...this weird little story appeared in every single edition (seven in total) that was published during the Grimm's lifetimes and while it's not necessarily "violent," it's a bit like "The Journey of the Straw, the Coal, and the Bean" except that none of the little group survives.
Category: #FairytaleTuesday
#FairytaleTuesday: How Some Children Played at Slaughtering
This one is bonkers and doesn't appear to have an Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index tale type. This "story" actually consists of two gratuitously violent anecdotes involving a group of children who are playing at being butchers. It was included in the first edition of the Grimm stories but was left out in later editions.
#FairytaleTuesday: Cinderella, aka Aschenputtel (The Little Ash Girl)
Cinderella has got to be the most well-known fairytale in the world. It is also incredibly old and has thousands of variations...That being said, there is no way that I can possibly do full justice to the rich and fascinating history of this tale type. But I'll do my best to give a suitable overview of the Grimm version.
#FairytaleTuesday: A Story About a Brave Tailor
Ostensibly, this is a story about a little dude who overcomes great odds through his wit and cunning and manages to achieve great fame and fortune, and a princess. The character of the tailor is essentially a Jack, the one fairytale archetype for whom the story will always work for and not against. No matter how lazy and foolish he is, a Jack will always win.
#FairytaleTuesday: The Fisherman and His Wife
Unlike some of the stories that I've covered before, the lesson here is clear and easy to understand. There's appears to be no deeper analysis then the simple concept that your wants shouldn't outstrip your means. You got the nice house now be happy with it instead of demanding more. Having said that, and now that I think about it, perhaps there is a deeper, less pleasant lesson here, about how the poor should be happy with whatever bits of largess they receive and not entertain dreams of rising above their station.
#FairytaleTuesday: The Journey of the Straw, the Coal, and the Bean
A straw, a coal, and a bean came together and wanted to take a great journey. They had already gone through many countries when they reached a brook without a bridge and couldn’t cross. Finally, straw came up with a good idea.
#FairytaleTuesday: The White Snake
Intention is what matters and we can't allow ourselves to think beyond our intentions in the moment, even if our intention is to buy a princess and improve our own social standing. And really, no one is ever completely altruistic in their actions. We will all, at some point, act in our own self-interests. It's just a matter of the compromises you're willing to make to get what you want.
#FairytaleTuesday: Herr Fix-It-Up
Fix-It-Up had been a soldier for a long time. When the war came to an end, however, and there was nothing but the same old things to do every day, he resigned from the army and decided to become a servant for a great lord. There would be clothes trimmed with gold, a lot to do, and always new things happening
#FairytaleTuesday: Hansel and Gretel
The fact that the woman who willingly marries the widowed father was most likely doing so because she literally had no other options--due to poverty, age, or suspected infertility--is never considered because her feelings are of little value. The potential for being resentful at having a husband and children forced upon her for reasons out of her control is is great, but it doesn't matter, given that women are expected to be motherly, no matter the situation.
#FairytaleTuesday: Nasty Flax Spinning
The queen summoned the three spinsters to the castle, and on the day that the king was supposed to return home, she sat them down next to one another in her room, gave each of them a spinning wheel, and ordered them to spin. Moreover, she told each of them what to answer when the king questioned them. As soon as the king arrived, he heard the humming of the wheels from a distance and was so glad that he intended to praise his daughters.
Bluestocking Writes... 