Grimm reality: The twisted origins of 5 famous fairytales

Indian Express

8 hours ago

Once upon a time, fairy tales taught us that kindness is rewarded, evil is punished and in the end true love conquers all. We've grown up on fairytales, but the ones we are told are far from their original versions. Before Disney turned them into animated films, fairy tales were disturbing folk stories. Disney didn't create these stories. It adapted them to fit for children.
We often say fairy tales set children up for disappointment. But the original versions? They didn't. They set them up for trauma and for brutal truth. Because in real fairy tales, love doesn't save you. Sometimes, it destroys you. What is happily ever after? Is it a kiss from a stranger while you're unconscious? Marrying your rapist? Watching your step sisters mutilate their feet to win a prince? Here are the roots of 5 fairy tales we grew up with.
What is the version of The Little Mermaid that we remember? The prince falls in love with the little mermaid and despite a few bumps along the way, they live happily ever after. But that's not the original story by Hans Cristian Anderson. In Anderson's story, the prince does not fall for the mermaid at all. He marries another princess. The mermaid is given a chance to save herself, but only if she kills the prince. She refuses and instead, she throws herself into the sea and dissolves into sea foam. But here's the darkest part- in Anderson's world, mermaids don't have immortal souls. When they die, they simply cease to exist. No heaven. No afterlife. Disney's adaptation gave this gruesome story a fairytale ending. But the original ending? It's a tale of unrequited love and sacrifice that cost the little mermaid everything.
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In Disney's Sleeping Beauty, a princess is cursed by an evil fairy, falls into a deep sleep and is awakened by a prince's kiss. Already, that raises serious questions about consent. But the original version is far more disturbing. Sun, Moon, and Talia by Giambattista Basile is the earliest known version of Sleeping Beauty. In this, the princess doesn't wake up with a kiss. Instead, a passing king finds her unconscious, rapes her in her sleep and leaves. While still asleep, she gives birth to twins. One of the babies eventually sucks the splinter from her finger, and that is what wakes her up. No magic, no true love, just violation. And, somehow, she ends up marrying the same man who assaulted her.
In the tale we were told, Snow White takes a bite of a poisoned apple and falls into a deep sleep. She is eventually woken by a prince's kiss and everything ends in a royal wedding. But the original Brothers Grimm version is way darker. The evil queen orders the huntsman to kill Snow White and bring back her liver and lungs so she can eat them. Snow White escapes, but the queen doesn't stop, she tries to kill her multiple times with a suffocating corset, a poisoned comb and finally the infamous apple. Snow White falls into a death like sleep, and the prince, disturbingly, falls in love with her lifeless body. They do get married in the end, but the real shock comes at the wedding. The evil queen is invited. Sounds polite, right? Except she is forced to wear hot iron shoes and dance in them until she drops dead, and she melts away in front of the entire court.
Rapunzel, the girl with the impossibly long hair, who is trapped in a tower, waiting for a prince to climb up and rescue her. But the tale, as told by the Brothers Grimm, is far from it. In their version, the prince doesn't just visit, he sneaks in regularly, and Rapunzel eventually becomes pregnant. One day, she innocently asks the witch why her clothes no longer fit. Furious, the witch cuts off Rapunzel's hair and banishes her to a wasteland to give birth alone. When the prince returns, the witch tricks him with the severed braid, and tells him that he will never see Rapunzel again. Then the prince jumps from the tower into thorn bushes and is blinded. He wanders the wilderness for years. Eventually, he finds Rapunzel, now a mother, and her tears magically restore his sight. They do reunite, but only after exile and brutal punishment.
We all know the Cinderella story- a mistreated girl, a magical makeover, a glass slipper and a prince who finds her just in time. But in the Brothers Grimm version, there's no fairy godmother. Instead, Cinderella prays to a tree growing from her mother's grave. And the slipper test? Far more gruesome than we were told. To fit into the dainty shoe, one stepsister cuts off her toes and the other slices off her heel. The prince is fooled until birds warn him of the blood. In the end, during the royal wedding, the same birds that helped Cinderella, peck out the eyes of the two stepsisters, blinding them for life. It's a horrifying story of justice delivered with feathers and blood.
(The writer is an intern with indianexpress.com)