Monday, November 20, 2006 12:04 AM
I am reading the Grimm brothers now. For those who don't know them. They are both great authors who wrote famous fairytales like the Ash-Putel (Cinderella), Snow-Drop (Snow White) and Rose Bud (Sleeping Beauty).
Most of his stories shocked me quite a bit. The characters harbour evil thoughts of killing the bad characters in the story. The characters are not grateful to those who helped them. You know what? Almost everytime, these characters are those who come out unharmed and unscathed.
Also, another factor that shocked me was the way the Grimm brothers punish the evil. For one instant in the goose girl, the maiden had her "thrown into a cast stuck round with sharp nails, and that two white horses should be put to it, and should drag it from street to street till she is dead."
In another instant, in the dog and the sparrow, the sparrow vowed to kill the human and the sparrow killed his horses, broke his jugs of wine and in the end, trick the human's wife to throw a stone onto the human's head, killing him immediately.
Now, are these really fairytales? Or are these tales of gore?
And to think of that, fairytales are read to children as their bedtime stories and if a parent read the orignal grimm fairytales, will it pollute the young juvenile minds of the children?
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
