Performance of Children's Literature Spring 2025

Brothers Grimm

The Grimm Brothers are probably the most well-known collectors/writers of stories. They were 19th-century academics who were interested in language and culture and were part of a movement that sought to collect folklore. Many others followed in their footsteps in other parts of Europe. Collecting folklore, specifically the oral traditional stories, was one way of making a claim for cultural national unity.

The Grimm Brothers produced collections of what they termed “märchen“, perhaps best translated as “wonder tale.” Grimm’s Fairy Tales was originally known as Children and Household Tales. The first edition, in 1812, contained 86 stories; ta second volume of 70 stories followed in 1815. Over the next years, until the seventh edition of 1857, the brothers added and subtracted stories, and rewrote many of them with an eye toward improving their suitability for children and increasing their suitability in terms of the values of 19th-century German-speaking middle-class societies. This often took the form of removing sexually explicit material, though not violence.

As part of our work on fairy tales, you are choosing one story to work on in-depth, looking at many variations, so you may, for example, find it interesting to look at a story fro the Grimm Brothers’ from the 1812 publication and compare it to that of 1857. And then to see how it is retold again and again.

Read

The Juniper Tree

Read the Text

Via Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts, edited by D.L. Ashliman

Detailed line drawing of a woman kneeling before a tree in a dress with bodice. In the branches of a tree is a glying bird, behind is an open door and a window
Louis Head, illustration for The Juniper Tree, 1917; Public Domain via WikiMedia Commons

Optional

The above story, perhaps unsurprisingly, is often not included in later works of the Edwardian period intended directly for children. Not that the stories didn’t have their disturbing and strange moments.

Look at this example of “The Goose Girl” retold in Grimm’s Fairy Tales Retold in One-Syllable Words, published in 1899 by McLoughlin Brothers (among other things, the story features the decapitated head of a horse talking.)

Watch

The video below talks about The Robber Bridegroom, a story similar to Perrault’s Bluebeard.

What are two or three things that you’ve started to notice in these literary fairy tales? Has anything surprised you so far?

Go Back
Go to the Sea

23 responses to “Brothers Grimm”

  1. Denise Warren Avatar
    Denise Warren

    Two things that I have begun to notice in these literary fairy tales are how child abuse and murder (especially femicide)have become center stage. The gruesomeness and sheer brutality at which these murders are carried out also seems to be a trend in these types of fairy tales-something I am not used to seeing in traditional fairy tales. I was surprised to see the amount of cannibalism taking place in these stories as well.

    Reply
  2. Synphanie Mojica Avatar
    Synphanie Mojica

    In these literary tales, two things I started to notice are how all of them have a clear-cut moral and there’s is always an element of morbidness. Something that has surprised me was in “The Juniper Tree”, when the father didn’t realize he was eating his own, but he had a feeling that this meal was intended for him to eat alone because he was the boy’s blood relative. Another thing that I noticed is how connected many of the themes in the stories are. For example, when the boy in “The Juniper Tree” rose back to life as a bird in the tree’s ashes, it reminded me of the myth of the Phoenix, and in “The Robber Bridegroom”, the daughter leaves a trail of lentils and peas to mark the path to the creepy house, which is similar to the trail of breadcrumbs that Hansel and Gretal leave in the forest to find their way home.

    Reply
  3. Kajol Victoria Singh Avatar
    Kajol Victoria Singh

    These stories are very sinister and inappropriate for children. They involve a lot of death, deceit, and murder that I find very uncomforting. I’m not sure if stories like this were written because they were based on somewhat true events from this period of time they were written in.

    Reply
  4. Aleksandra Avatar
    Aleksandra

    A few recurring patterns that stand out are Symbolism and Transformation. Fairy tales often use magical or supernatural transformations to represent justice or renewal. In this story, the murdered boy returns as a bird to bring retribution, which is both eerie and fascinating. The Role of Fate and Justice, Unlike modern storytelling, where characters often have full agency, fairy tales frequently portray justice as inevitable. The stepmother’s brutal end feels less like a direct consequence of anyone’s actions and more like the universe balancing itself. One surprising aspect is just how graphic the story is. While fairy tales are often associated with childhood, the violent and almost horror-like elements in The Juniper Tree highlight how these stories were originally meant for a wider audience, not just children.

