The Brothers Grimm
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their two-volume collection Children's and Household Tales in 1812 and 1815. The brothers worked together collecting stories from books, friends and relatives, "a number of tales in their collection were contributed by Dorothea Wild, Wilhelm's mother-in-law, and others came from Jeanette and Amalie Hassenphlug, two sisters who later married into the Grimm family" (Cashdan 7). That is how stories such as "Cinderella" (Aschenputtel), "Little Red Riding Hood" (Little Red Cap), and "Sleeping Beauty" (Briar Rose) came to be in the Grimm's collection of children's stories. To their credit the brothers did make some serious alterations to make the tales that parents would consider suitable for children. Which sounds a bit funny considering how the violence in these tales cause parents to swoon nowadays but apparently taking out the sexualized parts of the Italian and French tales was enough to make them "more proper and prudent" tales for children in Germany in the 1800s (Zipes 72). In addition to recording and editing fairy tales the Brothers Grimm were also linguists and something of perfectionists. The Brother's Grimm continued to edit and perfect their Children's and Household Tales, "after 1819 there were five more editions and sixty-nine new texts added to the collection" (Zipes 72).
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen differed from his predecessors by writing his own original fairy tales instead of collecting and re-telling folk tales. He grew up in Denmark where "his parents, grandmother, and elderly townspeople, including the inmates of the lunatic asylum where his grandmother worked, regaled him with fairy tales and myths" (Owens xii). I'm picturing the young Hans who was inspired, in part, by tales that were told to him by residents of a lunatic asylum and my mind is still in the process of being blown. Most of Andersen's fairy tales were moralistic and based on his own Christian background. Although Andersen is the author of the beloved children's tales "Thumbelina," "The Little Mermaid," "The Snow Queen," "The Princess and the Pea" and "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," he didn't consider himself a writer of children's tales. In fact, Andersen "often read his tales for the pleasure of adult friends" (Owens xi). Anderson even read some of his tales to the King and Queen of Denmark!
So there you are. Now you too will share in my frustration when you see "The princess and the Pea" or "Puss in Boots" in a new edition of "Grimm's Fairy Tales" and you will probably think Gee, that editor is a bit of a bonehead. Fairy tale anthology editors beware!
Resources:
Cashdan, Sheldon. The Witch Must Die: The Hidden Meaning of Fairy Tales. New York: Basic Books, 1999. Print.
Owens, Lily. "Introduction". The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales: Complete and Unabridged. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1981. Print.
Zipes, Jack. When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their Tradition. New York: Routledge, 1999. Print.
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their two-volume collection Children's and Household Tales in 1812 and 1815. The brothers worked together collecting stories from books, friends and relatives, "a number of tales in their collection were contributed by Dorothea Wild, Wilhelm's mother-in-law, and others came from Jeanette and Amalie Hassenphlug, two sisters who later married into the Grimm family" (Cashdan 7). That is how stories such as "Cinderella" (Aschenputtel), "Little Red Riding Hood" (Little Red Cap), and "Sleeping Beauty" (Briar Rose) came to be in the Grimm's collection of children's stories. To their credit the brothers did make some serious alterations to make the tales that parents would consider suitable for children. Which sounds a bit funny considering how the violence in these tales cause parents to swoon nowadays but apparently taking out the sexualized parts of the Italian and French tales was enough to make them "more proper and prudent" tales for children in Germany in the 1800s (Zipes 72). In addition to recording and editing fairy tales the Brothers Grimm were also linguists and something of perfectionists. The Brother's Grimm continued to edit and perfect their Children's and Household Tales, "after 1819 there were five more editions and sixty-nine new texts added to the collection" (Zipes 72).Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen differed from his predecessors by writing his own original fairy tales instead of collecting and re-telling folk tales. He grew up in Denmark where "his parents, grandmother, and elderly townspeople, including the inmates of the lunatic asylum where his grandmother worked, regaled him with fairy tales and myths" (Owens xii). I'm picturing the young Hans who was inspired, in part, by tales that were told to him by residents of a lunatic asylum and my mind is still in the process of being blown. Most of Andersen's fairy tales were moralistic and based on his own Christian background. Although Andersen is the author of the beloved children's tales "Thumbelina," "The Little Mermaid," "The Snow Queen," "The Princess and the Pea" and "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," he didn't consider himself a writer of children's tales. In fact, Andersen "often read his tales for the pleasure of adult friends" (Owens xi). Anderson even read some of his tales to the King and Queen of Denmark!So there you are. Now you too will share in my frustration when you see "The princess and the Pea" or "Puss in Boots" in a new edition of "Grimm's Fairy Tales" and you will probably think Gee, that editor is a bit of a bonehead. Fairy tale anthology editors beware!
Resources:
Cashdan, Sheldon. The Witch Must Die: The Hidden Meaning of Fairy Tales. New York: Basic Books, 1999. Print.
Owens, Lily. "Introduction". The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales: Complete and Unabridged. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1981. Print.
Zipes, Jack. When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their Tradition. New York: Routledge, 1999. Print.
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