The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: An all new translation of the famous 210 stories plus 32 tales that have never before appeared in English (TPB, 731 pages, 1987, $4)
As usual, a lot of what I thought I knew was wrong. The Brothers Grimm didn't get their stories from peasants while wandering the countryside. Instead, they invited storytellers, mostly young women, to their home. The women, mostly aristocratic or middle class, told stories they had heard from their governesses or servants. Once gathered, the tales needed to be edited. Per the preface, the brothers, "eliminated elements that might be offensive to middle-class morality, added numerous Christian expressions and references, emphasized specific role models for male and female protagonists according to the dominant patriarchal code of that time, and endowed many of the tales with a 'homey' or biedermeier flavor by the use of diminutives, quaint expressions, and cute descriptions." Strangely, their first book of stories was never meant for children, but as a way to inform adults on the origins of German culture. (Translation- the book was overflowing with footnotes, hardly the things children would be interested in.) Some of the tales were never popular, and until now hadn't even been translated into English.
These little stories caused a lot of controversy. The brothers were accused of making up the stories, and of being racist and sexist. Educators worried the stories were too violent for children. Psychologists worried the stories had been too sanitized.
Lost in the controversies is any sense of who these two men really were. Jacob and Wilhelm grew up financially comfortable. Comfortable that is until their father died, leaving the family dependent on rich connections. Both brothers were brilliant, wildly different, and never lived apart. Since they were poor, other students always looked down on them, but it was Jacob and Wilhelm who graduated top in their class.
Indirectly, studying law encouraged them to study earlier German culture and language. Those studies led to work as the king's librarian. Politics got them fired, so they took the job of writing a German dictionary. They only got to the "F"s in the dictionary, but their books on fairy tales were so popular that no one cared, except probably the person that hired then to do the dictionary.
Jacob and Wilhelm would be so proud their stories are still so well known. They would be even more pleased Germany has become unified, and a democracy. When they were alive, one had to chose between a reactionary democracy and an oppressive monarchy. Their dream of a German democracy would not come true until long after they were both dead.
Look for this book on the new fiction table.
