Rumpelteazer
Personality:
‘Mischievous’ is one of the first words that pops into mind when thinking of Rumpelteazer. After all, her entire song is about how she and Mungojerrie cause trouble in Victoria Grove, isn’t it? And mischievous she is. She steals Woolworth pearls, helps Mungojerrie steal the Argentine Joint, knocks over Ming vases…gawd, what doesn’t this queen do? She and Mungojerrie are believed by many (heck, almost every single CATS Fan believes this) to have been former operatives of Macavity. Not everyone agrees upon why they aren’t any more—there are probably some people who believe that they still are. Rumpelteazer’s also got a little touch of flirt in her, but it’s nowhere near as strong as Bombalurina’s—Bombi's consumed by the Flirt Side. Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer are obviously very close, whether as brother and sister (as I believe) or mates (as I don’t believe).
CATS Spotter's Guide Entry:
When looking for Rumpelteazer, look near the front. She usually dances there. Not sure which one she is, however? Rumpelteazer’s base coat is a white-type color (I prefer cream, since it sounds better), with jagged stripes of black and orange. She has a fairly normal wig, which is mostly orange with patches of black and white. During her song, she wears a string of pearls around her neck, some odd sort of shoe, and gloves. During a majority of the show (not her song), she wears a black collar with silver star and diamond-shaped studs, and leg and arm warmers. These warmers are a grayish color with orange and black stripes. Her face is half-white, with a patch of orange-ish color on her lower face.
Name Origin:
Probably a combination of ‘rumple’ and ‘tease’. It could also be a combination of ‘rump’ and ‘tease,’ but let’s not go there, okay? ‘Rumple’ means to ‘to wrinkle or form into folds or creases.’ Given her nature, I would imagine she does that. Elliot probably changed the spelling around a bit to make ‘Rumpel.’ The other word, ‘tease,’ has numerous meanings, one of them being, ‘to annoy or vex.’ Um, when it comes to ‘Teazer, I guess you could say she does that…=-). Elliot also mangled the spelling here.
Other Comments:
There’s something with Rumpelteazer that, for some odd reason, annoys me. There’s two different spellings of her name: Rumpelteazer and Rumpleteazer. There’s not a whole lot of difference, but I don’t like it, for no apparent reason. Rumpleteazer, oh sure, it was how they spelled her name in the video, but on the tape, CD, piano books (probably other books as well), heck, even T.S. Elliot himself spelled her name ‘Rumpelteazer.’ Why was it changed? What’s wrong with leaving it the way the Almighty T.S. Elliot wrote it? Siiiiigh…on to other comments. About Mungo and Rumpel being together, I just don’t believe that. Granted, them being in love might make for some interesting fanfics (quoth Jemima and Electra’s Jellicle Junkyard), I prefer my theory. I’m not the only Fan who believes they’re siblings, either. I mean, their markings are a little different, but since they’re very tremendously similar, they’ve the look of cats from the same litter. I’ve bored you enough with my Rumpelteazer comments (she’s my favorite cat, by the way). Oh, one more, ere you go…this may sound really freaky, but one of my friends thinks I look a little like Jo Gibb (Rumpel in the video). Time to lie down……
