The Brothers Grimm

By: Katja

Who are the Grimm Brothers?

Jacob Ludwig Grimm Wilhelm Carl Grimm

1785-18631786-1859

The Grimm’s Birthplace

Family History• Father Philipp Wilhelm Grimm

1751-1796 , A very respected lawyer• Mother Dorothea Zimmer 1755-

1808• 9 children• 3 sons die during infancy• Leaving 5 boys and 1 girl

Unfortunate Events

• 1791 the Grimm’s move to Steinau

• Philipp Grimm obtains a district magistrate position

• Family had a large home with servants

• Philipp Grimm passes in 1796 due to pneumonia

• This causes a major declass in the family

Education• Jacob & Wilhelm are sent to

Lyzeum High School by their Aunt Henriette Zimmer

• Jacob graduates in 1802• Wilhelm in 1803• Both at the head of their

class• Jacob & Wilhelm proceed to

Marburg University together hoping to follow in their fathers footsteps

• Jacob drops out to follow Roman Law expert Friedrich Karl Von Savigny and moves to Paris

• Wilhelm receives a law degree in 1806

Some more Events

• Dorothea Zimmer dies in 1808 at age 52

• Jacob overwhelmed takes a position as Librarian in Kassel to support his siblings

• Wilhelm soon follows to work with Jacob in Kassel

• This is when the story collecting began

The FactsRichtig

• Grimm’s primary method for collecting tales was by inviting story tellers to their homes and writing the information down

• Story tellers consisted of young educated woman from middle class to aristocracy

Falsch• It was believed that

the Grimm’s brothers went around to various peasants collecting tales

The Grimm’s wanted the people to know the basic truths about the customs and practices of the German people and on preserving their authentic ties to the oral tradition

Kinder-und Hausmarchen• English translation Children’s

and Household Tales• 1812 1st volume was published.

Consisted of 86 stories and folktales

• 1814 2nd volume is published. Consisted of 70 stories and folktales

• All together the Kinder-und Hausmarchen saw 8 editions

• The final contained 200 stories and folktales, including 10 children's legends

Their Achievements• The Grimm brothers

produced a significant amount of books during their lifetime

• Jacob Grimm publishes 21

• Wilhelm Grimm publishes 14

• Together the brothers published 8

Grimm’s Scholarly Contributions

• Folklore• History• Ethnology• Religion• Jurisprudence• Lexicography• Literary Criticism

Further More

• 1819 Jacob and Wilhelm receive honorary doctorates from the Marburg University

• 1825 Wilhelm marries Henriette Wild a former story teller, having 4 children(3 boys & 1 girl)

• Jacob resides with Wilhelm and Henriette

• The Grimm brothers were always inseparable

The Later Years

• 1829-1830 Grimm’s leave Kassel accepting librarian positions in the University of Gottingen

• Wilhelm fears for his family’s welfare and accepts a position as Ordentlicher professor

• 1837-1841 the Grimm brothers take a stand along with 5 colleagues against Ernst August King of Hannover over Constitutional rights

• This resulted in the loss of their jobs• They were called the Gottingen Seven• The Grimm brothers accept jobs at the university of Berlin• Jacob leaves in 1848• Wilhelm in 1852 dedicating themselves to their own studies

and research

The Gottingen Seven

The Grimm’s Final Days

• Wilhelm Carl Grimm dies on December 16, 1859 at the age of 73

• Jacob Ludwig Grimm dies on September 20, 1863 at the age of 78

Some fairy tales

• Aschenputtel…. Cinderella

• Schneewitchen… Snow White

• Rumpelstilzchen• Rotkappchen… Little Red

Riding Hood• Hansel und Gretel….

Hansel and Gretel• Der Froschkonig…. The

Frog King• Dornröschen….. Sleeping

Beauty

Their Intentions

• The Grimm’s were writers of violent vivid imagery• Their fairy tales would allow us to work through

our fears• Also the Grimm’s wanted to teach people lessons

on moral values “Right & Wrong”• The number one message that people were to gain

out of their stories was… “Children should use their brains to overcome any situation”

Walt Disney

• Today's versions of children's stories are toned down

• Its more of a “Happily Ever After” theme

• It was made so children wouldn’t have fear or nightmares

The Fairy Tale Road ambles for 370 miles through German LandscapesThat evoke dreams-and nightmares.

Some stories with Violent Themes

Snow WhiteCinderellaRed Riding HoodThe Goose GirlHansel and GretelSleeping Beauty

Some Examples Of The Violence

• In Hansel and Gretel the witch was burned to death in her oven

• In Cinderella the stepsisters try to cut off parts of their feet in order to fit into the slipper, thus deceiving the prince pigeons came and pecked their eyes out

• In The Goose Girl a servant girl was dragged to death in a barrel spiked with nails

• In Snow White the witch is forced to wear red hot iron shoes and danced herself to death

Little Red Cap

• Once she gave her a little cap of red velvet, which suited her so well that she would never wear anything else; so she was always called Little Red-Cap.

Illustrations of Snow White

Grimm’s Snow White Disney’s Snow White

Illustrations of the Grimm’s Cinderella

Interesting Things To

Know

• Kinder-und Hausmarchen came second only to the Bible as the best seller in Germany and remains that way today

• There are theme parks, films, books, and plays dedicated to the brothers Grimm

In the Museu

mof

Steinau

Works Cited

• http://www.grimmfairytales.com/en/stories• http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/

main.html

• www.thebrothersgrimm.com• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlUnB4CIij

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