New Translation of the Original, and Gruesome, Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales

November 19, 2014

Grimms' fairy talesPrinceton University Press has just published the heretofore never seen and original, un-sanitized Grimms’ fairy tales, which comprises 156 stories. Jack Zipes, professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota, translated the tales into English.

According to The Guardian, Zipes said that the changes to the original stories (by other translators) were “immense,” with forty to fifty stories in the first edition deleted or drastically revised. Also, the original stories are much darker than the version of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales that we are familiar with; Zipes said that Wilhelm Grimm “deleted all tales that might offend a middle-class religious sensitivity.” Further, because the original stories were closer to the oral tradition, they were “more brusque, dynamic, and scintillating…retain[ing] the pungent and naïve flavor of the oral tradition.”

Zipes argues that even though the book was not originally written for children, it is still suitable for them. “It is time for parents and publishers to stop dumbing down the Grimms’ tales for children,” he said. “These tales emanated naturally from the people, and the tales can be enjoyed by both adults and children. If there is anything offensive, readers can decide what to read for themselves. We do not need puritanical censors to tell us what is good or bad for us.”

Read more about the complete first edition.


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