"The Brothers Grimm were academics best known for publishing collections of folk tales and fairy tales, which became massively popular." (Zipes p. 7) "Born in Hanau, Germany, a year apart, with Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm born the oldest, on January 4, 1985, and Wilhelm Karl Grimm on February 24, 1786. Their family consisted of nine other siblings, six of which survived infancy, and their parents." (Zipes p. 9) Their early childhood was described as "idyllic" with them living in a beautiful countryside home while their father, Philip Wilhelm, was employed by the Prince of Hessen. However, when Jacob was eleven years and Wilhelm only ten, their father died, and their fortune dramatically declined to nothing. Their family was forced to move to an overcrowded urban residence which left their mother to struggle in supporting a large family in difficult circumstances. Some scholars have argued that that this is the reasoning behind the Brothers' inclination to idealize and excuse fathers, leaving a predominance of female villains in their stories, such as the infamous wicked stepmothers. (Grimm New World Encyclopedia p.1)
Both brothers attended Friedrichs-Gymnasium in Cassel and later went on to study law at the University of Marburg. They began their literary and philological studies in their early twenties, unknowing that that would develop into both Grimm's Law and their collected editions of fairy and folk tales. Their collection consisted of a world‐renowned tale collection, the Children's and Household Tales, also known as the "Grimm's Fairy Tales". This collection laid the nitty-gritty for the historical study of German literature and culture. Though there were over hundreds of tales in the collection, some of the world's m...
... middle of paper ...
... Schauspiel von Dagmar Papula | SHAKESPEARE und PARTNER | Theaterhof Priessenthal." Die Bruder Grimm | Schauspiel von Dagmar Papula | SHAKESPEARE und PARTNER | Theaterhof Priessenthal. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2010. .
Roud, Steve, and Jacqueline Simpson. A Dictionary of English Folklore. First Edition ed. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2000. Print.
Tatar, Maria. The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales. Princeton: Princeton Univ Pr, 1987. Print.
"The Brothers Grimm: Biography from Answers.com." Answers.com: Wiki Q&A combined with free online dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedias. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2010. .
Zipes, Jack. The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World. Second Edition ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. Print.
McWilliams, Jr., John P. "Fictions of Merry Mount." American Quarterly, Vol. 29, No.1 (1977), pp. 3-30. JSTOR. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. .
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
Tatar, Maria. "Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, ‘Little Red Riding Hood’" The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2002. 17-27 371-373. Print.
Sedgwick, Catharine. A New England Tale. Ed. Victoria Clements. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Logan, Jenkins. “Twelfth Night: The Limits of Festivity.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 22.2 (1982): 223-38. Print.
Grimm, Jacob Ludwig Carl and Wilhelm Carl. "Rapunzel." Stories. Ed. Eric S. Rabkin. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1995. 514-517.
The simplicity of fairy tales and non-specific details renders them ideal for manipulation allowing writers to add their own comments often reflecting social convention and ideology. Theref...
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. “Rapunzel.” Folk and Fairy Tales. Ed. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2002. 67-70.
Fairytales express the creative fantasies of the rural and less educated layers of common man (Cuban, 1984). They are characteristically full of magic, often involving upper class characters (Cuban, 1984). In short, Fairytales are organically grown with the creative material of a collective group. The Grimm Brother’s fairytale, The Frog Prince, is no exception. The Grimm Brothers’ fairytale is about a handsome prince trapped in the repulsive body of a frog, but who nevertheless overcomes and transcends this bewitched state through his wit, perseverance, and magic (Prince, 2009). Until the seventeenth century, it was the adult population that was interested in fairytales (Cuban, 2009). Their allocation to the nursery was a late development (Cuban, 2009). This allocation can be credited to the rejection of the irrational, and development of the ra...
Zipes, Jack. Fairy tales and the art of subversion the classical genre for children and the process
Most modern fairytales are expected to have happy endings and be appropriate for children, nonetheless, in past centuries most were gruesome. Consequently, fairytales have been modified throughout time. The stories “Beauty and the Beast” by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont and “The Summer and Winter Garden” by Jacob and Wilherm Grimm share similarities and differences. The two stories are distinct because of the peculiar year they have been written in. LePrince de Beaumont’s story is written in London of 1783 and Grimm’s in Germany of 1812. At the time, wealthy people in London, were educated and had nannies who would read to their children; whereas, in Germany, the Grimm brothers created their own interpretation into a short story. Because many high class parents in 18th century London would not be able to spend time with their children, nannies would read “Beauty and the Beast” to them since they were intended for children and considered appropriate. In “The Summer and Winter Garden,” the Grimm’s’ story was mostly based to entertain misbehaved children and teach them the valuable lesson that everyone should be treated with kindness. The Grimm brothers’ goal in rewriting this short story is to better children’s behavior which worked quite well. Since these stories have been re-written for children, it would be safe to say the reason why parents expose the two stories to their children is because they both portray the same moral: good things happen to good people. The two interpretations of “Beauty and the Beast,” although written in separate countries, share important similarities and differences even though the authors have different interpretations and came from different cultures.
The Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault are both very well-known authors of fairytales. Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm are usually the most recognized in our society, but Perrault has his own version of many of the same tales. These authors have very different methods and styles of writing, as well as differences in morals of their stories. Here I will assess some of the differences between certain tales, as well as provide some background behind the authors.
Bottigheimer, Ruth B.. Grimms' bad girls & bold boys: the moral & social vision of the Tales. New
...nges that are used to adapt to the culture they are being told in. The Brother's Grimm and Giambattista Basile each wrote a fairytale that was almost the same as the other, but as previously mentioned they are different in order to adapt to their surroundings. Nevertheless, psychologically speaking, the psyche of the characters besides the father are both the same. They portray different archetypes that contrast and cause tension in the fairy tale. Each character can easily represent a certain personality trait. Regardless, fairy tales appear to people and their is more to why they are passed down time and time again in different versions. This reason falls back to the human psyche. According to Jungian theory, subconsciously we enjoy telling fairy tales because they relate so much to us and are basically showing a closer view of our subconscious on a cultural level.
Zipes, Jack. Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.