The Grimm Reality of our Childhood Fairy Tales

Many, if not all, of us grew up on fairy tales. Stories and fables of princesses and heroes in far off lands, who perform heroic deeds and defeat villains. Disney especially has promoted this, feeding us stories like Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and more. However, the original authors of these stories didn’t work for Disney. In fact, they would likely be shocked at the sensation that their stories have become today. 

Some of the most well-known fairy tale authors are Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, better known as the Brothers Grimm, although they are perhaps more accurately described as fairy tale collectors rather than authors. The majority of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales originated as German folktales, and in reality their collections were intended as academic anthologies for scholars of German culture–not bedtime stories for young children. This is also true in the case of Hans Christen Andersen, who, while relatively less well-known than the Brothers Grimm, was also a prolific fairy tale author. His works encompass some of the most famous of our childhoods, such as The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling. Andersen frequently used his stories as an outlet for his own grief and misery: often, his tales embody the theme of unrequited love–an issue that plagued Andersen throughout his life. 

One may consider it curious that the fairy tales we know and love dearly came from authors without the intentions to make them the magical and enchanting stories that they are. Well, the reality of it is that the stories we know now are not the actual stories written by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christan Andersen back in the 1800s. 

Take the original Cinderella, for example, written by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. In this version of the story, while similar in overall plot to the Disney movie, the fairy-tale ending we know today is swapped for a much darker version. In the Disney movie, the wicked stepsisters cannot fit their feet in the shoe, for it is too small. The prince then moves on to Cinderella, whose foot fits perfectly, and then they “lived happily ever after”. In the Brothers Grimm version, this part of the story is more complex. When the first sister cannot fit her foot in the shoe, she chops off her big toe to fit her foot in the shoe, and then goes off to marry the prince–until he notices the blood dripping from her foot. Then, the second sister tries on the shoe, and when her foot does not fit she chops off part of her heel to remedy this. Once again, the prince takes her as his bride before noticing the blood dripping from her foot. Finally, Cinderella tries on the shoe, with a perfect fit. Later, at the prince and Cinderella’s wedding, the wicked stepsisters attempt to befriend Cinderella in the hopes of benefitting from her newfound wealth. As a punishment for their cruelty, Cinderella’s birds attack the sisters, pecking out their eyes with their beaks and rendering the sisters blind. 

A darker story than what we are familiar with, such as the one described above, isn’t uncommon in the Brothers Grimm original fairy tales. In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, for example, the Evil Queen attempts to kill Snow White in three different ways, including via the poisoned apple we all know. Additionally, at the end of the story, the Evil Queen attends Snow White and the prince’s wedding, but as a punishment for her cruelty to Snow White, she is forced to wear iron shoes, which have been heated in the fire, and dance in them–without stopping–until she dances herself to death.

Even Little Red Riding Hood, or Little Red Cap as it was originally titled in 1812, ends with a second wolf trying to sneak into grandmother’s house. In an act of revenge, Grandmother and Little Red Cap trick the wolf into climbing down the chimney, and falling into a pot of boiling water–thus resulting in the wolf suffering a watery death. 

As is clearly demonstrated in the previous Brothers Grimm stories, there is a certain darkness to them that is often overlooked in today’s versions. Folktales are meant to illustrate some aspect of the human spirit, and issue warnings. These stories are no different. The original Cinderella warns of the results of being cruel to others, and reminds people that if you are good and kind the world will give you something in return–but if you are not, it will punish you. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs teaches of what comes from jealousy, and how acting out because of it does not end well for you. And Little Red Cap teaches one to be careful of trickery and to not let others take advantage of you. It also warns of the repercussions of tricking other people.

While this sort of darker material is present in Hans Christen Andersen’s tales as well, his were less about teaching lessons. It is important to note that Andersen’s stories were not collections of folktales, but rather tales pulled from his own mind–with his grief, pain, and heartbreak infused into them. The Ugly Duckling, for example, highlights Andersen’s feeling of ugliness and not belonging in his own life. The Little Match-Seller as well is a story about grief and loneliness, likely written as an outlet for Andersen’s own feelings. 

One of Andersen’s most famous tales is The Little Mermaid, and while the Disney version may portray this story as one of the fight for true love, this is not the truth. Fundamentally, The Little Mermaid is a story of unrequited love and heartbreak–as well as the persistent feeling of not belonging. As in the Disney version, the little mermaid longs for a life above the sea, and wishes to marry a prince whom she had saved from being drowned in a storm. The little mermaid wishes for an immortal soul, so that after she dies she can continue to see the world. Upon learning that humans, unlike mermaids, have immortal souls, she makes the decision to ask the sea witch for help. The sea witch agrees to exchange the little mermaid’s tail for legs, with the warning that everytime she takes a step, her feet will ache like they are being stabbed with knives, and that the prince must fall in love with her, or else on the morning after his wedding to another she will dissolve into sea foam–unable to gain an immortal soul or a life as a human with her prince. The little mermaid agrees, and the sea witch cuts out her tongue as a trade–for the little mermaid has the most beautiful singing voice under the sea. The little mermaid goes to the shore, and spends time with the prince–growing close to him. At the same time, her mermaid sisters, father, and grandmother, watch her from the sea and occasionally speak to her. But she cannot speak back, and she cannot join them in the ocean no matter how much she misses her family. 

Unfortunately, the prince falls in love with another woman, and the night of their wedding the little mermaid looks over the bow of the ship towards her sisters, knowing that after this she will dissolve into sea foam, without an immortal soul, and without being able to see her family again. However, her sisters tell the little mermaid that they have made a deal with the sea witch, trading their long hair for a knife that the little mermaid can use to kill the prince and his new wife. If she does this, and drops the blood onto her feet, they will fuse together and the little mermaid will be able to return as a mermaid to her sisters. She tries, but her love for the prince doesn’t allow her to kill the sleeping couple. The little mermaid throws herself into the sea, but before she is turned to sea foam, spirits of the air adopt her as one of their own, and the little mermaid gets to live 300 years as an air spirit, and once that time is up she will go to heaven with an immortal soul. 

This story is dark and beautiful, highlighting Andersen’s own feeling of grief and loneliness, as well as his own struggles with unrequited love. A feeling that almost every dreamer can relate to is one of wishing for that which they can never have–a desire for another world, where they can see and do more than they ever dreamed of. The Little Mermaid illustrates this through the little mermaid’s desire to become human, and have an immortal soul so that she can see the world. It does not necessarily have a happy ending, as the little mermaid does not get her prince and is separated from her family forever, yet she does get what all dreamers wish for, although whether the price is worth it is something to be debated. 

Fairy tale origins may not be what they seem, but their effect on our childhoods are significant nonetheless. Each one was meant to teach us a lesson, whether it be the consequences of being cruel, or what it feels like to wish for something greater. The stories that we know today make an impact, but one has to wonder why it is that these fairy tales have been shifted from tales so deep and significant to the superficial “true love’s kiss saves the day”. Everyone wants a happy ending–but it has to be acknowledged that things don’t always turn out the way we want them to. The Brothers Grimm knew this. Hans Christen Andersen knew this. Perhaps it’s time that we relearn the lessons they wished to teach us, all those years ago.

Works Cited

1. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2024, May 9). Hans Christian Andersen. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hans-Christian-Andersen-Danish-author
2. Hernández, I. (2019, September 24). Brothers Grimm fairy tales were never meant for kids. History. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/brothers-grimm-fairy-tales?loggedin=true&rnd=1716722363987 
3. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. “Aschenputtel”, Kinder- und Hausmärchen, 1st ed. (Berlin: Realschulbuchhandlung, 1812), https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0510a.html. v. 1, no. 21. Translated by D. L. Ashliman. (1998)
4. Wikipedia Contributors. (2024, May 26). Cinderella (1950 film). Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_(1950_film) 
5. ‌Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Kinder- und Hausmärchen, 1st ed. (Berlin: Realschulbuchhandlung, 1812), https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0709.html#snowwhite v. 1, no. 53, pp. 238-50. Translated by D. L. Ashliman (1998-2002).
6. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. “Rotkäppchen”, Kinder- und Hausmärchen, 1st ed. (Berlin: Realschulbuchhandlung, 1812), https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0333.html#grimm v. 1, no. 26, pp. 113-18. Translated by D. L. Ashliman.
7. Wikipedia Contributors. (2024, May 21). The Little Mermaid (1989 film). Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid_(1989_film) 
8. Andersen H.C., “The Little Mermaid”, Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Første Samling. 3rd ed. 1837. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Fairy_Tales_of_Hans_Christian_Andersen/The_Little_Mermaid. Translated by Mary Howitt (1872)
9. Andersen H.C., “The Ugly Duckling”, Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Første Samling. 1843. http://hca.gilead.org.il/ugly_duc.html Translated by Mary Howitt (1872)
10. Andersen H.C., “The Little Match Girl” Dansk Folkekalender for 1846, 1845, http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_match.html Translated by Jean Hersholt