How Have Fairy Tales Changed

I remember being in school and reading fairy tales, not thinking anything about them. I also, remember watching the more kid-friendly versions of fairy tales in Disney movies and again not thinking anything of it. Repeating these actions as an adult though has changed my perspective drastically. Why are children reading and/or watching these tales? Fairy tales are often seen as instruction manuals for children, especially when referring to the old school fairy tales, for an example any Grimm Brothers’ tales. The Grimm Brothers came from a big German family; the Brothers Grimm barely hit double digits when their father died. They would eventually take care of their remaining siblings after their mother’s death; consequently, causing them to take jobs in a library. They began to collect fairy tales and eventually writing their own. The Grimm Brothers are famous for their own versions of fairy tales including: Little Snow White, Rapunzel, Little Brier-Rose and many others (Ashliman). Little Brier-Rose, also known as Sleeping Beauty, is a story of an only child of the king and queen. There was a bash after her birth, where she was given many gifts from these wise women and a curse from one, as well as a “gift” to soften the curse. After turning fifteen, she falls into a deep sleep for a hundred years, but when they are up she marries a prince and they live happily ever after. In “Little Brier-Rose,” the Brothers Grimm demonstrate a nineteenth century standard through the use of stereotypical behaviors, symbols, and life lessons. During the nineteenth century, men and women were expected to behave …show more content…
Books, stories: oral or written, or fairy tales. The nineteenth century differs from the twenty-first. Men and women were expected to be complete opposites. The stereotypes of the nineteenth century are less common in modern time, times have certainly changed for the