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Brothers Grimm The popular perception of brothers Grimm describes them as children's entertainers, who strived to instill young kids with the sense of conventional morality. But the truth is that amusing children was the last thing on brothers' mind, when they researched medieval German folklore and decided to use it, as a base for their fairy tales. Their foremost task was to preserve German cultural heritage. The form of fairy tales was chosen because it suited the best for this purpose, as the prime material that Grimm dealt with, was a mythology. The fact is that brothers belonged to German Romantics of 19 thg century, who were opposed to the progressive ideas of democracy and equality. Neo-romantics wanted nothing less than bringing the spiritual life of Germans back into the realm of half-forgotten myths.
Brothers Grimm were an aggressive anti-Semites, who promoted the idea of German supremacy, well before the rise of Nazism. It is only in 20 th century that their fairy-tales were being refined, so that they would be more or less suitable to serve as children's reading material. Yet, one gets really disgusted, discovering things like cannibalism, bodily mutilations and incest, in the original Grimm's stories. The Robber Bridegroom is one of the best examples of Grimm's artistic taste. In it, the young maiden discovers that her fiancee is actually a cannibal, after witnessing another young girl being cut in pieces and eaten by him and his buddies.
What cannot escape ones attention is Grimm's strange attraction to the gruesome details of murder: Thereupon they tore off her delicate raiment, laid her on a table, cut her beautiful body in pieces and strewed salt thereon One of them (robber) noticed a gold ring on the little finger of the murdered girl, and as it would not come off at once, he took an axe and cut the finger off (Grimm). In several of their other stories, the children who misbehave are also being killed or mutilated, as punishment. Even the original story of Little Riding Hood is filled with graphic details of grandma being devoured in wolfs stomach. What would be the reaction of five year old child, upon hearing how grandmas skin began to come off her face? Also, in original Little Riding Hood, wolfs stomach is cut open with a knife to free Hoods grandma. It is no wonder that some people consider Grimm's stories, as such, that actually encourage violence among kids, who read them.
It is a fact that Grimm's fairy tales still remain popular among great many people, up to this day. What would explain this? In my opinion, the answer lies in our subconsciousness. As it was being said, it is the German folklore, where brothers were getting their inspiration from.
The folklore itself is based on the set of certain ideas that define the existential mode of every particular culture. But its not a secret that Germans are usually thought of as sophisticated but cruel people. Therefore, the Grimm's tales correspond to their innermost essence. The same applies to all White people, in bigger or lesser degree, as it is well known that Grimm's tales are not very popular among the minorities.
There is no question about Grimm's tales containing some decoded message. The German Romantics denied superiority of mind over the instinct. They suggested that the individual cannot realize itself, without being emotionally attached to certain abstract values. This, in its turn, can only be accomplished if person's bloodline is not polluted, because the ability to operate with abstract categories directly depends on person's racial characteristics. This is the essence of Grimm's existential philosophy. Many literature critics say that the brothers Grimm can also be considered as Hitler's spiritual precursors, along with Nietzsche and Wagner.
In my opinion, such point of view is absolutely legitimate. It is not very hard to define Grimm's artistic philosophy. In short, it is the fascination with the dark side. There are people, who simply do not consider positivist motives as being noble and aesthetic. It is because of them that the tragedy is, even now, considered to be more noble, as a genre.
Brothers Grimm clearly belonged to these kind of people. But, whether we want it or not, Grimm's legacy is a part of Western culture and it would be mistake to ban it, on the account of their fairy tales containing too much violence. Bibliography: Grimm, Jacob The Robber Bridegroom. 2000. Stellar One.
com. Retrieved April 26, 2006 from web Kreis, S. The Romantic Era. February 26, 2006. The History Guide.
Retrieved April 26, 2006 from web Tales of Brothers Grimm. October 9, 2004. Myth-Folklore Online. Retrieved April 26, 2006 from.
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Research essay sample on Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales
