Grimm Brothers Cinderella Jacob And Whilhelm
Between “once upon a time” and “happily ever after” lies childhood fantasy and imagination. It is a place with princes and princesses, knights in shining armor, and is a place where dreams come true. Many fairy tales have taught values and morals regarding life and love, others have been rather grimacing, and some have been just for the sake of fantasy and escaping reality. Fairy tales are constantly changing, or rather, adapting to an ever-changing world. It is interesting to look at the evolution of fairy tales, because paired with the events happening in our society, fairy tales usually portray what most Americans are lacking in their life at that given time. The Grimm brothers, Jacob and Whilhelm, were German authors and story-tellers
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in the 1800’s who were very engrossed in Germanic folktales. Their goal was not to make the tales entertaining, but strictly take the oral stories which were violent and tragic, and preserve them for future generations (Alber). When they were first preserving these tales two hundred years ago, they we anything but the sweet and comforting fairy tales that would put children to sleep at night. They were based on the daily life of the Europeans, which was cruel and full of hardship. Once the Grimm brothers saw that, if fact, their tales were rather grim, they started making adjustments the fairy tales to produce softer and sweeter story while still keeping in tack the heart of the tale (Brothers Grimm: Fairy Tales, History, Facts, and More). According to National Geographic, versions of Grimm fairy tales have now been translated into more than 160 languages around the world (ibid). Probably one of the most commonly known tweaked Grimm fairy tales is Cinderella, yet a more violent, disturbing one is Bluebeard. Bluebeard portrays just how cruel the tales were before they were revised. The story begins with a rich nobleman who has trouble with his wives; they somehow keep disappearing. The nobleman continues to get married. Going away on business, he leaves his new wife with key to a room she must not enter. Of course, she feels compelled to enter the forbidden room which is when she comes to discover that it was filled with all of the dead bodies of the nobleman’s previous wives, which she soon becomes. The Grimm brothers realized that this was not the tale that society wanted to be hearing and that they needed to make some changes to the tales to adapt to their changing society, which is when they adapted Cinderella (Grimm, Grimm, Zipes, Gruelle). The Grimm brothers Cinderella was published in 1812.
It was a story of a maiden whose mother had died. The mother, on her death bed, called to her daughter, “Dear child,” the mother had said, “be good and pious, and then the good God will always protect you, and I will look down on you from heaven and be near you” (ibid). The father remarried and along with a step-mother came the two step-sisters, who the Grimm brothers describe as “vile and black of heart” (ibid). The step-sisters constantly made fun of Cinderella and made her work day in and day out, sunrise to sunset. One day Cinderella asked her father to bring her back a branch of a huckleberry tree. He does as she requests and Cinderella plants it at her mother’s grave and weeps. Crying made the branch grow into a beautiful tree and soon after, a bird started appearing on the huckleberry tree. The bird became Cinderella’s friend and he would throw down anything that Cinderella wished for. The night of the prince’s ball arrived and the bird became good use to Cinderella, who was crunched for time because of chores. She met the prince at the ball and they danced the night away, then she fled. The second night she encountered the prince again, they danced the night away, then she fled. The third night, she danced the night away with the prince, she fled yet again. The prince could never find were she was fleeing. But luckily, the third time Cinderella’s slipper fell off. The prince declared that whoevers foot the slipper fit, he would marry. When they found Cinderella was the fit, the prince rode off with his fair maiden and soon after got married (ibid). This Grimm tale is more like the Cinderella our society is used
to. As time passed, the Grimm brothers kept tweaking the cruel tales to make them even sweeter and geared more toward protecting the innocence of children. In the early 1900’s World War one was in full swing and The Great Depression was on the horizon, which actually has an influence on fairy tales. In the First World War began when Germany invaded Belgium, and soon after Britain declared war on Germany. In 1917, the United States joined the war to assist the Allies and also ended up declaring war on Germany (Rosenberg). During the war, the American economy was actually prospering. The men were drafted and left for war, so women and minorities got more opportunities to work, mainly in factories. However, when the men returned, many women stopped working, but there were not enough jobs for all of the men coming back from war. This led to unemployment and a foreshadowing of the Great Depression (Rosenberg). The Great Depression was a time of deep economic downfall within the United States. The stock market had crashed in the late 1920’s which diminished the economic thrill of the so called “roaring twenties”. Banking was a disaster and nearly 15 million Americans were unemployed (Rosenberg). The United States had hit an all-time low.
