In this paper, I will compare some of the original fairy tales with their new versions and analyze how the decrease in violence and brutality affects their meaning. Therefore, I will refer to fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, such as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel or Snow White and provide details on how violence contributes positively to the storyline of their fairy tales in general. In addition, I will deal with the change in the depiction of violence in fairy tales and show the consequences that arise from the transformation of their original plot.
The role that fairy tales once played is no longer the same today. When the first fairy tales were written, the authors also pursued the intention to convey moral values and virtues in addition to the aspect of entertainment. Therefore, violence and brutality have often been used to warn of possible dangers and emergencies and also to provide a deterrent example of what can happen if someone acts inappropriately. However, the use of violent and brutal acts helped to emphasize the fairy tale's warning role. Thus, fairy tales also positively contributed to the upbringing of children by teaching them how to deal with basic human conflicts, desires, and relationships.
As fairy tales have become increasingly interesting to society in recent years, they have been rewritten, turned into movies and also modified or adapted to today's times under different circumstances. Nevertheless, many ideas were lost from the original versions and can no longer convey the same values that they were supposed to in the past. Violence and brutality made an important contribution in the original versions and created an appealing effect for the viewers, which no longer completely exists in its intended form.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- The Brothers Grimm
- Violence in Grimm's fairy tales
- Theories about the role of violence
- Change in the representation of violence in fairy tales
- Example of Cinderella
- Horror genre in today's fairy tales
- Example of Rumpelstiltskin
- Conclusion
- Works cited
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper analyzes the changing role of violence in fairy tales, comparing original versions by the Brothers Grimm with their modern adaptations. It explores how the reduction of violence affects the meaning and impact of these stories, examining the original warning role of violence and its significance in shaping moral values and conveying messages about human conflicts, desires, and relationships.
- The original warning role of violence in fairy tales
- The Brothers Grimm's contribution to fairy tale literature
- Theories about the influence of violence in fairy tales
- The impact of sanitizing violence in modern adaptations
- The emergence of the horror genre in contemporary fairy tales
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction explores the evolution of fairy tales, highlighting the shift from their original function of conveying moral values through violence to their modern adaptations. The second chapter delves into the Brothers Grimm's legacy, examining their contribution to fairy tale literature and their use of violence in their stories.
The third chapter discusses theories surrounding the role of violence in fairy tales, analyzing how violence serves as a warning, reinforces morals, and educates children about human nature. The fourth chapter investigates the sanitization of violence in modern fairy tales, using Cinderella as an example to illustrate the impact of this change on the story's meaning.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The core concepts explored in this paper include violence, fairy tales, Brothers Grimm, moral values, storytelling, literary theory, sanitization, horror genre, and adaptations.
- Quote paper
- Steffen Kockel (Author), 2020, About the warning role of fairy tales, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1022886
