How the Grimm Brothers saved fairy tales

Looking back, the original stories aren't fairy tales in the way we know them to be today. In the present, fairy tales are usually whimsical and fantastical, with the main character usually being immaculate. During the Grimm Brothers time, they were absurd, blunt, and comical. Despite what many people think, the Grimm Brothers DID NOT write any of the stories. Before the first publication, none of the stories were published, and were rather shared through spoken words. This often lead to them being changed from every retelling. The Brothers, wishing to preserve these stores, collected and published them.

The very first iteration of stories were not meant for children. The brothers thought the stories stemmed naturally from the Germanic people through oral retelling, which made them hard to preserve. Seeing this, the brothers wanted to make a collection of the stories before they were lost forever. By gathering the tales, the brothers made an important contribution to fairy tales and folklore (Zipes). The first collection of stories would become extremely popular in the time it was first published, become second only to the bible (Zipes). The original stories of the first edition showed the storytellers believed in magic, fantasy and the ever changing nature of the stories.