2. A long Time Ago, Lived Two Brothers Named GRIMM
3. They Loved Telling Scary Stories To Anyone Who Would Listen
Little Children Even
4. They Told Tales Of Witches And Evil Spells
5. And Wild Animals That Ate Little Children!
6. They Told Of Bloody Feet, Where Toes And Heels Were Hacked
Off
7. They Told Of Little Boys Who Would Cut Out The Eyes Of Live
Animals
8. And Throw Them At Little Girls
9. They Told Of an Evil Queen Who Would
10. Once upon a time there were tales of fairies, and fabulous
castles, fanciful places, and blood! Yes, Blood! Such was the
imaginary world of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. We do not often think
of blood and fairy tales in the same context. However, the Grimm
tales often included horrific details of evil, death, blood and
darkness; not the sort of calming and peaceful thoughts that want
our children dreaming about. This wonderful world of make believe
was originally intended for adults, not children. Though these
tales have been softened and altered from their original state, but
they still contain harsh imagery, perhaps too strong for children,
especially young impressionable ones. Notice the following quote:
Some of these stories were considered to be too violent for
children. The brothers tried to explain to their critics that
although many of the stories appealed to children, Household Tales
was not really created for them. It was created for the brothers
fellow scholars and to help preserve the German heritage. But in
years to come, some of those early stories would appear in later
editions of the book significantly changed to make them more
acceptable to children and their parents. A few of the more violent
tales were dropped entirely. 1
11. The Grimm brothers (who lived in the late 1700s ~ middle
1800s) were the fathers of the modern day fairy tale. Their life
work was to capture the oral stories and folklore of their German
heritage, and to preserve them (and their heritage) in written
form. Their collection of stories and fairy tales read as a whos
who of the tales we all have come to know and enjoy, though most of
us have only been exposed to the Disney versions of these tales.
Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Cap (Little Red Riding
Hood), Rumpelstiltskin, Tom Thumb, Rapunzel and Snow White are
among the many titles in their library. It is not my purpose in
this essay to undergo an exhaustive study of the Grimm brothers
biographies, reasons for writing or to show a complete list of
their works, though I thought a few words were necessary to set the
stage. The stories that we have all heard, and know from childhood
do not include much of the harsh content as the original Grimms
versions. To help demonstrate this, let us compare the story of
Cinderella, the version we all know and love, to the Grimms
version.
12. . The theme of the story is very much the same in both
versions; unlikely young woman goes to the ball, dances with the
Prince, loses her shoeand ends up happily ever after, married to
the Prince. In one version, the story begins in the usual fashion:
Once upon a time there was a little girl whose dear mother died and
whose father married for his second wife 2 Tragic as the death of
the mother is, the writer does not dwell on it. She immediately
goes into the meat of the story. Compare this opening to the Grimms
version: The wife of a rich man fell sick, and as she felt that her
end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside
and said, "Dear child, be good and pious, and then the good God
will always protect thee, and I will look down on thee from heaven
and be near thee." Thereupon she closed her eyes and departed.
Every day the maiden went out to her mother's grave and wept 3 The
Grimm version details the death of the mother along with her last
words to her daughter. Then they tell how the little girl is
devastated by the loss of her mother. She is heartbroken. She
visits the grave of her mother every day and cries. This goes on,
according to the Grimm version, for at least two seasons (winter
and spring). Is this the sort of bedtime tale that we want our
children thinking about?
13. I am not in opposition to writing about or even discussing
death with children. My question is how and when this discussion
should take place. Telling a little child about a loved one dying
is one thingbut relating death to perpetual pain and tears may not
be in the best interest of the child. Cinderella cries everyday for
her mother. We need to be careful how our children are exposed to
this kind of sensitive material. Keep in mind this detail was not
meant to harm children or their mental well-being. It was meant to
be entertainment for adults as well as convey its morals and
subliminal meanings though its symbolism. A second example from the
same story, Cinderella, is seen when the Kings son determines to
marry the maiden who can wear the (glass) slipper. The Disney
version, along with the tamer versions, simply tells us that the
step-sisters feet were just too big to get the slipper on. Try as
they did, they just could not squeeze that much foot into the
dainty shoe. But the Grimms have a different tale to tell. I was
shocked when I read their version. The slipper that is lost is a
golden slipper not glass, however; it is not the material of which
the slipper is made that is objectionable. It is the graphic
depiction of how the step-sisters make the shoe fit that is
troublesome.
