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While the most basic elements of the stories have stayed the same, many people do not notice the differences that have littered the tales we listen to today. Surprisingly enough, the Grimm Fairy Tales were not intended to be read to children as a bed time story. Instead, they were made for adults. Throughout the ages, the stories have been watered down, softened and tweaked so that the harsher aspects of them- death, child cruelty, and much more- are almost nonexistent, or less prominent. For instance, the notable step mothers in “Hansel and Gretel” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” were actually the real mothers in the original versions (Dalton). But that is not all. The original tales contained a great deal of German pride and nationalism, that being the primal reason for their creation. But in the versions heard today, one would not be able to discern that they were German at all. It is possible that this loses what the Grimm Brothers hoped to accomplish (Poupard). The tales that are heard in this generation are undoubtedly for children to dream about. But when they were written down, it was the Grimm Brothers’ intention that they would be a way to remind people of their childhood. The changing of the tales in order to become a child’s tale was much needed. The step mothers in “Hansel and Gretel” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” were cruel and evil, throwing their children into intentional harm. Obviously, the people behind the revisions believed child should not have to connect this cruelty with their real mothers. This is justified as an extreme prejudice against step mothers has been wrought from these tales alone. As with the matter of the missing German pride, it is not surprising that this aspect has dwindled to nonexistence in order to make the tales more relatable to other cultures.
Again, many aspects of the tales have been changed, but some believe that the tales have undergone less innocuous change. For example, one could consider the popular tale of “Cinderella”. In the two primary versions of this story, there are two equally different quotes. In the original tale, the dying mother tells her the young Cinderella this, “Dear Child, continue devout [honest] and good. Then God will always help you and I will down upon you from heaven and watch over you.” The mother, while on her death bed, begs her young daughter to stay kind and loving, and this is why the bereaved Cinderella bares the harsh insults of her step family and continues in her amiable manner. In the 1950’s Disney animated version, those words are replaced with, “may all your dreams come true.” For in this version, Cinderella continues on relying on the promise of a better future. This is not a bad thing in itself, but some people think the unintentional effects are. One of those people, Buck Holler, the program director at Circe Institute, has a few words to say on this matter. He writes, “…do we rob children of moral cultivation when we replace ‘continue devout and good’ with ‘may your dreams come true’ [?]” (Holler). Buck Holler is asking what the young population should learn- that a good heart will be rewarded in the end- or that if we hope for something, we will eventually get want we desire. As more and more changes come out, some for the better, some for the worst, piece by piece the stories are changed from their intended form to the form movie directors think will sell the best.
Again, many aspects of the tales have been changed, but some believe that the tales have undergone less innocuous change. For example, one could consider the popular tale of “Cinderella”. In the two primary versions of this story, there are two equally different quotes. In the original tale, the dying mother tells her the young Cinderella this, “Dear Child, continue devout [honest] and good. Then God will always help you and I will down upon you from heaven and watch over you.” The mother, while on her death bed, begs her young daughter to stay kind and loving, and this is why the bereaved Cinderella bares the harsh insults of her step family and continues in her amiable manner. In the 1950’s Disney animated version, those words are replaced with, “may all your dreams come true.” For in this version, Cinderella continues on relying on the promise of a better future. This is not a bad thing in itself, but some people think the unintentional effects are. One of those people, Buck Holler, the program director at Circe Institute, has a few words to say on this matter. He writes, “…do we rob children of moral cultivation when we replace ‘continue devout and good’ with ‘may your dreams come true’ [?]” (Holler). Buck Holler is asking what the young population should learn- that a good heart will be rewarded in the end- or that if we hope for something, we will eventually get want we desire. As more and more changes come out, some for the better, some for the worst, piece by piece the stories are changed from their intended form to the form movie directors think will sell the best.