On the Brothers Grimm

There's something that I came across with* as I read about the Brothers Grimm. They are famous for their fairytales, that's for sure, but that wasn't their main focus while working together. They were far more interested in studying language, with folk tales being a side project they worked at.

What is interesting in all of this is that their tales, published as "Children's and Household Tales", were edited seven times, mostly by Wilhelm Grimm, changing, adding, and even deleting parts or entire tales.

Elisabeth Baumann. 1855. Source.
 (right: Jacob Grimm; left: Wilhelm Grimm)

Jacob was always more of the opinion that the tales should remain the way they were edited the first time and to have as minimal edits as possible, but Wilhelm thought the beauty of them could be enhanced, and therefore more appreciated, if some details were altered.

While Jacob focused more on other projects, his brother worked again and again on the tales, paying attention to the criticism received for including "Children" in the title, due to some stories containing violent and sexual details that were deemed not suited for kids. Wilhelm altered the tales once, twice, and more, until the most polished version, the seventh, was the final one. That's the version most of us are familiar with and most likely to get when buying the tales.

I find this quite interesting because, as someone who cares a lot about origins, I wanted to compare how different they would be one from another. That's why I got two editions of the tales, one being the most complete translation to date, including tales that were translated to English for the first time, and the original, first edition of the tales, also translated to English for the first time, both books by Jack Zipes, a recognized expert in the Grimm and fairy tales in general.

My babies. I'm just about to start reading them at the same time and comparing how similar or different they are.

Also, it's important for me to know who the Grimms were, how they worked, and I have a good idea after reading each book's introduction. They were very disciplined, organized, and scholars most of the time. Coming from a low-income family, and even more after their father's dead, they decided to prove what they were capable of by dedicating their time and efforts to their studies.

There's this general idea that they traveled around Germany to collect the tales, but they hardly left their home and work. In reality, they received the tales from peasants, travelers, aristocrats, mothers, homeless people, and anyone else who could provide to them. Often, their tales were rewarded with money depending on how original they were or if it was a different version of a tale they already had.

You can see the difference between both edition more clearly here. Also, the book with the original tales seems to have bigger and more illustrations than the complete edition.

For those who are interested in history and biographies, I strongly recommend you reading both introductions, which can be read for free on their respective digital preview before buying. The details about their lives and way of working are fascinating!

As a side note, I can't deny my interest in ancestral veneration and necromancy. If I were to include them in my practice as ancestors, guides, teachers, or any other type of spirit, I know I'm more likely to favor Jacob than Wilhelm, or that at least I identify more with him than his younger brother.

*I originally wrote this for my Patreon, but since I'm focusing on the blog now, I wanted to share an updated version here.

Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter!

Remember this blog lusts after your comments and shares to grow healthy!