German roots and Modern twists on everybody's favorite fairy tales.
Once upon a time, in a place not so far away, a black shadow spread across the land, slipping its long, inky fingers into every castle and cottage. Like a Midas of misery, everything it touched turned to wrack and ruin. Children starved, mothers lay ill, fathers slain in battle, crops destroyed, houses burned. Nothing the people did could spare them from the evil and pestilence, and many believed the end of the world had come. That time was the early 17th century. That place, Germany. And that sepia shadow of darkness and destruction, the Thirty Years War. Yet this bleak epoch gave rise to the fairy tale, a genre of fiction which modern readers immediately associate with innocent enjoyment and far-fetched fantasy. This paradox has evolved over centuries of refashioning, each generation adding its own layer of nuance and perception to the tales, smoothing away the rough edges of cruelty and violence. Volksmärchen, or people's fairy tales, first took on recognizable form in medieval Europe. In these stories, fact and fancy, twined as threads in a tapestry, are indistinguishable from one another, reflecting the way man viewed his world during the Middle Ages. Maidens, monsters, princesses and peasants populated a world of turrets and hovels, enlivened by a battery of Gothic props - all of which have survived through centuries of retelling. Many fairy tales trace their pan-European roots to the 12th century or earlier, often lifting bits of plot or place from even older epics. They frequently borrow Biblical themes such as resurrection (Sleeping Beauty) and numerology (threes, sevens and twelves abound in Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood). The tales were typically recited in rhymed form, as much an aid to memory in a pre-literate age as an enhancer of entertainment. Eager listeners ranged from scullery boys huddled around the kitchen kettle to well-fed nobles toasting their toes by an after-dinner fire. The French and Italians were far ahead of the Germans in fairy-tale development throughout this period, and tales which we've come to regard as distinctly German (Aschenputtel, or Cinderella and Der gestiefelte Kater, or Puss-in-Boots) are actually imports. But in the 17th century, when they reached German borders, these fanciful tales were touched and transformed by the despair which reigned within. No place on the Continent was ravaged as brutally as Germany during the three ruinous decades collectively known as the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), which cut a broad swath of disease, death and demoralization through the country. One-third of the German population was dead, leaving the survivors without parents, offspring, homes, livelihoods, health. The well of popular culture was poisoned for generations. Fairy tales of the period reflect the uncertainty and staggering losses of war. Rampaging disease - the worst Europe had seen since the Black Death of the 13th century - brought with it the reality of wicked step-parents and -siblings (Cinderella), hunger and life-threatening poverty (Hansel and Gretel), and early death (Sleeping Beauty). Theft, abduction, mutilation, and murder are common themes from Rotkäppchen to Rumpelstilzchen - hardly our idea of child-appropriate entertainment, but story tellers of the day were more occupied with keeping their children clothed and fed than making good citizens of them. Society generally regarded children as small adults, unlikely to survive to actual adulthood, and therefore took little care to coddle their emotional development. Fairy tales were intended to amuse parents as much as offspring. 18th-century Enlightenment, which frowned upon entertainment that failed to instruct and edify, softened many fairy tales. Clemens Brentano, a German poet of the period, is credited with having been the first compiler of European fairy tales. He substituted comedy for cruelty and added moral messages - creating a confection more palatable to the Biedermeier bourgeoisie. The most famous story tellers were of course, the Brothers Grimm. Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859)set about to produce a comprehensive printed version of European fairy tales, with an eye to adapting them for a younger audience. That we now refer to Snow White and Cinderella as "Grimms' fairy tales" attests to the personal stamp they left on this hitherto collective cultural property. They also made a significant contribution to the shaping of the genre by naming their collection, Kinder- und Hausmärchen (1812) and redirecting the tales towards a - physically - smaller audience. Their work has gone on to become the single most translated German book throughout the world. By today's standards even the Grimms' fairy tales are brutal. If you grew up thinking Cinderella's prince came 'round after the ball, blithely passing that left-behind slipper from one genteel foot to the next in search of its rightful owner, it may surprise you to read the version in circulation circa 1820. The self-absorbed step-mother, keen on winning the reflected glories of royalty by marrying off her daughters to the eligible heir, cuts off part of each girl's foot in order to get a proper fit and triumphantly jams on the shoe. Both times the (apparently blind) prince rides off with the bleeding bride-to-be, saved from his mistake only a by a few helpful birds who clue the prince in to what has happened. The gore goes on in Snow White, where the wicked Queen summons a huntsman not merely to kill the young beauty, but to tear out her lungs and liver as well. The Queen then boils this bounty and devours it with fiendish enjoyment. Rapunzel's handsome rescuer also meets a nasty end. After his eyes are gorged out, his body, too, is pierced by the giant thorns which flourish on the rose bushes surrounding poor Rapunzel's tower. Grimm fairy tales speak universally and directly to children in a way which empowers and delights, terrifies and tickles, enabling children to recognize themselves and their place in the world. As Märchen scholar Max Luthi has noted, fairy tales draw in readers and listeners of all ages because they present the world in miniature. The blossom of love and the thorn of death, the proverbial battle between good and evil, are presented in a form which fits within the span of a bedtime story. Objects such as gold, water, iron and straw symbolize power, purity, strength, industry. Fairy tales reflect the hard injustices and grinding poverty of peasant life along with the rarefied, but no less suffocating limitations of royal existence. Dreary toil, illness, and hunger are as much a part of fairy tales as kissing frogs and spinning straw into gold. The realm of dreams is represented by abundant food (Tischlein deck dich), luxuries such as soft beds and warmth (Hansel and Gretel) and wealth in the form of jewels and gold. The fairly tale reached the zenith of its popularity in the mid-to-late 19th century, when Gothic revivalism swept the Continent. The tales spread from page to stage, be it puppet theater or grand opera (Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel was first produced in 1893). Native sagas and legends, anything that smacked of the middle ages or had Gothic flair came into fashion. The unification of Germany under Bismarck in 1871 created a need for a national culture which reflected the history and traditions of all who lived between the Rhine and the Oder rivers. Fairy tales, particularly in the homogenized Grimm versions, neatly filled this need. Germans were receptive to the home grown character of the genre - a truly national bit of culture which would unite Prussians, Bavarians and Saxons under a single literary flag. Over the course of our own century, we have seen the complete domestication of the fairy tale. It has been softened and transformed into harmless entertainment. Walt Disney was not the first to realize the universal appeal and commercial potential of fairy tales such as Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, but he was certainly the most successful in capitalizing on it. Thanks to his success, children the world over are only familiar with the saccharine versions which place more emphasis on cheerful chipmunks and preening princes than the lurking dangers that prowled the pages of the originals. Fairy tales do more than bond fact and fantasy, they also link generations, by passing acquired wisdom from elder to younger. Allegorically, children are presented with a first glimpse of the wide world beyond their bedroom walls. Fairy tale princes and paupers all tread the same path to adulthood, overcoming fears, resolving conflicts, building friendships. By confronting evil in the form of granny-devouring wolves or witches who roast children, children can explore the vivid fantasy side of fear. Wicked stepmothers, jealous siblings, and lost fathers are more realistic worries children confront through fairy tales. Coming to terms with these anxieties emboldens children to master their fears, bringing them closer to adulthood, when they will close the circle and pass the magic onto their own children. This is as true today as it was centuries ago. The merry dwarves and fairy godmothers of today's fairy tales are the lucky literary survivors of a time long ago when very few lived happily ever after.