As part of my European Nationalisms module, I've been reading up on the Grimm Brothers and their contributions to the German nation. Some scholars have charged them with twisting their tales for nationalistic purposes, while other critics take offence at the racist and sexist components in the stories. Myself, I've never found anything disagreeable about the fairytales, although looking at them now through 21 year old eyes I get a different experience altogether.
It seems a little strange to realise that these aren't innocent stories after all, but twisted fairytales written with a purpose and deliberate structure. Nothing illustrates this better than the fact that the stories have been edited - in some cases drastically - to go down well with middle-class morality. Take, for example, Rapunzel:
1812 Edition
At first Rapunzel was afraid, but soon she took such a liking to the young king that she made an agreement with him: he was to come down every day and be pulled up. Thus they lived merrily and joyfully for a certain time, and the fairy did not discover anything until one day when Rapunzel began talking to her and said, "Tell me, Mother Gothel, why do you think my clothes have become too tight for me and no longer fit?"
Note the bits in italics. Quite scandalous stuff, if you ask me. I feel a little cheated knowing that what I read as a child wasn't at all what was originally written. Never once did the thought that they were indulging in anything other than innocent conversation cross my mind.
Now compare this with the newer version that most of us would be more familiar with:
1857 Edition
When he entered the tower, Rapunzel was at first terribly afraid, for she had never laid eyes on a man before. However, the prince began to talk to her in a friendly way and told her that her song had touched his heart so deeply that he had not been able to rest until he had seen her. Rapunzel then lost her fear, and when he asked her whether she would have him for her husband, and she saw that he was young and handsome, she thought, "He'll certainly love me better than old Mother Gothel. So she said yes and placed her hand in his.
"I want to go with you very much," she said, "but I don't know how I can get down. Every time you come, you must bring a skein of silk with you, and I'll weave it into a ladder. When it's finished, then I'll climb down, and you can take me away on your horse."
They agreed that until then he would come to her every evening, for the old woman came during the day. Meanwhile, the sorceress did not notice anything, until one day Rapunzel blurted out, "Mother Gothel, how is it that you're much heavier than the prince? When I pull him up, he's here in a second."
Very much watered down. Tsk.
ying @ 6:05 PM