Walt Disney, born in 1901, was an American producer known for his cartoon films and creating Disneyland. Around the time of The First World War and the Great Depression is when his creativity took flight. I feel that he understood what the American people needed. They didn’t need a grim and gruesome tale, they needed a happy, light-hearted, ninety minute escape from reality. Just as the Grimm brothers tweaked the tales, Disney did the same. Paired with his animations, the stories really came to life and Americans were transfixed. During the Great Depression there was, now, thanks to Disney’s animated films, a happily ever after that no one expected. There was the villain who never had the upper hand. This new adaptation of fairy tales gave the United States hope for better days ahead. Disney first came out with Snow White in 1938 which was in the midst of the Great Depression (Rosenberg). Snow White, along with the majority of Disney’s tales, was actually based on another fairy tale preserved by the Grimm Brothers. Americans might have watched this movie and seen that anyone could find friends in unexpected places, or even that the Prince never gave up hope in attempting to awaken Snow White. Looking at these fairy tales, some may say that they tried to apply the lessons to their own lives, and strive to look for friendship and hope within a troubled time. Another iconic tale, Cinderella, the Disney version, was adapted in 1950 (Disney’s Cinderella). The heart of the story remains similar to the Grimm brother’s version. Yet it also portrays a more whimsical entertainment setting with the fairy god mother and magic horse carriage. Certain aspects of tales have also changed within the last generation. Frozen, a fairly new Disney movie, has a significant change from the plot of Disney’s Cinderella. Frozen begins with an overly optimistic teen named Anna and her sister, the Queen of Arandelle. The gates of the castle open up for the first time since the girl’s parents died, and the town is ecstatic as they pile in for the coronation of the Queen. At the coronation, Anna “falls in love” with a man she just met and wants to get married. I think this part of the story depicted old Disney fairy tales. The love at first sight, prince charming qualities that were apparent in Cinderella. Anna travels up a mountain with Kristoff and his reindeer Sven in hopes to find her sister Elsa who fled after her ice powers set of an eternal winter in the Kingdom of Arendelle. As they trudged up the mountain, they encountered trolls and a snowman named Olaf. Anna and Kristoff end up falling in love and saving the kingdom, but it takes some patience. Along her journey though, she finds what truly matters in life and really cares about all of the people how make her life great. This isn’t a huge shift from Cinderella but it is definitely a visible change to how Disney is portraying their fairy tales. They are trying to make them more realistic and teach children that life isn’t necessarily love at first sight. They do though, still keep the happily ever after aspect intact (Movies for Kids: Disney's Frozen).
Fairy tales have been around for hundreds of years and teach many lessons about life. They are constantly adapting. Change, I feel, is sometimes unnecessary, but it is what society asks for. The original tales by the Grimm brothers were far too dark and violent for the children. Society regulated and tweaked the tales to preserve the innocence of their children, which Disney portrays exceptionally in his films. Change is inevitable for all things in life and fairy tales will continue to change as our society and our influences on society change. I believe that fairy tales should still be a major aspect of childhood, no matter how much they change. Albert Einstein, after all, did say that, “if you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent read them more fairy tales” (“Albert Einstein”).
in the 1800’s who were very engrossed in Germanic folktales. Their goal was not to make the tales entertaining, but strictly take the oral stories which were violent and tragic, and preserve them for future generations (Alber). When they were first preserving these tales two hundred years ago, they we anything but the sweet and comforting fairy tales that would put children to sleep at night. They were based on the daily life of the Europeans, which was cruel and full of hardship. Once the Grimm brothers saw that, if fact, their tales were rather grim, they started making adjustments the fairy tales to produce softer and sweeter story while still keeping in tack the heart of the tale (Brothers Grimm: Fairy Tales, History, Facts, and More). According to National Geographic, versions of Grimm fairy tales have now been translated into more than 160 languages around the world (ibid). Probably one of the most commonly known tweaked Grimm fairy tales is Cinderella, yet a more violent, disturbing one is Bluebeard. Bluebeard portrays just how cruel the tales were before they were revised. The story begins with a rich nobleman who has trouble with his wives; they somehow keep disappearing. The nobleman continues to get married. Going away on business, he leaves his new wife with key to a room she must not enter. Of course, she feels compelled to enter the forbidden room which is when she comes to discover that it was filled with all of the dead bodies of the nobleman’s previous wives, which she soon becomes. The Grimm brothers realized that this was not the tale that society wanted to be hearing and that they needed to make some changes to the tales to adapt to their changing society, which is when they adapted Cinderella (Grimm, Grimm, Zipes, Gruelle). The Grimm brothers Cinderella was published in 1812.
