#GRIMMread2019 Challenge Week 1

1/6/2019

What is it about Grimm Fairytales that people love?

I found them fairly unpleasant with sad and often harrowing messages. I’m remembering why I don’t read these fairytales.

This week we read The Frog Prince, Rapunzel (EG’s pick), Poverty and Humility Lead to Heaven, and Cat and Mouse in Partnership. Here’s our take aways:

Poverty and Humility Lead to Heaven…

…not sure that’s an accurate tale. They definitely led to a spot under the stairs where the king’s son died of virtual starvation. EG’s face was horrified. I think the only message she took from that is that people get treated badly and then they die.

The Frog Prince...

...is downright icky. I get fulfilling your promises, but that went to an extreme. In this story a father ordered his daughter to take someone into her bed—ok, it was a frog, but still, that’s just wrong. Then the frog turns into a prince, for literally no reason. He professes love to the girl, who’s done nothing but abuse him. That’s a recipe for an unhealthy future.

What was the message of The Frog Prince? It was not love conquers all. It came across as lie to get what you want. That’s not a message I want my kids internalizing.

What’s next?

Ah, yes, Rapunzel. It wasn’t on the list for the week, but EG picked it out herself. I’m sure she was expecting something like Tangled.

Be aware, the original Rapunzel story is nothing like the Disney version.

Unlike Tangled where Rapunzel is kidnapped from her loving parents, in Grimm’s version she is willingly given to Gothel by her parents in exchange for produce. Produce as in lettuce.

Let that sink in.

Message: the cost of quickly made promises can be steep.

The story continues with Rapunzel stuck in a tower alone and bored. Of course a handsome prince finds her and sneaks in. Immediate love. The sneaking continues and then Rapunzel lets slip that she’s been seeing someone behind Gothel’s back.

Punishment ensues. Magic tears fix everything. All EG cared about were Rapunzel’s twins.

Wait. You didn’t know that part, did you?

Yes, in the Grimm version, Rapunzel has a teen pregnancy that results in twins.

Message: sneaking around will get you pregnant, but don’t worry because he’ll definitely stay with you and give you a kingdom.

Hold your breath and wait for that to happen in real life.

Cat and Mouse in Partnership

The cat continually stabs the mouse in the back—he’s cheeky about it too—then kills her for having the audacity to figure out what kind of person he really is. I’m guessing the message there is to stick to your own kind. Or was it trust a liar and end up dead? Either way, I was as pleased with the story as EG.

Big Takeaway...

Ultimately, reading Grimm is making me question my liking of fairytales. I definitely dislike unhappy stories already. That hasn’t changed. I prefer stories where the characters overcome their adversity with happy results. Stories where you just get dead for being a good person and rewarded for bad behavior (kingdom for being abusive or sneaking around, anyone) are not giving the messages I want my kids to have.

#GRIMMread2019

4 Comments

Shonna link

1/6/2019 04:10:29 pm

Right!?!? All these things. LOL. Read with today's eyes, I wonder how these original stories have endured for so long. Maybe by the end of the year I'll have figured it out.

Tamara

1/7/2019 08:30:58 pm

You and me both! Wait until you read about the wolf and the 7 kids. My kids eyes were huge even after I explained what kind of "kids" were being discussed.

Marigny link

1/6/2019 08:56:02 pm

I'm so glad to have your perspective and that of EG. It will help me remember to take a wider view than I might when I'm thinking only of the story in my own context.
You are right that the stories are quite dark. African folktales are, too -- so many begin with "There was a famine..." Donald Cosentino explained that this was a device to do what screenwriters call "upping the stakes" to create dramatic tension. Good storytellers put their characters in desperate situations to seize the reader's attention. I try to remember that when I read them, but I agree with you -- it's very difficult to swallow some of the outright brutality.
Thanks for your post. I look forward to reading more from you!

1/7/2019 08:32:47 pm

Thanks for commenting. With only my 2 kids as a sounding board, I do feel a little lost reading these. I keep thinking, "Why did people tell their kids these horrible stories?" Then I remember The Boy Who Cried Wolf and how that ends. Shiver.
This is certainly going to be an interesting year.