Women in the World of the Grimms’ Fairy Tales

Abstract

Although the fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm seem to conform altogether to the traditional ideals of eighteenth- and early nineteenth- century patriarchal society, their efforts to collect and to preserve traditional tales also implied that they were not entirely in control in the way how their narratives develop and what types of gender roles emerge. Here a selection of representative tales is presented in which a surprising variety of female figures emerge, some of whom prove to be characterized as highly intelligent, independent, self-reliant, and self- conscious. Of course, there are all the various types of evil mothers-in- law, dangerous witches, and foolish young women. But the careful analysis also brings to light that the world of the fairy tales was not simply dominated by patriarchy. A sensible gender oriented discussion of this famous collection of tales illustrates how much the discourse on women's roles in society had continued throughout the centuries and finally found its remarkable expression in this corpus of fairy tales.