1. March 1998
THE GRIMM HISTORY OF GERMAN FAIRY TALES
Once upon a time, in a place not so far away, a black shadow spread across
the land, slipping its long, inky fingers into every castle and cottage. Like a
Midas of misery, everything it touched turned to wrack and ruin. Children
starved, mothers lay ill, fathers slain in battle, crops destroyed, houses
burned. Nothing the people did could spare them from the evil and
pestilence, and many believed the end of the world had come. That time was
the early 17th century. That place, Germany. And that sepia shadow of
darkness and destruction, the Thirty Years War. Yet this bleak epoch gave
rise to the fairy tale, a genre of fiction which modern readers immediately
associate with innocent enjoyment and far-fetched fantasy. This paradox has
evolved over centuries of refashioning, each generation adding its own layer
of nuance and perception to the tales, smoothing away the rough edges of
cruelty and violence.
Volksmärchen, or people's fairy tales, first
took on recognizable form in medieval
Europe. In these stories, fact and fancy,
twined as threads in a tapestry, are
indistinguishable from one another, reflecting
the way man viewed his world during the
Middle Ages. Maidens, monsters, princesses
and peasants populated a world of turrets
and hovels, enlivened by a battery of Gothic
props - all of which have survived through
centuries of retelling. Many fairy tales trace
their pan-European roots to the 12th century
or earlier, often lifting bits of plot or place
from even older epics. They frequently
borrow Biblical themes such as resurrection
(Sleeping Beauty) and numerology (threes,
sevens and twelves abound in Snow White
and Little Red Riding Hood). The tales were typically recited in rhymed form,
as much an aid to memory in a pre-literate age as an enhancer of
entertainment. Eager listeners ranged from scullery boys huddled around the
kitchen kettle to well-fed nobles toasting their toes by an after-dinner fire.
The French and Italians were far ahead of the Germans in fairy-tale
development throughout this period, and tales which we've come to regard
as distinctly German (Aschenputtel, or Cinderella and Der gestiefelte Kater,
or Puss-in-Boots) are actually imports.

2. But in the 17th century, when they reached German borders, these fanciful
tales were touched and transformed by the despair which reigned within. No
place on the Continent was ravaged as brutally as Germany during the three
ruinous decades collectively known as the Thirty Years War (1618-1648),
which cut a broad swath of disease, death and demoralization through the
country. One-third of the German population was dead, leaving the survivors
without parents, offspring, homes, livelihoods, health. The well of popular
culture was poisoned for generations. Fairy tales of the period reflect the
uncertainty and staggering losses of war. Rampaging disease - the worst
Europe had seen since the Black Death of the 13th century - brought with it
the reality of wicked step-parents and -siblings (Cinderella), hunger and life-
threatening poverty (Hansel and Gretel), and early death (Sleeping Beauty).
Theft, abduction, mutilation, and murder are common themes from
Rotkäppchen to Rumpelstilzchen - hardly our idea of child-appropriate
entertainment, but story tellers of the day were more occupied with keeping
their children clothed and fed than making good citizens of them. Society
generally regarded children as small adults, unlikely to survive to actual
adulthood, and therefore took little care to coddle their emotional
development.
Fairy tales were intended to amuse parents as much as offspring. 18th-
century Enlightenment, which frowned upon entertainment that failed to
instruct and edify, softened many fairy tales. Clemens Brentano, a German
poet of the period, is credited with having been the first compiler of
European fairy tales. He substituted comedy for cruelty and added moral
messages - creating a confection more palatable to the Biedermeier
bourgeoisie. The most famous story tellers were of course, the Brothers
Grimm. Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859)set about to produce a
comprehensive printed version of European fairy tales, with an eye to
adapting them for a younger audience. That we now refer to Snow White
and Cinderella as "Grimms' fairy tales" attests to the personal stamp they
left on this hitherto collective cultural property. They also made a significant
contribution to the shaping of the genre by naming their collection, Kinder-
und Hausmärchen (1812) and redirecting the tales towards a - physically -
smaller audience. Their work has gone on to become the single most
translated German book throughout the world. By today's standards even
the Grimms' fairy tales are brutal. If you grew up thinking Cinderella's prince
came 'round after the ball, blithely passing that left-behind slipper from one
genteel foot to the next in search of its rightful owner, it may surprise you to
read the version in circulation circa 1820. The self-absorbed step-mother,
keen on winning the reflected glories of royalty by marrying off her
daughters to the eligible heir, cuts off part of each girl's foot in order to get a

