The King of the Golden Mountain
The King of the Golden Mountain is a German fairy tale and part of the Grimm Brothers collection that tells the story of a merchant who lost everting except his field. Upon walking in the field, he came across a black dwarf who promised richness as long as he adhered to the conditions. When the young boy was on transit, he was promised freedom and he ended up being the King of the Golden Mountain but when he tried to find his background, misfortune befell him. A battle to keep his kingdom and reign was tested several, but he succeeded in being reinstated as the King. The aspect of psychoanalysis is portrayed within the narrative of the characters’ subconscious and conscious interactions that lead to the boy’s search for his parents through the ring he was given by the queen. The fairytale utilizes psychoanalysis to illustrate the effect of magic and imagination to create an instructive effect on the audience, especially adolescents by bringing out fantasies in certain aspects of the narrative.
The family dynamics in the narrative revolves around the boy who becomes King, the Queen, and the past. When the merchant lost everything, he met a black dwarf who promised him wealth as long as his son would pay the price for the promise. Unfortunately, one day the boy went to confront the black man who has imprisoned his father due to the wealth they had for twelve years (Grimm Brothers, 302). It is while in transit on a boat that he met a snake in the form of a princess that he became a king. Their friendship was connected by a ring that allowed the boy to find his roots after becoming the King of the Golden Mountain, but it was an imaginary search for his father.
There are different character behavior and events characterized by fear, fascination, identity, and ego. The merchant desired to be rich and the black dwarf promised him wealth for his son. There is a demonstration of fear and death when the merchant when his son rubs against his leg, and he becomes the sacrificial lamb (Grimm Brothers, 305). Once the agreement was sealed, the boy left to avenge his father but later becomes the King of a far land, filled with anger (Grimm Brothers, 304). The King’s ego is seen at the end when he kills everyone who attends the wedding of the Queen and another man.
There are several journeys-spiritual and physical that illustrated the King’s life and his role as the protagonist. At the start of the King who left his home as a young boy is searching for his father, who was a merchant and lost his wealth after twelve years and travels through the power of the ring given by the Queen (Grimm Brothers, 304). At the first destination, the King meets his parents and has to persuade then that he is their son. However, there is a level of frustration in this journey, and the narrative shifts of his past life where his family wealth was through imagination (Grimm Brothers, 303). Lastly, the King imaginary travels back to his palace through the cloak of invisibility and boots where he saves his wife and is portrayed as a hero and gets back the throne.
Conclusion
The use of gold and the ring are symbolic of the psychoanalysis in the film. The riches promised to the merchant, the Golden Mountain, and the ring symbolize imagination and the power of fantasy amid poverty. There are several instances when the King demonstrated his anger and it turned to be disastrous. The power of invisibility allows him to move from reality to a fantasy world, but it the end it is the magic sword that allows him to regain his throne.