The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
Translated and with an Introduction by Jack Zipes
I am a big fan of serendipity.
Let me give you an example. I chose a volume of fairy tales to review for this month's book. I'd had it for a long time, but thought it deserved a look as a) I periodically re-read fairy tales since I love them; b) this one had very lovely artwork on the cover, of the Golden Age of illustrators vintage; and c) it seemed like a perfect season for it. Looking for the name of the artist, I discovered it was John B. Gruelle, who was known for creating one of my best-loved children's toys, Raggedy Anne and Andy. The illustrations were done for a 211 story version of my book, published in 1912. I started this article off with the line "I am a big fan of serendipity." When I thought perhaps I should look up the word, just to be sure I was correct, I found that it was defined as "Serendipity is a found, coined in the middle of the 18th century by author Horace Walpole (he took it from the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip.) And no, though it would have been too perfect, The Brothers Grimm did not write that fairy tale into their collection, but Voltaire did, in Zadig, which at some point in time, I read.
The two most famous collections of fairy tales, at least for western readers, are the Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Anderson. And of course, the tv series, Grimm, which turns the whole collection of fairy tale creatures on end in a modern setting.
Though it's far too long to go into here, the backstory is that the "fairy tale" is a subset of folklore, or folktales. While the exact definition is complicated, most fairy tales include some element of what kids would now call "magical creatures" (thank you J. K. Rowling): elves, fairies, goblins, trolls, ogres, and so on. There is typically a brave girl, a handsome prince, a wicked step mother, a quest, and a mostly happy ending. Many of the stories are derived from simple good v. evil parables, entertaining to both adults and children.
The Brothers Grimm were among the earliest to literally "collect" fairy tales, gathering oral versions and putting them down on paper. The brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm, lived from the late 1700s to the mid 1800s, and were born in what is now Germany. Their work was instrumental in popularizing the genre, and you'll immediately recognize such titles are Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. In fact, look at a catalog of Disney cartoons. Hans Christian Anderson, by contrast, was a Danish writer, well-known during the 1800s as a playwright, travel writer, novelist, and poet. Most of his fairy tales, while some have roots in Danish folklore, are his own creation - and many of them are distinguished by a distinct flavor of both an underlying moral lesson, and tragedy. Some of his titles include The Little Matchgirl, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Thumbelina, The Emperor's New Clothes, and The Little Mermaid. With the notable exception of The Little Mermaid, Disney wasn't as fond of these tales.
Because, no doubt, of both Anderson and the Grimms, Americans tend to associate fairy tales with the German and Norse style story, though many of my books contain stories from India, China, Italy and France, among other places.
If you're curious about the significant role girls and women play in fairy tales, you can probably thank the "salon" era of the mid-1700s. Around this time, the salons of Paris, frequented by the rich and famous ladies of means would gather to discuss arts, culture, literature, and no doubt, politics. One of their games was for one lady to start a tale, and each subsequent participant would continue the story with her own particular flourish. The heroine was a popular figure, and stories like The Six Swans, in which the sister of six brothers, who have been magically cursed to be swans but for one hour a day, can save them by weaving shirts for each out of stinging nettles - she manages the trick except for one sleeve - and they live happily ever after. Another is East of the Sun and West of the Moon, in which a young girl is married to a bear (who becomes a prince at night under cover of dark). The girl sneaks a light into the chamber and sees who her real husband is, but in doing so spills tallow (I had to look that up as a child) on him - after which he is spirited away and locked up, and the heroine has to go through a variety of perils to rescue him - and they live happily ever after.
Now, about the book. This version, a complete set of the original 210 tales, along with 32 lesser known stories, and a brief introduction to the brothers and how they found and recorded their stories. The first in the book is The Frog King (though I knew it as The Frog Prince, but that's one of the charms of fairy tales - they change). The final story is The Robber and His Sons. In between are stories you'll know, and discoveries you'll make, along with delightful illustrations to linger over. It's perfect reading for winter by the fire, and at two or three stories per night, will take you all the way to spring.
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