3. proper fit and triumphantly jams on the shoe. Both times the (apparently
blind) prince rides off with the bleeding bride-to-be, saved from his mistake
only a by a few helpful birds who clue the prince in to what has happened.
The gore goes on in Snow White, where the wicked Queen summons a
huntsman not merely to kill the young beauty, but to tear out her lungs and
liver as well. The Queen then boils this bounty and devours it with fiendish
enjoyment. Rapunzel's handsome rescuer also meets a nasty end. After his
eyes are gorged out, his body, too, is pierced by the giant thorns which
flourish on the rose bushes surrounding poor Rapunzel's tower.
Grimm fairy tales speak universally and directly to children in a way which
empowers and delights, terrifies and tickles, enabling children to recognize
themselves and their place in the world. As Märchen scholar Max Luthi has
noted, fairy tales draw in readers and listeners of all ages because they
present the world in miniature. The blossom of love and the thorn of death,
the proverbial battle between good and evil, are presented in a form which
fits within the span of a bedtime story. Objects such as gold, water, iron and
straw symbolize power, purity, strength, industry. Fairy tales reflect the hard
injustices and grinding poverty of peasant life along with the rarefied, but no
less suffocating limitations of royal existence. Dreary toil, illness, and hunger
are as much a part of fairy tales as kissing frogs and spinning straw into
gold. The realm of dreams is represented by abundant food (Tischlein deck
dich), luxuries such as soft beds and warmth (Hansel and Gretel) and wealth
in the form of jewels and gold. The fairly tale reached the zenith of its
popularity in the mid-to-late 19th century, when Gothic revivalism swept the
Continent. The tales spread from page to stage, be it puppet theater or
grand opera (Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel was first produced in 1893).
Native sagas and legends, anything that smacked of the middle ages or had
Gothic flair came into fashion. The unification of Germany under Bismarck in
1871 created a need for a national culture which reflected the history and
traditions of all who lived between the Rhine and the Oder rivers. Fairy tales,
particularly in the homogenized Grimm versions, neatly filled this need.
Germans were receptive to the home grown character of the genre - a truly
national bit of culture which would unite Prussians, Bavarians and Saxons
under a single literary flag.
Over the course of our own century, we have seen the complete
domestication of the fairy tale. It has been softened and transformed into
harmless entertainment. Walt Disney was not the first to realize the
universal appeal and commercial potential of fairy tales such as Snow White
and Sleeping Beauty, but he was certainly the most successful in capitalizing
on it. Thanks to his success, children the world over are only familiar with
the saccharine versions which place more emphasis on cheerful chipmunks

4. and preening princes than the lurking dangers that prowled the pages of the
originals. Fairy tales do more than bond fact and fantasy, they also link
generations, by passing acquired wisdom from elder to younger.
Allegorically, children are presented with a first glimpse of the wide world
beyond their bedroom walls. Fairy tale princes and paupers all tread the
same path to adulthood, overcoming fears, resolving conflicts, building
friendships. By confronting evil in the form of granny-devouring wolves or
witches who roast children, children can explore the vivid fantasy side of
fear. Wicked stepmothers, jealous siblings, and lost fathers are more realistic
worries children confront through fairy tales. Coming to terms with these
anxieties emboldens children to master their fears, bringing them closer to
adulthood, when they will close the circle and pass the magic onto their own
children. This is as true today as it was centuries ago. The merry dwarves
and fairy godmothers of today's fairy tales are the lucky literary survivors of
a time long ago when very few lived happily ever after.