14. Picking up the story as the first step-sister tries on the
shoe: but she could not get her big toe into it, and the shoe was
too small for her. Then her mother gave her a knife and said, "Cut
the toe off; when thou art Queen thou wilt have no more need to go
on foot." The maiden cut the toe off, forced the foot into the
shoe, swallowed the pain 4 Ouch! The evil Step-Mother instructs her
child to cut off her big toe! The story goes on. The Prince and the
girl (without her big toe) begin to ride off into the sunset.
Helooked at her foot and saw how the blood was streaming from it. 5
The Prince returns the imposter and the same sort of thing happens
with the other Step-Sister as well, though this one is told to cut
off a piece of her heel! Blood again pours out of the shoe and
stains her white stocking! Yuck! Again I ask; is this the sort of
thing our children should be taught? What is the underlying message
here? If you are too big or fat it is Okay to just cut off the
unwanted flesh or appendages? It is Okay to tell a lie, cheat, and
deceive others in order to bring about a desired outcome? These are
great morals and lessons for our children, yes?
15. Are the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm too harsh for
children? Are these (sometimes) bloody tales suitable for children?
Do they provide a calming affect on children and a voice of comfort
at bedtime or do they in fact disturb the child? There is no doubt
that these tales provide entertainment. I found many of the Grimms
versions very interesting. I found some of the imagery a bit gross.
Toes cut off and heels butchered so shoes will fit better. We read
about eyes being poked out and thrown at people. We even see old
women engaged in cannibalism. These things may be interestingbut
who should the audience be? In my opinion, fairy tales and
childrens stories should not have such graphic violence. Killing
someone is not the sort of subject matter that we should engrain in
our children. I believe that we (Baby Boomers) have become
desensitized due to the constant flood of violent behavior we see
everyday. Our TVs are filled with it. The movies we watch, the
video games we play and the books we read are just oozing blood
from every pour. Children, in my view, are not just little adults.
They take in a lot more than we realize. Contrary to what some
experts say, children can not process all the information they take
in correctly. Reading about the death of a mother, and learning
that the way to deal with this is to cry everyday for months is not
a healthy solution. Teaching children that everyone will end up
happily ever after is setting them up for failure and depression.
Fairy tales are great entertainment for kidsbut let us stick to the
tamer versions. Thanks Walt.
16. 1 Johnson, Virginia. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm: Brothers and
Best Friends. Kid.Library Point. Rappahannock Regional Library,
07/07/2009. Web. 02/10/10. <
http://kids.librarypoint.org/brothers_grimm > 2 Bates, Katharine
Lee. Once Upon A Time, A Book of Old-Time Fairy Tales ,
Checkerboard Press, New York, 1993 edition, pg 79 3 Barancik,
Steve. Cinderella, Brothers Grimm fairy tale #21. Best Childrens
Books.com. 2006 ~ 2010. N.pag. Web. 01/29/2010. <
http://www.best-childrens-books.com/cinderella-fairy-tale.html#cinderella
> 4 Barancik, Steve. Cinderella, Brothers Grimm fairy tale #21.
Best Childrens Books.com. 2006 ~ 2010. N.pag. Web. 02/01/2010. <
http://www.best-childrens-books.com/cinderella-fairy-tale.html#cinderella
> 5 Barancik, Steve. Cinderella, Brothers Grimm fairy tale #21.
Best Childrens Books.com. 2006 ~ 2010. N.pag. Web. 02/02/2010. <
http://www.best-childrens-books.com/cinderella-fairy-tale.html#cinderella
> John, Elton. Funeral for a Friend. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road .
John. 1973. Web.