If any of you think that Cinderella's story is cruel, that Snow White does not deserve the treatment given by her stepmother, or that two young children should not walk alone through the forest (Hansel and Gretel), you can relax. It turns out that any of these in its original version is completely inappropriate for children, reflecting aspects of the reality of the time in which they were written.
Today marks the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the 'Fairy Tales' of the Grimm brothers, and Google pays tribute to them with the 'doodle' we have been seeing all day every time we search. I think that even the versions we know could (sometimes) avoid our children, or not? There are parents who tell me 'is that there are such cruel classic tales'. Okay, they are right, I don't like Rapunzel (I would never have negotiated with a witch for my children), but there are so many other classic stories moderated, fun, and from which to learn! Bremen musicians' or 'Ali Baba and the 40 thieves'.
But let's go back to the Grimm brothers, 'their' stories made them famous, even though they were not the true authors. They simply had an interest in maintaining the German tradition of folk tales., and had to make some adaptations so that they were suitable for children.
And yet, moving away a little from the cruel cruelty, when I had to read one of Grimm's stories to my children (go to know why the big one wanted me to tell Cinderella systematically during the months that followed the birth of his sister!), I have tried to extract lessons that would serve us all. An example? I am almost certain that there has been some time in history when instead of saying 'don't trust strangers who give you candy', the parents told 'Little Red Riding Hood' to the children.
These stories have been translated into 170 languages, and their first edition is part of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Throughout the year 2013, the Añó Grimm will take place in Germany, being the center of activities in Kassel (city of residence of the Grimm brothers).
The most important tales of Children's Literature are born in an oral tradition that spared no sadism, explicit sexuality and high doses of violence. Before the Grimm, no father (I think) would have thought of explaining Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Thumbelike or Little Red Riding Hood, to their children.
It turns out that Snow White's stepmother was not her biological mother, and that Cinderella's jealous stepsisters amputate her foot to be able to wear 'the shoe', it turns out that Rapunzel from both climbing the prince to the tower becomes pregnant with twins ...
But I tell you, these stories have changed a lot until we reach our days, and of course the original authors (although you see it written on the cover) were not the Grimm brothers, but instead collected stories from the mouths of people around them (about all women), until you get the desired material and adapt it to the ears and minds of young and innocent children.
The hunger of the time, the miseries, the human dissatisfaction, the preservation of virtue, and the systems of family organization, were the inspiring stories that at the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century people were told to echo what could have been a social reality.
