After this fascinating read, I am left wondering how the world might be different if the Brothers Grimm had allowed the stories told to them by Dorothea Viehmann and others to keep their references to pregnancy instead of editing out sex and adding violence to fit the model of a Christian morality tale.
I had the same thought! How many young women and girls might have identified with a character who does not understand what's happened/happening to her body? No, instead, bring on more gratuitous violence that inspires more violence.
I loved reading this and learning more about not only the tales, but also the men who recorded them and how they may have changed them. This was right up my alley.
That is quite incredible to see those notes. Thank you for such an in-depth dive into Grimm's works.
(That reminded me of taking a bus from Holland to Germany. As soon as we crossed the border, the green fields in the Dutch countryside transitioned into a dark, thick forest, which made me think back to all the fairytales I read as a child. I turned around and told my husband that the plot of most of those stories did not surprise me in the least now that I saw the country where they were a part of folklore.)
Your comment reminded me of my childhood experience. My father was stationed at a U.S. base in Darmstadt, Germany, near the dark, tangled Darmstadt forest. The Grimm brothers’ tales were part of my bedtime stories, and standing at the edge of those woods, I could feel their foreboding world come to life.
Jacob and Wilhelm were first and foremost academics, and so they logically approached their work as scholars (rather than as the dreamers or adventurers they were portrayed on film as by George Pal and Terry Gilliam). And like most scholars, they were never entirely satisfied with what they made...
Thank you so much for this artical. As a German primaryschool teacher we learnd a lot about these two brothers. I grew up with the fairytales. Insteresting to hear that the reserch found out so much more duri g the last years.
The Grimm brothers were the Walt Disney of their era and their wholesome retelling of what were essentially horror stories sanitised and subverted their original purpose as cautionary tales. Fascinating to dig into their creation though- thanks for this Jillian
Such a fascinating read! Also found your description of their dictionary-entry work that they sustained till their last breath so interesting. True note takers until the end!
These books were around in my home when I was growing up (early 60s, roughly age 10, I think collected by my mother) and I read them more than once. Enjoyed them at the time, it would be interesting to go back now and look at them.
After this fascinating read, I am left wondering how the world might be different if the Brothers Grimm had allowed the stories told to them by Dorothea Viehmann and others to keep their references to pregnancy instead of editing out sex and adding violence to fit the model of a Christian morality tale.
Such an interesting question to ponder.
I had the same thought! How many young women and girls might have identified with a character who does not understand what's happened/happening to her body? No, instead, bring on more gratuitous violence that inspires more violence.
I never knew that the tales weren’t invented by them, but rather preserved from a long cultural heritage!
Right?! It's kind of wild how many tales we tell about authors.
Very interesting. Thank you.
Thanks, Gaye!
I loved reading this and learning more about not only the tales, but also the men who recorded them and how they may have changed them. This was right up my alley.
Yay! So glad to hear it.
You can find German editions where the original dialects are preserved. There’s a nice one with illustrations by Maurice Sendak.
How lovely!
That is quite incredible to see those notes. Thank you for such an in-depth dive into Grimm's works.
(That reminded me of taking a bus from Holland to Germany. As soon as we crossed the border, the green fields in the Dutch countryside transitioned into a dark, thick forest, which made me think back to all the fairytales I read as a child. I turned around and told my husband that the plot of most of those stories did not surprise me in the least now that I saw the country where they were a part of folklore.)
I love that story! Being in the place itself gives the stories so much more texture.
Your comment reminded me of my childhood experience. My father was stationed at a U.S. base in Darmstadt, Germany, near the dark, tangled Darmstadt forest. The Grimm brothers’ tales were part of my bedtime stories, and standing at the edge of those woods, I could feel their foreboding world come to life.
I felt the same way when I visited the Black Forest. So wonderful to know that so many of us had the same experience!
Jacob and Wilhelm were first and foremost academics, and so they logically approached their work as scholars (rather than as the dreamers or adventurers they were portrayed on film as by George Pal and Terry Gilliam). And like most scholars, they were never entirely satisfied with what they made...
Absolutely, I love their scholarly personalities.
Thank you so much for this artical. As a German primaryschool teacher we learnd a lot about these two brothers. I grew up with the fairytales. Insteresting to hear that the reserch found out so much more duri g the last years.
Yes! I was also surprised by how much has been found so recently.
The Grimm brothers were the Walt Disney of their era and their wholesome retelling of what were essentially horror stories sanitised and subverted their original purpose as cautionary tales. Fascinating to dig into their creation though- thanks for this Jillian
You're welcome!
I learned a lot from this one, thank you!
I'm so glad!
Such a fascinating read! Also found your description of their dictionary-entry work that they sustained till their last breath so interesting. True note takers until the end!
Thanks so much! True note-takers indeed!
What a great issue, thank you so much 💖 would love to learn more!
Thanks!
These books were around in my home when I was growing up (early 60s, roughly age 10, I think collected by my mother) and I read them more than once. Enjoyed them at the time, it would be interesting to go back now and look at them.
This is wonderful, thank you. 😊
You're so welcome!
Reminds me of how the patriarchal religions have been scrabbled together...
Like all tales told over many, many years.
Having been raised having these stories read to me, and then reading them myself, this is fascinating. Less sex, more violence! Amazing.
I grew up on the very sanitized versions as well.