Why the witch in Rapunzel's tale is innocent

I'm sure you have all heard about the famous tale of Rapunzel. A tale about a beautiful young girl in a tower with extremely long hair, a handsome young prince and a forbidden love between them. I'm also sure you've heard of the sorceress, the one who others call the witch, Rapunzel's caretaker who is often described by readers as the villain. However, I disagree with the claim that the witch is a villain. After all, she committed no crimes. Now, you might recall the scene of the witch taking Rapunzel away and tell me that that is kidnapping but you would be incorrect. In fact, the witch had every right to take away Rapunzel. It was legally correct. She did not force Rapunzel's father to give him to her, as you will realize the proof in this passage:

"The sorceress's anger abated somewhat, and she said, "If things are as you say, I will allow you to take as much rapunzel as you want. But under one condition: You must give me the child that your wife will bring to the world. It will do well, and I will take care of it like a mother."

In his fear the man agreed to everything."

This man trespassed onto the witch's property and stole from her multiple times. The witch had every right to punish him but instead of taking revenge, she proposed an offer to the man. She made a deal with him, saying that she would let him take as much rapunzel as he wanted if he would give her the child that his wife gives birth to, promising that the child would be cared for by her like a mother. The man consented and agreed to all of this, therefore making the witch taking Rapunzel legal as both people must hold up their end of the deal. The witch was only taking the payment she was supposed to receive for holding up her part of the deal.

Later on in the story, you will read about Rapunzel's meetings with the prince and their plans of being together when Rapunzel escapes. Once Rapunzel accidentally tells the witch about the prince, this happens:

"She grabbed Rapunzel's beautiful hair, wrapped it a few times around her left hand, grasped a pair of scissors with her right hand, and snip snap, cut it off."

When it comes to this part of the story, people are villainizing the witch for cutting off Rapunzel's hair but if you think about it, it makes sense for the witch to do that. After all, Rapunzel was letting a stranger come in. It is very dangerous to do such a thing, especially if the stranger is male because he could be trying to seduce her, get her to come with him, show his true colors and make her miserable for the rest of her life. It makes sense that the witch would be enraged at the thought of Rapunzel, who is now technically her daughter, letting in a stranger and of course she would try to cut off the connection between Rapunzel and the king's son.

Now, at this point, you might mention the fact that the witch abandoned Rapunzel shortly after. You might say that she should be arrested and is guilty because child abandonment is a crime. However, Rapunzel is not a child. In the story, it says:

"When she was twelve years old, the sorceress locked her in a tower that stood in a forest and that had neither a door nor a stairway, but only a tiny little window at the very top."

Before you say that she shouldn't have isolated Rapunzel, Rapunzel is her legal daughter! She is also still a child, giving all the right to the witch so the witch had every right to choose where her daughter lived as such an important decision is tasked to the parent.

Anyways, back to Rapunzel's current age, in the story it also says:

"Thus he wandered about miserably for some years, finally happening into the wilderness where Rapunzel lived miserably with the twins that she had given birth to."

This means that Rapunzel would have been older than 12 years old, old enough to have children in fact. Of course, her age isn't specified but it is safe to say that she is not a child since the time period Rapunzel's story took place in was a time of women getting married and having children very young. In fact, being a 14 year old female would make you considered an adult so the witch wasn't abandoning a child as Rapunzel was no longer a child. She was a legal adult, therefore the witch's action of kicking her out was not illegal.

Now, you might say that the witch tried to murder the prince by pushing him out of the tower but that is not true. In the story, it says:

"The prince was overcome with grief, and in his despair he threw himself from the tower."

This line shows that the prince threw himself out, therefore the blame cannot be put on the witch when she didn't push him off. The prince was the one who made the choice of throwing himself out of the tower, therefore the consequences of his actions (being blinded) was entirely his fault and cannot be called a murder attempt made by a witch.

In conclusion, the witch should not be called the villain as everything she did was justified and completely legal, making her innocent.