The Struggle In The Shroud By Jacob And Wilhelm Grimm

Learning to deal with difficult situations is a part of growing up, throughout our lives we face many challenges and situations that we must learn to overcome and move on from. The most challenging of all is learning to deal with the death of a loved one or someone very close to you such as a best friend, especially when it is premature. The short story by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm ‘The Shroud’ is to do with the loss of a once adored seven-year old boy and the grief and mourning which occurs as a result of such a loss by the mother. However, this story does not teach us to dwell on such a problem, but in fact embrace it, accept it and overcome it, perhaps with the help of a higher person, in this case God.

Although, the tale is very short the main aspects of the plot are still evident throughout the story, for example, the exposition introduces the main two characters of the story, the mother and her child, the Grimm brothers wrote that ‘the little boy of seven years old, was so handsome to look at and lovable, that no one could look at him without liking him.’ The rising action of the short tale occurs when the little boy ‘suddenly became ill, and god took him to himself.’ (Grimm) This builds the story

to its climax when the boy kept appearing as an apparition in the night and on one occasion spoke to him mother saying ‘Oh mother, do stop crying or I shall never fall asleep in my coffin…’ (Grimm) The falling action then starts to infer the theme of the story because the mother begins to stop crying due to being ‘ afraid of what she heard’ and the boy’s shroud is drying which will allow him to rest peacefully. (Grimm) Finally, the conclusion of the short story finishes with the boy no longer appearing in the night because his mother has overcome her sorrow and moved on from the constant mourning and crying allowing the boy to sleep ‘in his little bed beneath the earth.’ (Grimm)
The mother of the prematurely deceased child suffers from internal conflict within the story, the internal conflict being the grief and potential guilt she feels about the child’s death and how his conflict plagues her throughout the story. This internal conflict is shared by many people when they suffer the death of a close family member, they think about all the things they wish they did and said to the deceased but actually never did., as well as thinking about all the great memories they had with them. This in turn makes the story much more relatable and therefore, the theme is much more prominent and relatable too. One must embrace their problems and worries and overcome them, perhaps with the help of a higher being.
‘The Shroud’ comes from a collection of story’s called ‘Grimm’s Fairytales’ this means that, the story is written in third-person.

Also, it is written as if the narrator is a storyteller recalling and retelling a folklore to the reader. The narrator uses speech and quotes within the story, such as, “ Oh mother do stop crying..’ to give the tale seem more realistic as it makes the characters much more life-like, important and the story much more dramatic. (Grimm) Added to this, the writer does not share the feelings of the mother he just implies them with her actions, for example ‘crying.’ This also makes the story much more relatable because when someone is upset we only see their actions which in turn infer their feelings, rather than being told what they

feel.
The title, ‘The Shroud’ isn't just a title, but it is a symbol which appears throughout this extremely short story. A shroud is a ‘white or off-white cloth or garment that was often used when burying someone’ (Wikipedia). The shroud that surrounds the child when he appears at night to his mother is a symbol of her mourning, sadness and attachment she still feels towards her child despite his passing. Due to his mothers feelings, he is unable to reach god and finally rest. As the mother begins to let go of the fact that, her child can not be brought back to life and that he will not be able to rest until she ‘gives her sorrow into God’s keeping’ the child’s ‘shroud’; begins to disappear; after time his shroud completely disappears and he no longer returns to the mother at night. (Grimm)
Life has both its high points and its low points, many people often dwell so much on the low points they actually miss out on the high ones. This short tale teaches us that although we will face adversity within our lives, and some being worse than others, life is too precious to waste it grieving, mourning and feeling upset. We must learn to let go, and move on; as it will not only benefit us, but others around us as well. It also teaches us, that we are not alone in this world and that some people will find their peace and will be able to overcome serious problems with the belief of a higher being, such as a god, which is the example used within this particular story.