It was a story of a maiden whose mother had died. The mother, on her death bed, called to her daughter, “Dear child,” the mother had said, “be good and pious, and then the good God will always protect you, and I will look down on you from heaven and be near you” (ibid). The father remarried and along with a step-mother came the two step-sisters, who the Grimm brothers describe as “vile and black of heart” (ibid). The step-sisters constantly made fun of Cinderella and made her work day in and day out, sunrise to sunset. One day Cinderella asked her father to bring her back a branch of a huckleberry tree. He does as she requests and Cinderella plants it at her mother’s grave and weeps. Crying made the branch grow into a beautiful tree and soon after, a bird started appearing on the huckleberry tree. The bird became Cinderella’s friend and he would throw down anything that Cinderella wished for. The night of the prince’s ball arrived and the bird became good use to Cinderella, who was crunched for time because of chores. She met the prince at the ball and they danced the night away, then she fled. The second night she encountered the prince again, they danced the night away, then she fled. The third night, she danced the night away with the prince, she fled yet again. The prince could never find were she was fleeing. But luckily, the third time Cinderella’s slipper fell off. The prince declared that whoevers foot the slipper fit, he would marry. When they found Cinderella was the fit, the prince rode off with his fair maiden and soon after got married (ibid). This Grimm tale is more like the Cinderella our society is used
to. As time passed, the Grimm brothers kept tweaking the cruel tales to make them even sweeter and geared more toward protecting the innocence of children. In the early 1900’s World War one was in full swing and The Great Depression was on the horizon, which actually has an influence on fairy tales. In the First World War began when Germany invaded Belgium, and soon after Britain declared war on Germany. In 1917, the United States joined the war to assist the Allies and also ended up declaring war on Germany (Rosenberg). During the war, the American economy was actually prospering. The men were drafted and left for war, so women and minorities got more opportunities to work, mainly in factories. However, when the men returned, many women stopped working, but there were not enough jobs for all of the men coming back from war. This led to unemployment and a foreshadowing of the Great Depression (Rosenberg). The Great Depression was a time of deep economic downfall within the United States. The stock market had crashed in the late 1920’s which diminished the economic thrill of the so called “roaring twenties”. Banking was a disaster and nearly 15 million Americans were unemployed (Rosenberg). The United States had hit an all-time low.
Walt Disney, born in 1901, was an American producer known for his cartoon films and creating Disneyland. Around the time of The First World War and the Great Depression is when his creativity took flight. I feel that he understood what the American people needed. They didn’t need a grim and gruesome tale, they needed a happy, light-hearted, ninety minute escape from reality. Just as the Grimm brothers tweaked the tales, Disney did the same. Paired with his animations, the stories really came to life and Americans were transfixed. During the Great Depression there was, now, thanks to Disney’s animated films, a happily ever after that no one expected. There was the villain who never had the upper hand. This new adaptation of fairy tales gave the United States hope for better days ahead. Disney first came out with Snow White in 1938 which was in the midst of the Great Depression (Rosenberg). Snow White, along with the majority of Disney’s tales, was actually based on another fairy tale preserved by the Grimm Brothers. Americans might have watched this movie and seen that anyone could find friends in unexpected places, or even that the Prince never gave up hope in attempting to awaken Snow White. Looking at these fairy tales, some may say that they tried to apply the lessons to their own lives, and strive to look for friendship and hope within a troubled time. Another iconic tale, Cinderella, the Disney version, was adapted in 1950 (Disney’s Cinderella). The heart of the story remains similar to the Grimm brother’s version. Yet it also portrays a more whimsical entertainment setting with the fairy god mother and magic horse carriage. Certain aspects of tales have also changed within the last generation. Frozen, a fairly new Disney movie, has a significant change from the plot of Disney’s Cinderella. Frozen begins with an overly optimistic teen named Anna and her sister, the Queen of Arandelle. The gates of the castle open up for the first time since the girl’s parents died, and the town is ecstatic as they pile in for the coronation of the Queen. At the coronation, Anna “falls in love” with a man she just met and wants to get married. I think this part of the story depicted old Disney fairy tales. The love at first sight, prince charming qualities that were apparent in Cinderella. Anna travels up a mountain with Kristoff and his reindeer Sven in hopes to find her sister Elsa who fled after her ice powers set of an eternal winter in the Kingdom of Arendelle. As they trudged up the mountain, they encountered trolls and a snowman named Olaf. Anna and Kristoff end up falling in love and saving the kingdom, but it takes some patience. Along her journey though, she finds what truly matters in life and really cares about all of the people how make her life great. This isn’t a huge shift from Cinderella but it is definitely a visible change to how Disney is portraying their fairy tales. They are trying to make them more realistic and teach children that life isn’t necessarily love at first sight. They do though, still keep the happily ever after aspect intact (Movies for Kids: Disney's Frozen).
Fairy tales have been around for hundreds of years and teach many lessons about life. They are constantly adapting. Change, I feel, is sometimes unnecessary, but it is what society asks for. The original tales by the Grimm brothers were far too dark and violent for the children. Society regulated and tweaked the tales to preserve the innocence of their children, which Disney portrays exceptionally in his films. Change is inevitable for all things in life and fairy tales will continue to change as our society and our influences on society change. I believe that fairy tales should still be a major aspect of childhood, no matter how much they change. Albert Einstein, after all, did say that, “if you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent read them more fairy tales” (“Albert Einstein”).