The Brothers Grimm, for those not familiar with them, are among the most famous European storytellers ever to live. Noted for a streak of darkness in their fairy tales not shared by many other childrens' writers, the Brothers traveled around Europe recording people's "unusual" experiences and tales and then writing them as stories.
Many of the tales told by the Brothers survive today. Stories such as "Snow White," "Rumpelstiltskin," "The Frog Prince," "
Born in 1786, Wilhelm Grimm lived his early years near Frankfurt but, after the death of his father, the family of seven moved to a tiny, cramped city home. Many have said that this miserable period of their lives was blamed on their mother, which explains why most of their stories involved female villains (wicked stepmothers, witches, hags, etc.) and idealized fathers.
When they were old enough, Wilhelm and his older brother Jacob left home to study law.
While studying, the two became intensely interested in linguistic research, and that is where they began recording and telling these stories. They also published a much-less-popular book of legends involving dragons, dwarves, elves, and the like. However, nothing has ever surpassed the popularity of their collection of fairy tales. After all, those tales have been reproduced countless times as novels, standalone books, movies, even video games!
So happy birthday, Wilhelm. Reminisce on the old days. Think about poisoned virgins and children being eaten and all those other horrifying things you somehow passed off as childrens' stories. And do it with a smile, because we're still telling those stories to kids today.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment