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02-22-2002, 11:18 AM
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I've been reading some Brothers Grimm lately. They're such strange tales, and definitely not ones that I'll be reading to my child anytime soon.
In an idle moment I started thinking about which fairy tale was my favorite. I haven't decided yet.
Since I think it's too difficult to pick one, I'll ask you this: What are your three favorite fairy tales?
I'll come back to the thread once I've made a decision. I have decided that the one I don't like is The Little Mermaid. What a depressing, sad, and horrid tale.
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02-22-2002, 11:27 AM
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The brothers Grimm certainly were grim. I remember an old BG fairy tale book of my mother's that included stories I had never heard of before and that Disney won't be making into animated movies any time soon. The weirdest was the one about the girl with the red shoes who couldn't stop dancing and couldn't take the shoes off, so a woodcutter had to cut her feet off for her.
mj
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MJ
It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.~ Bono |
02-22-2002, 11:44 AM
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When I was in college getting one of my "Do you want fries with that?" BA/BS degrees, there was a class on the Brothers Grimm in the Psychology department.
I took the class, mainly because it killed credit requirements in both of my majors (Clinical Psych and English Lit) and my minor (Philosophy), and found it fascinating, and now I am frantically trying to remember what I did with my class notebook when we moved. Hmmmm...
I do remember that the tales were written in adherance to the mores of their time (the professor said "the mores of their time" a lot so it stuck in my mind), and now I'm wishing the class was not so long ago so I could conjure up the details and share them. *sigh* Sometimers Disease strikes again (sometimes you remember, sometimes you don't).
Leslie <- who ADORES the Brothers Grimm, but likes the Angela Carter "Bloody Chamber" fairy tales and the Anne Rice writing under a pseudonym "lusty" fairy tales just as much |
02-22-2002, 12:13 PM
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Lusty is an understatement for those Anne Rice books. Did she write more than the Beauty series? I pulled that book off the shelf of a bookstore not knowing anything about it. Boy, was I in for a surprise when I got home! Twas not the fairy tale I was expecting.
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Bridgette
"There are seven things that will destroy us: Wealth without work; pleasure without conscience; knowledge without character; religion without sacrifice; politics without principle; science without humanity; business without ethics." --Mahatma Gandhi
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02-22-2002, 12:16 PM
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Remember the Hans Christian Anderson story about the little boy who was supposed to die on the throne of France, and who was killed on Bastille day?
Some of those stories are definitely NOT for kids. I prefer the book of politically correct fairy tales that I used to have.
Amy
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02-22-2002, 12:16 PM
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As far as I know, the only books she wrote under that pen name were the Beauty Series - three books.
Hot Hot Hot
Leslie |
02-22-2002, 12:25 PM
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My very favorite fairy tale is the gently satirical "Prince Prigio," by the editor of the variously colored fairy tale books, Andrew Lang. I was entranced by it as a child, and its witty reworking of various fairy tale themes stands up just fine for the grown-up reader.
Andersen's stories frightened me; they comprised the second section of my huge omnibus fairytale book, and I avoided them with superstitious care.
For an astounding collection of rewritten fairy tales, see Anne Sexton's Transformations. 
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02-22-2002, 12:36 PM
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Quote: Originally posted by phoenixx
When I was in college getting one of my "Do you want fries with that?" BA/BS degrees, there was a class on the Brothers Grimm in the Psychology department.
I took the class, mainly because it killed credit requirements in both of my majors (Clinical Psych and English Lit) and my minor (Philosophy), and found it fascinating, and now I am frantically trying to remember what I did with my class notebook when we moved. Hmmmm...
| Didja ever read Bruno Bettelheim's book about fairy tales and the psychological needs of children that each particular one addresses? Very fascinating reading!
mj
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MJ
It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.~ Bono |
02-22-2002, 12:52 PM
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I believe it was referenced in a course ot two in college, but I haven't read the actual book. I just added it to my reading list, though!
:-) Leslie |
02-22-2002, 03:13 PM
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Good question! Without a doubt, my favorite author of fairy tales is Hans Christian Andersen. As children, my siblings and I heard his stories every night - they combined humour and a bit of grisly description into a vastly entertaining whole. In no particular order, here are the three that I most remember: The Steadfast Tin Soldier Little Claus and Big Claus The Tinderbox
Other stories that I still get great delight over: What Father Does is Always Right Thumbelina The Ugly Duckling
Deb
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02-22-2002, 07:00 PM
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My favorites are:
Twelve Dancing Princesses
The Six Swans
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
I have a fairy tale book (that is water-damaged and somewhat the worse for wear) with fairy tales from all over the world and a great illustration for each story.
The Brothers Grimm actually "cleaned up" the fairy tales for publication--fairy tales didn't use to be just for children and many of them had sensual overtones for the adults' as well as the story for the kids.
--naomi
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02-22-2002, 07:36 PM
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The Brothers Grimm didn't write those stories. They gathered them from old women in tiny, out of the way villages in the north-central region of Germany. Who ever said they "cleaned up" some of the stories was right. At first, the stories were published warts and all. Later editions were softened for children and to attract a broader audience.
The folk tales were gathered and written down to preserve them. The Grimms also wrote the most comprehensive German dictionary. |
02-22-2002, 08:16 PM
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Grimm's Fairy Tales were not meant for young children. They never were intended for them.
I actually love the Disney stories that have been yanked from the Brothers Grimm. They have been severely cleaned up and bastardized. I dislike most of the crap that Disney has done to them (I think they're wonderful stories, but they aren't really the same story at all when you read "the original."). |
02-22-2002, 08:19 PM
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Hmm, favorite fairy tales?
The Six Swans
Beauty and the Beast
Rapunzel
I love it when a writer decides to rewrite a fairytale. Robin McKinley's 'Beauty' is a great book.
I also love Mercer Meyer's version of East of the Sun West of the Moon.
I don't like Snow White, because she was an idiot. "Don't let anyone in the house, Snow White." So, she instead stands outside the door, where the old queen can get her. "Don't open the door, Snow White." So, she opens the window and takes the apple from a stranger. I seriously think the queen was just trying to do her part for natural selection. |
02-22-2002, 09:25 PM
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The Twelve Dancing Princeses (I have three versions :-))
The Little Mermaid
The Children of Lir
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02-22-2002, 09:47 PM
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Quote: Originally posted by Redlass
I've been reading some Brothers Grimm lately. They're such strange tales, and definitely not ones that I'll be reading to my child anytime soon.
In an idle moment I started thinking about which fairy tale was my favorite. I haven't decided yet.
Since I think it's too difficult to pick one, I'll ask you this: What are your three favorite fairy tales?
I'll come back to the thread once I've made a decision. I have decided that the one I don't like is The Little Mermaid. What a depressing, sad, and horrid tale. | I loved the Grimm tales and Hans Christian Andersen when I was little. They're certainly darker than the modern Disneyfied versions, but that didn't bother me at all then.
Andersen has written some rather gory, violent fairytales, too...like "The Marsh-King's Daughter" (some subtle sexual content there too, IMO) and the one about the princess who meets the devil at night and the hero who flogs her... I swear I'm not making that up, I don't remember the title of the story, though.
Hmmm, three favorites? It's so hard to choose, especially when I can't remember them all:
1) The Snow Queen (German?)
2) the Japanese one about the man who falls in love with a fox demon
3) the one about Baba Yaga and the girl with the talking doll (Eastern European?)
Other notables:
The Robber Bridegroom
Clever Elsie (actually a funny one)
East of the Sun, West of the Moon  |
02-25-2002, 04:21 PM
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Oh, I love fairy tales! It doesn't matter whether they are the brothers Grimm or tales written by more modern authors, I love them all!
I loved 'the Little Mermaid' as a child, and am utterly appalled by what Walt 'The Antichrist' Disney did to that tale.
I also love Beauty And The Beast , ditto Disney remark.
One of my favourite fairy tales is 'The Selfish Giant' by Oscar Wilde. It is a beautiful story , although probably not for my own children due to the Christian content. Still, it is lovely and haunting.
I have a Russian book of Baba Yaga stories, and I adore those, with the hut on chicken legs being one of my favourites from when I was a child. I think they were published in 'Highlights' magazine, although now that I am 22, the memory isn't what it used to be. 
Cindy |
02-25-2002, 04:26 PM
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Quote: Originally posted by hadassahchana
I have a Russian book of Baba Yaga stories, and I adore those, with the hut on chicken legs being one of my favourites from when I was a child. I think they were published in 'Highlights' magazine, although now that I am 22, the memory isn't what it used to be.
| Oh, my. I remember these. Can you post the book information? The day may come when my son lets me read him something other than "One Fish Two Fish" (not that there's anything wrong with that  ). |
02-25-2002, 04:48 PM
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I can transliterate it, but I don't have Russian font on my computer. A friend brought my copy back from her year in Moscow, so I'm not sure if this one is available here. IT really is gorgeous, though, Russian children's books are very beautifully illustrated.
Cindy |
02-25-2002, 04:51 PM
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Now what made me assume you had them in translation when you very clearly referred to it as a "Russian book"? 
Alas, I neither read nor speak Russian, so the information won't really help. But I'm going to keep an eye out for a translation (which I know exists as I had it as a child). | |
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