The Grimm Brothers: Reading between the lines of Childhood Fairy Tales!!

"It was in fairy-stories that I first divined the potency of the words, and the wonder of things, such as stone, and wood, and iron; tree and grass; house and fire; bread and wine."

-       JRR Tolkien in his essay “ On Fairy Stories”

The grand master of Fantasy Literature says it & I believe it.

I can say hands down, Fairytales were our first introduction to the world of Books. Can we honestly claim our childhood to be complete without “Cinderella”, or “Sleeping Beauty” or “Beauty & the Beast”? Haven’t we all read the fairytale version of the biblical story of David vs. Goliath in “Jack & the Beanstalk”? Haven’t we marvelled over the story of “Princess & the Frog”? Haven’t we been scared reading “Hansel & Gretel” & “Little Red Riding Hood” in our childhood?

These stories shaped our minds into imagination, mystique & a world “far, far away” that was full of fairies, goblins, dwarves, witches, wicked stepmothers and a Prince Charming & his beautiful princess whom he has to rescue!! What a world!! But did you know the origins of these fairy tales that formed an integral part of our childhood, and through ages have inspired so many authors & their works, whether classical, neo-classical or modern contemporary literature? Or did you ever think that there was actually much more to these simple looking stories; some deeper meaning behind each re-telling. This post is about exploring the writers behind our lovely fairy tales & their intent in creating those.

Origins: How did fairy tales come by? Well actually no one knows. After poring over numerous essays, Wikipedia & Britannica records, I found that nobody can actually claim exactly how they started. So, this is the obvious inference. Fairy Tales are modern renditions of age old folk tales prevalent locally in many countries. Stories that were probably cooked up by grandmothers for their little grandchildren; stories that were a figment of imagination in a life that had little or nothing to offer in terms of passive, ready-to-use entertainment, and when, imagination was actually put to good use. They were passed down generation to generation, crossed geographical limits & hence added from various cultures & got a new holistic identity.

The earliest organised works of fantasy or fairy tales as they were called then, were Panchtantra (India, 3^rd century BC), Aesop’s fables (Greece, 6^th century BC), The Golden Ass (Rome, 100-200 AD) and The Arabian Nights (Middle East, 1500 AD). Apart from this some other famed folklores were Bikram aur Betaal (King & the Vampire), which was the earliest example of mystique & vampire lore. These stories were further passed down till in the late 17^th century they were compiled & re-written by The Grimm Brothers, amongst many authors, who were the most successful re-tellers of the popular European fairytales that we know & identify today.

The Grimm Brothers: A small introduction to the brothers as per Wikipedia –

The Brothers Grimm (German: Brüder Grimm or Die Gebrüder Grimm), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, lexicographers and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the most well-known storytellers of German folk tales, popularizing stories such as "Cinderella" (Aschenputtel), "The Frog Prince" (Der Froschkönig), "Hansel and Gretel" (Hänsel und Gretel), "Rapunzel", "Rumpelstiltskin" (Rumpelstilzchen), and "Snow White" (Schneewittchen). Their first collection of folk tales, Children's and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen), was published in 1812.

The brothers spent their formative years first in the German town of Hanau and then in Steinau. Their father's death in 1796, when Jacob was eleven and Wilhelm ten, caused great poverty for the family and affected the brothers for many years. They both attended the University of Marburg where historian and jurist Friedrich von Savigny spurred their interest in philology and Germanic studies—a field in which they are now considered pioneers—and at the same time developed a curiosity for folklore, which grew into a lifelong dedication to collecting German folk tales.

The thought behind the works of The Grimm Brothers: Weren’t you scared of the story of Rumplestiltskin – the goblin who grants you any wish, except that if your wish is fulfilled, he will come back to take away your first born boy on the 3^rd day.

Wasn’t Hansel & Gretel more of a warning for children to not walk around in a stranger’s land out of greed? You never know what or who you might encounter. I, for one, was scared to bits when the wicked witch hatches the plan of baking Hansel & Gretel in the fire (a reference to cannibals actually in the guise of a witch), and gets pushed inside herself; also did you know this story created a multi franchisee starrer iconic figure Freddy Krueger in Nightmare at Elm Street films?

You should never accept any food or drinks from strangers, remember what happened to Snow White who took a bite from the apple that the Witch gave her.

A lustre of golden stairs made of lovely hair cannot guarantee divine joy, & can result in you falling from the tallest tower. Beauty is more than what it appears – remember Rapunzel!!

And the wolf behind Little Red Riding Hood? Behind an innocent child lurks a hungry, evil wolf…isn’t that actually true. The wolf cleverly represented a paedophile in reality (to my understanding), or a kidnapper. It was cleverly given the guise of a wolf, and was a warning to little girls.

So many stories & many hidden meanings in them. The Brothers Grimm re-told these age old stories with lots of hidden meaning in them. They were warnings to children of what could be lurking for them out there, without killing the innocence in their mind a bit too soon. Hence these stories were given a fantasy story format & were considered educational too.

Needless to say these tales have inspired the imagination of authors, film makers, and artists since time immemorial. Those who can read between the lines have created magnificent works based on these stories. Tolkein, Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland) – mathematician & a fantasy author!! , C.S. Lewis – the Chronicles of Narnia, L. Frank Baum (The Wizard of Oz) to our very own J.K.Rowling have all been inspired by The Grimm Brothers. The creators of Shrek are visible with their inspiration too!!

IMPACT on readers today: While researching this post, I interviewed some mothers, especially those who have grown up reading & admiring the Grimm Brothers & their tales. Surprisingly, most of them are not in the favour of introducing their kids to these stories at all. Reason? Well, the first opinion was that these stories were too clichéd & formed a stereotype on the young, impressionable minds, that is no longer considered healthy. Example: People with deformities are often vile, e.g, Dwarves, giants, witches. Stepmothers are necessarily evil (Cinderella & so many more). If good looking & fair, then good by heart; if not drop dead gorgeous, then “ugly” and with an evil heart!!  If fair then good, if not so fair then bad. We cannot deny, we have imbibed these stereotypes in us, even if in subconscious.

Mothers today do not want their kids to grow with such warped age old European notions. Hence even schools today do not prescribe these age old tales. They can be changed & altered with changing sensibilities, but I still cannot imagine a childhood without them.

To sum up you can say these stories are stereotypical today, but you cannot deny their time & age transcending charm & how they have & still continue to be a major influence on the best of works – whether literature, films, art, crafts, fashion or even blogs.

 

COMING UP: Inside the mind of Grimm Brothers!!