The Brothers Grimm

1. The Brothers Grimm by: Julie Doyle a.k.a. Lucia

2. The Grimm Family • Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was born on January 4, 1785 • Wilhelm Carl Grimm was born on February 24, 1786 • Jacob and Wilhelm had 6 brothers and 1 sister, 3 of the brothers died when they were just infants • In 1796 Philip Grimm, their father dies leaving their mother Dorethea to raise them by herself • The loss of the father had declassed the family

3. Early Years • In 1798 the two brothers move to Kassel to live with their aunt • From there they are able to attend the University of Marburg to study law like their father • In 1806 they become influenced by Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, it is then that they begin to collect folktales (Märchen). • In 1808 Dorethea Grimm dies • To help support the family Jacob takes a job as a librarian at Kassel • Soon after Wilhelm takes a job as a secretary along side of Jacob

4. Kinder und-Hausmärchen • Over 40 people helped deliever fairy tales and folklore to the brothers • In 1812 the first volume of Children’s and household tales was published containing over 86 folktales • Another volume of “Kinder und-Hausmärchen” was published in1814 making the brothers a household name

5. Some Stories • Aschenputtel/Cinderella • Rumpelstilzchen/Rumpelstilzchen • Schneewitchen/Snow White • Rotkäppchen/Little Red Riding Hood • Rapunzel / Rapunzel • Dornröschen / Sleeping Beauty • Der Froschkönig / The Frog King • Hänsel und Gretel / Hansel and Gretel • Von dem Fischer un syner Fru / The Fisherman & His Wife • Daumesdick / Tom Thumb • Die Gänsemagd / The Goose Girl

6. Illustrations

7. Illustrations

8. Violent Themes • Many of the stories had rather violent themes • Todays versions of the stories are toned down compared to the originals • It’s thought that the brothers actually went back to make the stories more violent then they originally were

9. Violent Themes • Doves peck out the eyes of Cinderellas Stepsisters • Briar Rose’s (sleeping beauty) suitors bleed to death outside of her castle • The Queen in “Snow White” is forced to wear red-hot iron slippers on and dance until her death • In “The Juniper Tree” a mother decapitates her son, chops up his body, and feeds it to her husband in a stew • In “Hansel and Gretel” the witch is thrown into her own stove and is baked alive

10. Later Years • Jacob and Wilhelm receive honorary doctorates from the University of Marburg in 1819 • Wilhelm marries in 1825 to Dorothea (Dortchen) Wild who had once helped providing the brothers with folktales • In 1829 The Grimms resign their positions as librarians in Kassel and accept positions at the University of Göttingen as librarians and professors. • 1837-1841. Professors Grimm join five of their university colleagues in a formal protest against a constitutional violation of Ernst August, King of Hannover. The seven professor (Die Göttinger Sieben) are fired. The Grimm brothers receive many offers for new positions, and finally accept appointments at the University of Berlin.

11. Later Years • The Grimms continue their scholarly work and political activities, but finally give up their formal appointments at the University of Berlin (Jacob in 1848, Wilhelm in 1852) in order to dedicate themselves to their own studies and research. • Wilhelm Grimm dies December 16, 1859, at the age of 73 • . Jacob Grimm dies September 20, 1863, at the age of 78.

12. Work Cited • http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm.html • http://www.fln.vcu.edu/grimm/grimm_menu.html • http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~ajc5656/biography.html • The Hard Facts of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar