The Dark Side of the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales: What's Hidden Behind Children's Stories
Get ready to learn unexpected and dark details about the famous fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. In this article, we will tell you about the dark side of their works and what is really hidden behind children's stories. Discover the original versions of fairy tales, full of cruelty and mysticism, which over time have become softer and safer for young readers. Are you ready to dive into the world of secrets and ancient legends? Then read on!
The Brothers Grimm are known to everyone as the authors of beloved children's fairy tales. But few people know that they were not only storytellers, but also linguists who studied the German language and its dialects. It was Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm who are considered the fathers of German philology and the founders of German studies. Their works on German mythology, grammar and syntax had a huge impact on the subsequent development of philology. The brothers' greatest work was the first dictionary of the German language, which, unfortunately, remained unfinished. Wilhelm Grimm died in 1859, having completed work only on the letter "D", and his brother Jacob continued to work on the dictionary until his death in 1863, having completed sections on the letters A, B, C, E.
The Brothers Grimm began collecting folk tales in the early 19th century, inspired by the Romantic movement, which emphasized the importance of national culture and folklore. Jacob and Wilhelm collected fairy tales inspired by the Romantic movement. They traveled throughout Germany, recording oral stories they heard from farmers, artisans, and other locals.
The brothers used oral folklore as sources for their tales, which they heard from various storytellers. These stories were often brutal and dark, reflecting the realities and fears of the time. The storytellers included not only common people, but also members of the aristocracy, which allowed them to collect a wide range of plots and motifs.
In the early 19th century, a literate middle class was emerging in Europe, thanks to the introduction of compulsory schooling, and this led to a real boom in interest in folklore stories. In 1810, the Brothers Grimm completed the rough draft of their famous collection of fairy tales. A friend of the brothers, the German writer Clemens Brentano, asked to send the manuscript to look at it. But after a while, he never returned it. Fearing that Clemens would appropriate the authorship, the brothers rushed to add to the collection and publish it.
In 1812, the first author's edition of the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales was published, a collection of "Children's and Household Tales", which included 86 works. This version was never reprinted after its release, as it was met with harsh criticism. In subsequent editions, the brothers were forced to rewrite the plots, making them less cruel. In reality, the tales were so terrifying that hardly anyone could sleep peacefully after reading them.
Initially, the Brothers Grimm sought to preserve the authenticity of the fairy tales they collected, recording them as they were heard. They believed that these stories were important for understanding folk culture and should be preserved in their original form. However, over time, under pressure from critics and in an attempt to make the tales more suitable for children, they were forced to soften some of the plots and remove the more violent elements.
Everyone knows the story of Sleeping Beauty, who pricked her finger on a spindle, fell asleep for a hundred years, and was awakened by a prince with a kiss. In the original version, the story is much darker: Beauty is found by a king, who, unable to wake her, rapes her and leaves. Beauty gives birth to twins without regaining consciousness, and only when one of the babies sucks a shard of spindle from her finger does she wake up. The king, married to another, eventually burns his wife and is reunited with Beauty and the children.
In the popular version, the evil stepmother tries to kill Snow White, but in the original, the evil queen is her real mother, who orders that Snow White's lungs and liver be brought for dinner instead of her heart. The prince finds Snow White dead and takes her body. When his servant accidentally drops the coffin, a piece of poisoned apple falls out of Snow White's throat, and she comes back to life. At the prince's wedding, the evil mother dies dancing in red-hot iron shoes.
Recently, a German family discovered the tombstone of the "real" Snow White. It was the grave of an aristocrat with a difficult fate - Marie-Sophie von Erthal. Marie-Sophie lived in the 18th century and, according to legend, became the prototype of Snow White. Her life was full of tragedies and trials, which was reflected in the fairy tale, which became part of the cultural heritage.
In the original version, Rapunzel becomes pregnant by the prince, and her witch stepmother finds out about it when Rapunzel complains that her clothes are too tight. The stepmother then cuts off Rapunzel's long hair and banishes her to the desert. The prince falls while trying to climb a tower and, blinded by thorns, wanders in search of his beloved. Rapunzel lives with her two children from the prince in abject poverty, and they are eventually reunited after much suffering.
In the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, the evil sisters go to extreme measures to get the glass slipper: one of them cuts off her toes, the other her heel. The prince notices the blood on the slipper and realizes the deception. The doves that fly to the wedding peck out the sisters' eyes, and they end their days as blind beggars.
In the original, the Pied Piper, angry that the townspeople have not paid him the reward he promised for getting rid of the rats, takes revenge on them by luring their children into the river, where they drown. Only one lame child survives, because he did not catch up with the others. In modern versions, the children are returned once the townspeople pay the Pied Piper his reward.
In the original Hansel and Gretel, the children are abandoned in the woods by their starving parents, who eventually end up in the home of a cannibalistic witch who plans to eat them. The children use their wits to throw the witch into the oven and escape. In an earlier version, the devil himself was the witch, and the children use their wits to kill him and his wife, then escape with their treasure.
Some of the stories were so violent that they could not be adapted. For example, in the story "How the Children Played at Slaughtering Cattle," the older brother kills the younger brother, the mother kills the older brother in anger, the younger brother drowns, and the mother hangs herself. The father, upon learning what happened, dies of a heart attack. Even the best editor in the world could not make this story suitable for children.
So, the children's fairy tales we know and love are far from their original versions. Some of the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales are so cruel that they cannot be adapted for children. In the Middle Ages, such stories helped prepare children for the harsh reality of life. Modern adaptations have made these stories softer and more acceptable for children, while preserving their magic and instructive nature. Such changes show how the perception of the world is changing and that modern parents want to protect their children from excessive cruelty, while leaving them the opportunity to enjoy the magic of fairy tales.