When I went to Cheltenham Literary Festival earlier this year, I went to see literary legend, Philip Pullman. He was there to talk about his latest book, his version of Grimm's Fairy Tales. I absolutely loved hearing from a writer that I followed so much as a child and even had the chance to ask him the question, why have fairy tales transformed from the horror of Grimm to the more quaint, Disneyfied children's stories of today?
For those of you who haven't read Grimm, you will understand what I mean when you do. Today marks the 200 years of the Grimm Brothers' Die Kinder und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales), a collection of 86 stories that would shape and inform storytelling for centuries. At university even, I wrote my dissertation on the reasons behind and effects of modern reworkings of myth and fairy tales.
Although the likes of Angela Carter have formed adult interpretations that are, arguably, closer to the originals in tone, they have become more and more associated with children. Dare I say, they've even become 'Christmassy' with their traditional style and associations with family. Really, though, they are pretty grim (there was no way I was going to get through this entire post without using that terrible pun...). Being called 'Children's and Household Tales', though, meant that many changes were called for in the first volumes. It is thought the wicked stepmothers in stories such as Snow White and Hansel and Gretel were originally simply wicked mothers but it was thought to be inappropriate for children...
Here are some fairy tales, some Grimm, some not, that are not quite as sweet as Disney makes us believe:
Sleeping Beauty? Not kissed by a charming prince, but raped by the King. She then, still asleep, proceeds to give birth to TWO children.
In two different version of the Three Bears, Goldilocks either gets ripped apart and eaten or brutally breaks her neck in the process of fleeing the animals out the window.
Cinderella Grimm-stylee? The stepsisters proceed to chop off parts of their own feet so as to fool the prince by fitting into the slipper. The prince finds out though and punishment comes to the sisters in the form of two pigeons who peck out their eyes so that they live the rest of their lives as blind beggars... lovely!
The story that Philip Pullman talked about in his talk and is arguably the most gruesome: The Girl Without Hands - need I say more?
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