    Reply
  5. cindy ambrosio Avatar
    cindy ambrosio

    One thing I have started to notice is the common concept that powerful people feel the right to have things their way. They feel they can order things to get what they want. In the previous stories, we saw a powerful queen try to kill the king’s children out of anger and jealousy. In Bluebeard, we saw powerful men order women to obey what he says or else they will be killed. In the Juniper tree, we see a stepmother kill her stepson to make sure her children are the ones to inherit his fortune. Another thing I noticed is the lack of sentiments or morality. We see a lot of killing in the most inhumane ways. This includes killing by fire and cutting heads off. We also see rape occur, which adds onto the morbidness of these fairytales.

    Reply
  6. Amy Merino Avatar
    Amy Merino

    I know original fairy tales were not as we know them now; they are dark and inappropriate for children. What I noticed is in all of the stories something bad happens to the women, even if it is through their fault like getting punished for disobeying or simply being taken advantage of. We do see the stories ending with some sort of a “happy ending” for those who are still alive, Talia and her children, the wife with gaining all the wealth and marrying someone else, and in Juniper tree the son coming back to life with the evil mother dying.

    Reply
  7. Danielle Avatar
    Danielle

    I’ve noticed that these fairy tales can be very dark and even violent. For example, The Juniper Tree has a mother who kills her son, and the father eats him without knowing. This is very different from the happy fairy tales we hear today. Another thing I see is that people or things change in magical ways, like the boy turning into a bird to bring justice. What surprises me most is how scary and serious these stories can be, even though they still have a lesson or a fair ending.

    Reply
  8. Aliviya Iskhakova Avatar
    Aliviya Iskhakova

    What I’ve noticed within these fairy tales is a lot of repeating themes as well as similar ideas. For instance, we see a lot of similar characters throughout these stories, one of which being the evil character who then gets their karma by the end of the fairytale. In The Juniper Tree, the evil stepmother kills her stepson but then is poetically slain by him at the end. Similarly, in Bluebeard, the evil murderous husband is killed and his wife inherits his wealth, and in Sun, Moon, and Talia, the evil queen that tries to kill Talia’s children is burnt alive and Talia marries her husband. Furthermore, there are many similar themes explored in these fairytales. I’ve noticed themes of violence, tragedy, love, karma, and magic present in all these stories.

    Reply
  9. Anismery Blanco Avatar
    Anismery Blanco

    Two things that I have noticed is that the women are often portrayed as victims, but treated as property by men who hold power over them. Also these tales are written in a dark tone, with violence, betrayal and tragic fates. Even though these themes are troubling, they almost always conclude with a happy ending.

    Reply
  10. D'Ella Brown Avatar
    D’Ella Brown

    I noticed how abrupt the ending was and how there were some dark themes mentioned, but the characters did not really acknowledge it. I know it’s a fairytale but if a bird was saying something like that in real life some people would find it weird and scary. But again I understand it adds a fantasy element to the story.

    Reply
  11. Jada Williams Avatar
    Jada Williams

    In the literary fairytales I notice that they are not so kid friendly and have gruesome imagery. They do have similar aspects of birds becoming the messengers sharing what the issue is. I see that the women involved are the ones who are victims or are put in predicaments that cause them to test their strength. What surprises me is the use of cannibalism. It seems like it was popular. I see the connection in the Juniper tree where the dad felt like the meal was all for him and when he was happy as the bird was singing but the step mom was scared. I like that the sister felt at peace when she was at the tree as well but still was crying when she wasn’t. It showed that she was not the problem although she still had no choice to help the mom.

    Reply
  12. Shania Smith Avatar
    Shania Smith

    One thing I noticed was there is always a woman who ends up being the victim. I also noticed there is always a man who is doing evil actions. I am surprised that people told these stories to children because they are very inappropriate and would most likely give kids nightmares. I understand there has to be some kind of evil in fairytales but the evil is way too much for kids.

