Kyrie
So. I had somehow missed hearing about the discovery of these new fairy tales until last week, when my mom sent me a link to the Guardian article about them. From back in 2012. And the fairy tales themselves were discovered all the way back in 2009. I am AWESOME at keeping on top of things.
I love fairy tales and folklore of all kinds. Part of the enjoyment that I get out of them is not just from the story itself, but from the history that's associated with the story. Having said that...this collection of the “new” stories that have been translated and published in English probably won't work for most people.
Part of the deal with Schönwerth's collection was that he went around and gathered all of these stories, and kept them exactly as they were told to him. Because he didn't attempt to dress the stories up, or force any sort of cohesive narrative on them (like the Grimm Brothers did), these stories are...not very good, in general. The narrative jumps all over the place, dialogue is sometimes downright painful to read, and some of the stories don't make sense, even using fairy tale logic.
I can see that being a deal-breaker for people wanting or expecting cohesive stories, like Grimm, Perrault, or Andersen.
I really cannot stress how silly some of these stories are:
Suddenly it was completely quiet. The king freed himself from the cow, stood up, and saw an old woman standing before him. “You probably do not recognize me,” she said. “But you will more than likely remember this ring!”
The king looked carefully at her. “Of course!” he cried out. “You are my dear wife from long ago! I stupidly believed that an accusation made against you was true, but someone had deceived me. I decided to spend one last night with you, and this is the ring you took from my finger before I left!”
First time there is any mention of the king's wife, at all.
The next day a splendid carriage drawn by four horses appeared. The sisters were filled with curiosity, for they imagined a prince might be calling, and they raced to the door. A black crow stepped out of the carriage, and two of the sisters went right back in the house.
"And two of the sisters went right back in the house." They were having none of that, and I love it!
The two moved along swiftly, covering two miles with every step until finally, at the top of a mountain, Anna was able to remove her foot from the slipper. And that was when the mountain exploded and tossed her down into a cave.
...and that was when the mountain exploded and tossed her down into a cave. Right out of an action movie.
While the king was at war, his wife bore a beautiful son, and the midwife took him and substituted a little dog for the child. The king received a message about the strange birth, but he was not upset and imagined that something had just gone wrong.
You know, it's just that common thing that occasionally happens, where your child is born looking like a dog.
I'd argue that by today's standards and definitions, these aren't strictly fairy tales. They're folktales.
If you judge the stories by folktale standards instead of by what we've come to associate with the phrase "fairy tale", then the stories make more sense. They're not prettied-up morality tales for children. They're the collective stories of a group of people, written down as they were told back then.
There are a few stories in here that are clearly undressed versions of some of the stories the Grimms collected - The Musicians of Bremen (The Traveling Animals), Donkey Skin/Cinderella (Ashfeathers), and Seven at One Blow (Seven with One Blow!).
If you're interested in folktales, or the historical aspect of fairy tales, you'll probably enjoy this book more than if you were just in it for the fact that they're new fairy tales.
So. I had somehow missed hearing about the discovery of these new fairy tales until last week, when my mom sent me a link to the Guardian article about them. From back in 2012. And the fairy tales themselves were discovered all the way back in 2009. I am AWESOME at keeping on top of things.
I love fairy tales and folklore of all kinds. Part of the enjoyment that I get out of them is not just from the story itself, but from the history that's associated with the story. Having said that...this collection of the “new” stories that have been translated and published in English probably won't work for most people.
Part of the deal with Schönwerth's collection was that he went around and gathered all of these stories, and kept them exactly as they were told to him. Because he didn't attempt to dress the stories up, or force any sort of cohesive narrative on them (like the Grimm Brothers did), these stories are...not very good, in general. The narrative jumps all over the place, dialogue is sometimes downright painful to read, and some of the stories don't make sense, even using fairy tale logic.
I can see that being a deal-breaker for people wanting or expecting cohesive stories, like Grimm, Perrault, or Andersen.
I really cannot stress how silly some of these stories are:
Suddenly it was completely quiet. The king freed himself from the cow, stood up, and saw an old woman standing before him. “You probably do not recognize me,” she said. “But you will more than likely remember this ring!”
The king looked carefully at her. “Of course!” he cried out. “You are my dear wife from long ago! I stupidly believed that an accusation made against you was true, but someone had deceived me. I decided to spend one last night with you, and this is the ring you took from my finger before I left!”
First time there is any mention of the king's wife, at all.
The next day a splendid carriage drawn by four horses appeared. The sisters were filled with curiosity, for they imagined a prince might be calling, and they raced to the door. A black crow stepped out of the carriage, and two of the sisters went right back in the house.
"And two of the sisters went right back in the house." They were having none of that, and I love it!
The two moved along swiftly, covering two miles with every step until finally, at the top of a mountain, Anna was able to remove her foot from the slipper. And that was when the mountain exploded and tossed her down into a cave.
...and that was when the mountain exploded and tossed her down into a cave. Right out of an action movie.
While the king was at war, his wife bore a beautiful son, and the midwife took him and substituted a little dog for the child. The king received a message about the strange birth, but he was not upset and imagined that something had just gone wrong.
You know, it's just that common thing that occasionally happens, where your child is born looking like a dog.
I'd argue that by today's standards and definitions, these aren't strictly fairy tales. They're folktales.
If you judge the stories by folktale standards instead of by what we've come to associate with the phrase "fairy tale", then the stories make more sense. They're not prettied-up morality tales for children. They're the collective stories of a group of people, written down as they were told back then.
There are a few stories in here that are clearly undressed versions of some of the stories the Grimms collected - The Musicians of Bremen (The Traveling Animals), Donkey Skin/Cinderella (Ashfeathers), and Seven at One Blow (Seven with One Blow!).
If you're interested in folktales, or the historical aspect of fairy tales, you'll probably enjoy this book more than if you were just in it for the fact that they're new fairy tales.