Creation

Mother Gothel originates from folklore fairytales, written down by Brothers Grimm in the tale of Rapunzel in 1812, her name being "Dame Gothel" with "Mother" being added to later depictions.

Mother Gothel is heavily inspired by previous works of stories involving witches, primarily Mother Holle and being intended to be the wicked version of Mother Nature.

Major Story Arcs

Gothel was a witch that guarded a tower with no doors, and the garden below it. One night a starving couple ate food from her garden, leading to Gothel making a trade to let the husband go free but would keep his wife, Rapunzel as her prisoner.

After discovering of Rapunzel's new relationship with an unnamed Prince, she created a lie to him, claiming Rapunzel had died, resulting in the Prince attempting suicide by jumping from the tower and blinding himself from the thorns below.

Dame Gothel failed to keep Rapunzel prisoner, with the Prince returning to hear her voice, he saved her from the witch to live happily ever after.

Other Versions

Disney's Tangled

Mother Gothel is the Disney's version of the evil witch Dame Gothel from the fairy tale Rapunzel. She is voiced by Donna Murphy.

Like Claude Frollo she takes care of her foster child, but unlike him and Lady Tremaine she shows some kindness to her adoptive daughter. However, their relationship is not a healthy one and can be considered abusive. Mother Gothel commonly demeans Rapunzel while praising herself. She keeps Rapunzel locked in doors "for her own good," and uses her magical hair to preserve her youth. Their relationship is hard to define as all good or all bad.

Gothel was enraged to learn that Rapunzel wished to leave her for a common thief named Flynn Rider, leading to her tricking her daughter into believing he had left her. However when Rapunzel learned who she is, being the missing princess she turned on her mother. Flynn later cut her hair, destroying the magic that kept Gothel alive.

Gothel returned in flashbacks, and nightmares of Tangled: The Series. She's revealed to have had a biological daughter named Cassandra.

Damsels

In Dynamites Damsels she is The Queen of Caumont, using the name Rapunzel. she seems by default to be the dominant ruler of the city due to her husband's blindness. Although she could likely be a much more aggressive monarch due to her husband's disability, she seems to be kind and happy to care for and support her husband, King Persine. When the palace is intruded upon during the royal visit by the King and Queen of Perrault, it is Rapunzel who intervenes and kills the intruder (a fairy she crushes with her hands, calm midst the panicking crowd).

She later uses the help of Talia to cast a spell that allows her husband's voice to implant its message into their citizens, suggesting that while she is supportive of her husband, she also takes advantage of the ability to manipulate him without his knowledge

Once Upon A Time

Two separate versions of Mother Gothel appeared in the ABC live action drama series.;

The first was a minor character in the third season, this version was not a witch, but a shape shifter capable of turning into anyone. This would be an ability she used to keep Rapunzel locked away in the tower. Gothel was eventually killed with the help of Prince Charming.

The second Gothel was a main villain of the seventh and final season of the series. She was an ancient witch, once known for being kind and part of a group of nature beings that represented the metaphorical force of Mother Nature. However after she was betrayed by humans she thought were her friends, she turned her back on humanity becoming Mother Gothel. She guarded the tower and it's garden below, where one day Rapunzel ate from, before becoming trapped there. Although Rapunzel in this version was only prisoner for a few days, tricking Gothel into taking her place as it's prisoner bound with magic. Gothel decided to pretend to be a victim to get the attention of passing Captain Hook. She formed a romance with Hook, which resulted in the birth of their daughter Alice. It was all according to her plan, since the curse that kept her in the tower would pass down to her daughter, trapping her there instead.

Now free, she created a coven of the most powerful witches across The Enchanted Forest, which included Rapunzel's daughter, Drizella, who she tricked into creating a new curse to bring them to the real world. In this curse, she pretended to be Eloise Gardener, a prisoner of Rapunzel's. She was still pulling the strings of Drizella's actions, before becoming free and betraying her student. Eloise nearly killed Drizella, but she was saved by Rapunzel, leading to Rapunzel dying in her place. Eloise was defeated by her own daughter who had now mastered magic strong enough to turn her into a tree.