WHAT IS A LINE - brothers grimm, change in direction

The Brothers Grimm

Jakob Grimm

Born: January 4, 1785

Hanau, Germany

Died: September 20, 1863

Berlin, Germany

German scholar and author

Wilhelm Grimm

Born: February 24, 1785

Hanau, Germany

Died: September 20, 1863

Berlin, Germany

German scholar and author

Children's and Household Tales (German: Kinder- und Hausmärchen) is a collection of German fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm. The collection is commonly known today as Grimms' Fairy Tales. 

COMPOSITION

On December 20, 1812, they published the first volume of the first edition, containing 86 stories; the second volume of 70 stories followed in 1814. For the second edition, two volumes were issued in 1819 and a third in 1822, totalling 170 tales. The third edition appeared in 1837; fourth edition, 1840; fifth edition, 1843; sixth edition, 1850; seventh edition, 1857. Stories were added, and also subtracted, from one edition to the next, until the seventh held 211 tales. All editions were extensively illustrated, first by Philipp Grot Johann and, after his death in 1892, by Robert Leinweber.

The first volumes were much criticized because, although they were called "Children's Tales", they were not regarded as suitable for children, both for the scholarly information included and the subject matter. Many changes through the editions – such as turning the wicked mother of the first edition in Snow White and Hansel and Gretel to a stepmother, were probably made with an eye to such suitability. Theyremoved sexual references—such as Rapunzel's innocently asking why her dress was getting tight around her belly, and thus naïvely revealing her pregnancy and the prince's visits to her stepmother—but, in many respects, violence, particularly when punishing villains, was increased.

In 1825 the Brothers published their Kleine Ausgabe or "small edition," a selection of 50 tales designed for child readers. This children's version went through ten editions between 1825 and 1858.

(wiki)

The brothers were told many folk tales whilst in Germany, which they gathered up and turned  into a collection of stories that were supposedly appropriate for children. They were deemed unacceptable, going through many, many stages of editing until they were deemed acceptable for the younger reader.

 'Wilhelm Grimm rewrote the tales so extensively and went so far in the direction of eliminating off-color episodes that he can be credited with sanitizing folktales and therefore paving the way for the process that made them acceptable children’s literature in all cultures.'  - thingsmeanalot

Originally, in Cinderella, the Grimm brothers made it so that the step sisters cut off their toes in order to fit into the slipper. Acts of violence and obscenity could be seen throughout the fairytales.