The Devil's Three Golden Hair Analysis

Influenced by the rise of romantic nationalism, the Grimm brothers published a collection of German fairy tales in the 1812 as an effort to preserve German folk tradition. Hidden within the text of each fairy tales were attitudes toward society. This included religion, which was a fundamental aspect of German culture. The Catholic Church gained power through their large membership throughout Germany and Europe. It became so powerful that the Catholic clergy were wealthy and corrupt. Eventually, the Catholic church and the monarchy were synonymous with each other. As a result, Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Thesis on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, which stated the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church and inconsistencies in its teachings. Immediately after, some towns converted to Protestantism, while others remained loyal to the Pope. In the seventeenth century, the Thirty Years War began when Pope Ferdinand II tried to impose Catholicism on the people of Europe. By the time the Grimm brothers published the collection of fairy tales, Germany was split between Protestantism and Catholicism.
The fairy tales were passed on from generation to generation through oral …show more content…
Out of jealousy, Joseph’s brothers sold him to merchants, hoping that they would get rid of him forever. They dipped his robe in blood to fake his death. In “The Devil’s Three Golden Hairs” the protagonist was sent by the king on a mission to deliver a message to the queen reading “As soon as the boy carrying the letter arrives, he is to be killed buried” (Grimm 192). The robbers saved him. In both instances, the protagonist went through a trial. The king ordered the boy to obtain three of the Devil’s hairs, while Joseph was put into jail because he was wrongly accused of sleeping with a married man’s wife. In the end, Joseph was put in charge of Egypt, while the fortune child became the