler: a ruler was to protect their subjects.
Varian, Quirin, Hector, and Edmund all have dark hair. Both Quirin and Edmund have aquiline noses, which are common Mediterranean features. Corona is nowhere near the Mediterranean 🤨.
Varian’s mother also has red hair. Red hair is a polygenic trait that often occurs in a recessive fashion. That means two parents with other hair colors can carry red hair traits and pass them to their children. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Jews were often believed to red hair. Judas and Shylock from the Merchant of Venice were often depicted with red hair. This stereotype has some grains of truth as certain Tanakh figures like Esau and David have red hair or are described as ruddy and red. Because most Jews especially in the premodern age married within the tribe, a lot of traits that are rarer among the general population have been seen more frequently in Jewish populations including red hair and genetic conditions.
The Ham Sandwich Paradox: Obscure Jewish Food History
But wait! What about Varian’s ham sandwiches? Ham is made of pig and pigs aren’t kosher. Therefore, they can’t be Jewish.
Ah, this is where I talk about Jewish ham. Ham made of pork is indeed not kosher at all. However, Sephardic Jews and the Jews of Italy have made “Jewish ham” and “Jewish prosciutto” since about the Renaissance era. It came from curing goose or duck, which were kosher birds. I have tasted cured duck at a restaurant, and it takes remarkably like pork. One could interpret Varian talking about pork ham but Varian doesn’t say what kind of ham and he could just as easily be referring to “Jewish ham.”
Why Jewish representation matters
Tangled the Series/Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure is a piece of media that I wrestle with a lot. The series did a lot of great things but it and the original movie did a piss poor job at handling Jews (in the movie and series) and Romani (definitively in the series). Here I will discuss the Jewish aspect since I am Jewish, not Romani.
Mother Gothel’s character resembles the very definition of old blood libels common in Europe that “Jews kidnap gentile children (especially blondes) and use them for ritualistic purposes.” Her design was changed from gothic romantic to something more “Jewish-coded” and thus more villainous. This is very much a problem especially as we consider the rise of antisemitism. It became worse in the series when we found out that Cass was Gothel’s daughter and that Cass was abandoned in favor of kidnapping Rapunzel. Cass then became a villain because of this. Media depictions like Gothel actively harm our community by reinforcing old dangerous stereotypes. Given these strong negative representations of Jews, I wanted to dilute the pool through making positive Jewish representation. I wanted to make space for myself and other Jews within this piece of media that has harmed our community.
These hints may simply be coincidental if taken in isolation. In stringing them together, we can construct a space where Jews can be represented positively and accurately in the tangled universe.
