A brief introduction to Brothers Grimm

24 Nov 2002 The Brothers Grimm

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/fairytales_myths_fables_&legends/96590

The young Brothers Grimm were born in a world suppressed by Napoleonic politics. Jacob and Wilhelm were born in the mid 1780's in the small village of Hanau, about a day's journey from Frankfurt. Like other boys, they grew up, collecting the normal things that interest boys: bugs and butterflies. In 1791, the family relocated to Steinau where their father took the position of a district magistrate, living in a house that served as the local courthouse. The town was too small to support a city hall. In 1796, their father suddenly died, leaving their mother alone with six children without a flat, since the quarters they inhabited were attached to the official title. In spite of this terrible calamity, Dorothea was able to procure means for educating her two sons, Jacob and Wilhelm, through the aid of her sister-in-law. They were sent to the Lyzeum in Kassel where they shared the same bed and room during their studies. Letters survive from this period of their lives, reflecting the hardship and poverty the the young men endured. Happily, they received quick recognition and admiration from their professors and colleagues for their intellectual appetite, gaining a friend in Frederich Carl von Savigny, who taught law. He generously opened his heart, home and library to the young men.

The boys, interested in literature, collected German folklore avidly as a means of personal rebellion against the oppressive Napoleonic regime. In 1808, their mother died. Jacob became employed as a librarian under the local French authority. The collecting of German folklore became a distraction from the bitter daily realities of supporting his extended family and despised French domination. His brother, Wilhelm, was frequently ill, but socially active counterbalancing his reclusive nature. The two complemented each other in their abilities. Annotating their stories carefully, they collaborated on a scholarly work that was targeted for a critical literary audience, restless with German nationalism. They published the first collection in 1812 with the intention of presenting the oral tradition of Germany and establishing a national identity for folk literature.

More than 40 contributors are incorporated in what became the Children's and Household Tales in 1812. Dorethea Viehmann, a peasant lady, who sold produce in the Kassel market, supplied the brothers with tales and Marie Hassenpflug was another chief contributor. 35 stories of the original edition originated from "die Viehmnnin" of the total 86 stories compiled. Brother, Ludwig Grimm provided the original illustrations. The annotations and footnotes amassed used more space than the actual stories. This work became popularly known as, Grimm's Fairy Tales, although eventually there were seven different editions—some having variant readings of the same story. And although the intention of the original work was purely scholastic, the public interest forced revision so that eventually, the brothers targeted the children's audience.

The tales invite critical interpretations and have been the subject of study from high school students to Carl Jung. Popular among children and adults, both, they have been manipulated for sickening moralistic fables among Victorian Literature and listed on the "banned books list" by public schools. Allegory, easy to twist for perverse purposes, has also served for Nazi propaganda, yet the stories still survive and are studied in academic settings in university programs. Criticised for violence and deluding youth to bad ends, the stories persist in popularity and can be found in full text German-English versions on the Internet. Compared to the violence that is frequently offered in children's programs and computer games, or heard and read on the evening news, the stories are rather tame, set in a world of imagination.

The 7^th Edition appeared in 1857. Two years later, Wilhelm died, closing the development of the collection of German folklore. By this time, their love for exploring their oral heritage had crossed the Channel and influenced great literary minds, including, Lady Wilde, W B Yeats and many others, becoming absorbed into the PreRaphaelite movement and the nationalist Irish awakening.

Guardians of the Fairy Tale:
The Brothers Grimm
By Thomas O’Neill
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/
A storybook collection of Grimms' stories with additional biographical information

19^th Century German Stories
Department of Foreign Languages, Virginnia Commonwealth University
http://www.fln.vcu.edu//grimm/grimm_menu.html
direct link to the Grimm Brothers:
Kinder- und Hausmärchen
bi-lingual version English-Deutsch

an academic collection of original Grimms' stories in bi-lingual versions with annotations for the origin of translations and mode of loading the material. Original illustrations are loaded with their editions German texts are taken from the 1857 edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen. English translations are by Margaret Hunt from Grimm's Household Tales (London: G. Bell, 1884)

Jacob (Ludwig Carl) Grimm (1785-1863)
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jgrimm.htm
a brief biography of Jacob Grimm with annotations and footnotes.

Trail of Grimm Discoveries
Kevin Pilley follows the Fairy Tale Road
Saturday December 23, 2000
The Guardian
http://travel.guardian.co.uk/countries/story/0,7451,423674,00.html

Histroy of the Grimm Brothers at Fraganard
http://fraganard.bravepages.com/New_Folder/the_brothers_grimm.htm