The Brothers Grimm and “Frau Holle”

The Brothers Grimm and “Frau Holle”

The Grimm Brothers are a fascinating study.  Jacob Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859) were born in Hanau, Germany.  Their father was a lawyer - or a magistrate - and the family lived a comfortable life until he died suddenly of pneumonia in 1796. The life of the family changed drastically as a result. The brothers did manage to go to university through the generosity of their aunt and support of their grandfather. While attending law school, a professor inspired the brothers to study Medieval German literature. Jacob was responsible for supporting his mother and siblings and so he and Wilhelm became librarians in Kassel.  It was during this time that they began to collect folktales.  They had long desired to see the 200 principalities of Germany become united in a single state and became convinced that a national identity would be encouraged by capturing in print rapidly fading cultural traditions, legends, and customs. They proclaimed their fairy stories to be a pure, uncontaminated product of the German people (or volk) yet they eventually softened the message of tales they thought too violent for children. In his biography of the Grimm Brothers, Zipes proclaims they are “highly acclaimed as the founders of the popular fairy-tale tradition in the West, if not the entire world.” Their tales retain an important place in the Western canon of literature and continue to give hope to millions of readers and spectators.

A small side note - it was mentioned in more than one resource that the diligent work towards a unified Germany by the Grimms and others who had similar thoughts helped lay the groundwork for WWI, Hitler and - ultimately - WW2.  I would need to do a great deal more studying to offer a coherent opinion on the subject, but it is interesting to ponder. Maybe all the time travelers who venture back to stop Hitler should set their sights for the early 1800s and have a chat with the Brothers Grimm.  

There are at least four versions of “The Kind and the Unkind Girls” featured in the Grimms’ “Kinder- und Hausmärchen” (“Tales of the Children and the Home”) but the most well-known is “Frau Holle” or “Mother Hulda”. Sharing similarities to other versions, the story goes - A widow had two daughters; one was pretty and industrious, the other was ugly and lazy. The mother loved the lazy daughter best and made the other girl sit by a well and spin until her fingers bled. As she leans over to wash her fingers, the spindle drops to the bottom of the well.  Fearing a beating, she jumps down the well to fetch it and finds herself in a lovely meadow.  She completes tasks and comes to a house where an old woman asks her to help with chores - such as shaking out her mattress so that the feathers fly about, “and then in the world it snows, for I am Mother Hulda." Our lovely girl works hard for Mother Hulda but eventually asks to be allowed to go home. For being industrious, she is covered in gold.  As with other stories, the lazy daughter is also sent to the bottom of the well.  For her laziness, she is covered in pitch that never comes off.  And to this day, when it is snows in Germany, one may still hear the expression, "Hulda is making her bed!"