THE GRIMM BROTHERS AND ONCE UPON A TIME...


Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the oldest of six children, were born in 1785 and 1786 in Hanau, a market town near Frankfurt, Germany. Their father, a magistrate who maintained values of loyalty, hard work, and faith, died in 1796, leaving their mother with scarce resources to raise the large family. An aunt supported the brothers’ schooling, where they excelled academically but were unpopular, due to their lower social status. Wilhelm suffered from asthma and struggled with illness all his life. These circumstances created a close bond between the brothers. When their mother died in 1808, Jacob and Wilhelm supported their younger siblings by working as librarians while researching and editing manuscripts.


Jacob’s interest in medieval legends was sparked when a professor shared his private library. The brothers assisted a colleague in gathering a collection of folk stories, which led to their first edition of Children’s and Household Tales in 1812. The book was not initially successful, but as Wilhelm revised the stories for a younger audience, its reception improved. Jacob’s attention shifted to scholarly and political projects, but Wilhelm continued working on the Tales for most of his life. Wilhelm married at age 39, and Jacob lived as a bachelor with his brother’s family.


Living most of their lives as Germans under Napoleon’s control, the brothers worked to preserve their cultural heritage and to establish a unified, democratic Germany. Wilhelm died in 1859, and Jacob eulogized him as märchenbruder, or “fairy-tale brother.” He died four years later while working on an ambitious German-language dictionary. Germany was unified in 1871, years too late for the Brothers Grimm to see during their lives. •


CHILDREN’S AND HOUSEHOLD TALES


Many now-beloved characters were first introduced to the larger world by the Grimm Brothers, who tried to preserve the tales they heard in the authentic voices of the storytellers (mostly women). Their collection grew from an initial 49 to 210 stories


The importance of the woods in the stories reveals mixed feelings for German topography; on the one hand, the woods provided livelihood and supported farming and hunting; on the other hand, danger and death always


8 ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY


How many stories open with those four magical words: Once upon a time? You can brush up on your fairy tales with these summaries, but— SPOILER ALERT!— if you wish to be surprised when you see the show, read no further, or you will most certainly NOT live happily ever after.


CINDERELLA


…there lived a young girl whose mother died, leaving her wealthy father to remarry. The stepmother brought her own two beautiful daughters, who called the young girl Cinderella dressed her in rags, and forced her to do hard work. Cinderella’s father brought her a hazel twig, which she planted at her mother’s grave and watered with


tears, until it grew into a glowing hazel tree. One day, the king invited all the young women in the kingdom to a three-day festival for his son to choose a bride. Cinderella’s stepmother forbade her to attend, so she went to the hazel tree for help. A white bird dropped a dress and silk shoes. When Cinderella arrived at the festival, the Prince danced only with her until midnight, when she fled. The next evening she returned and danced with the Prince, but fled again at midnight. On the third evening, the bird dropped a gold dress and gold shoes. This time, the Prince smeared pitch on the palace steps, so one of the golden slippers stayed behind as she fled. The Prince searched the kingdom for the foot that fit the slipper. When he arrived at Cinderella’s house, the stepsisters cut their feet to deceive the Prince, but doves alerted the Prince to the blood dripping from their feet in the slipper. He returned and found Cinderella in the kitchen, tried the slipper, and recognized her. At Cinderella’s wedding, birds struck out the eyes of the stepsisters, blinding them, as a punishment for their wickedness.


lurked in the shadows.


The stories were not initially meant for children, but Wilhelm noticed the growing market for children’s picture books across Europe. By softening their violence, cruelty, and sexuality, he made the tales more accessible. Today, Grimms’ Fairy Tales have been translated into over 160 languages and are enjoyed all around the world. Americans often first encounter the stories through Walt Disney’s family-friendly movies, but there may never have been a Magic Kingdom without the hard efforts of the Brothers Grimm.


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