    Reply
  13. Shania Smith Avatar
    Shania Smith

    One thing I noticed was there is always a woman who ends up being the victim. I also noticed there is always a man who is doing evil actions. I am surprised that people told these stories to children because they are very inappropriate and would most likely give kids nightmares. I understand there has to be some kind of evil in fairytales but the evil is way too much for kids.

    Reply
  14. Layla Ettu Avatar
    Layla Ettu

    Two things I’m starting to notice in these fairytales are how men feel so entitled to have their way all the time and the amount of violence that occurs. Something that surprised me so far was the story “the Juniper tree?” I was actually shocked that the step mom killed his child over jealousy. Jealousy really drove her to a point where she felt that this child needed to be killed and out of her way.

    Reply
  15. Sophia Awad Avatar
    Sophia Awad

    One thing I have noticed and that has surprised me tremendously was the amount of violence and dark topics that were brought up and essentially broadcasted within the fairytale. This has included murders, kidnapping, caniablism, and the list goes on and on. Additionally, something I always mentioned was the lack of parents in these stories. It is always that the main character only has one parent; their parents died at the start of the fairytale or that they are horrible to the character. This one did not suprose me so much as confuse me considering the fact that it is an ongoing theme with what purpose?

    Reply
  16. Jacklyn Serrano Avatar
    Jacklyn Serrano

    What I noticed about these stories are that children are often abused in heinous ways, and women are often “crazy” or powerless, and the men always seem like evil murderers or completely clueless. I am surprised by the amount of violence used in these stories but also how extreme they can go from dark to happily ever after by the end.

    Reply
  17. Salma Avatar
    Salma

    One thing I’ve started to notice in these literary fairy tales is how dark and violent they are compared to the versions we usually hear as kids. There’s a lot of gruesome imagery, like murder and even cannibalism, which really surprised me. I also see a pattern of karma where evil characters almost always get punished in the end, like in The Juniper Tree when the stepmother is killed. Another thing that stands out is how often women are put in dangerous situations where they have to either survive or outsmart someone. It makes me wonder how these stories were meant to teach people back then.

    Reply
  18. Crystal Ebanks Avatar
    Crystal Ebanks

    One theme I noticed in these fairy tales are themes of darkness or disturbing imagery that would be deemed inappropriate or graphic for children. There is also a theme of very tragic events happening, that usually include a woman as the victim of such tragedy.

    Reply
  19. calista spezio Avatar
    calista spezio

    One thing that has truly surprised me when reading these fairytales is how gory and violent they are. Both fairytales also have a dysfunctional family dynamic. I do believe that even though they are very dark, they teach good moral lessons to the readers.

    Reply
  20. Leslie Talavera Avatar
    Leslie Talavera

    Something that i noticed is how these stories are so disturbing for children especially since it talks about how young ladies are being taken advantage. And how these men don’t know anything about boundaries.

    Reply
  21. Zoe Davis Avatar
    Zoe Davis

    These stories don’t stray away from death. They not only discuss death, but they have very gruesome ones!

    Reply
  22. Jairy Arana Avatar
    Jairy Arana

    Reading The Juniper Tree, I’ve started to notice how literary fairy tales often blend beauty with brutality, gory moments like the boy’s murder are told in almost poetic, matter-of-fact tones. I’m also noticing a recurring theme of justice being served in strange, magical ways, like how the murdered child returns as a bird to set things right. What surprised me most is how these tales don’t shy away from intense, even horrifying content, yet still carry a sense of wonder and moral resolution.

    Reply
  23. Chadeary Avatar
    Chadeary

    I’ve noticed that many original fairy tales are much darker than the versions we grew up with. Stories like The Robber Bridegroom and The Juniper Tree include graphic violence, murder, and even cannibalism. Another thing that stands out is how harsh the punishments are for doing wrong. What surprised me most is that these intense themes were meant for children, which shows how different storytelling used to be.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *