The Brothers Grimm and Their Critics by Christa Kamenetsky

I'm a big fan of fairy tales, so I picked this book up hoping to get an overview of the Brothers Grimm. I wanted to find out more about their lives, the sources for their stories, and their theory on the significance of fairy tales. (I think the technical term is comparative mythology and folklore?) I got all three, and I was surprised to find most of the book fairly readable for someone like me with almost no knowledge of the subject matter. There's a few chapters that go pretty deep into the history of literary criticism and the study of mythology, and I skimmed the thicker parts of those without feeling like I'd lost too much.

Overview
It turns out that the Brothers Grimm were first and foremost philologists, and would probably be slightly chagrined to discover that, except for select academic circles, they are globally and exclusively famous for their children's stories--stories that they collected almost as a hobby. The first chapter of the book covers their childhood and the course of their careers. Later chapters go over the brothers' sources, collection methods and theories, while the last bit of the book covers alternative theories on fairy tales and their place in society. The last bit was what I skimmed the most, since I was interested in the BG themselves. I was struck by the extreme closeness of the brother's relationship--except for a short period early in their careers, the two lived and worked together for their entire lives. (Then again, this may not be as extraordinary for the time frame, I dunno.) Although William was more interested in the study of mythology and folk lore than his brother, it sounds as if he largely sacrificed this interest in order to help Jacob on his more 'serious' philological work. (irony, anyone?) Another interesting tidbit about the Brothers: they spent some time as political martyrs for their support of the German constitution when the reigning monarch of the time abolished it. (or attempted to abolish it . . . I've returned the book to the library, so I can't check my facts >_< ) Recommended for: Fans of fairy tales who aren't afraid of a scholarly work, especially if you liked Tolkien's On Fairy Stories



Extended Summary
It turns out that the BG's main source of fairy tales was from local middle-class women: innkeepers, grocers, and anyone else they happened to run across. Apparently they never actually traveled around interviewing peasant women, which is a popular myth, but merely picked up stories here and there over the years. Their sister helped out quite a bit by holding social 'fairy tale parties' the way women of the time would have poetry readings, or more recently, tupperware parties. They also had several friends who collected tales, and these were passed on to the Brothers. The author credits them for being more 'scientific' in their collection methods than other folk and fairy tale publishers of the time, but I'm skeptical as to how scientific you can actually be when everything has been word-of-mouth for so long.


The book also spent some time contesting several unsavory claims that had been made about the BG and their work. One of the big ones was that they were fanatically nationalistic, and considered only German fairy and folk tales worthy of interest. This claim probably came from the Nazi era, when Hitler used the BG's work to foster a sense of national pride and superiority. The brothers were definitely patriotic and loved their fatherland, but they were not afraid to be critical of the government of said country. They also considered the fairy and folk tales of all lands to be a valuable resource, and encouraged people to study the tales of other lands. The BG focused on German folklore, both because it was readily available and because they had a particular fondness for it, but that does not imply a scorn of any other nations and their oral traditions.


Another claim was that many of the brother's tales were actually French in origin, because one of their sources had French ancestry. The author disputes this claim, pointing out that although the woman in question did have a Huguenot parent, she grew up in Germany, surrounded by German tradition. More importantly, she was the daughter of an inn-keeper, and probably learned all her tales from the local visitors.


There was also some discussion of gender-bias and so forth in their stories, but the bottom line was that sexist claims had been vastly exaggerated. I was proud of the author for not donating much time to this topic; modern feminism bores and aggravates me. (insofar as it's possible to be bored and aggravated at the same time :-p )



Ramblings
One of the first things that intrigued me about the BG was that they were primarily philoligists. This is an interesting distinction to me, because so was Tolkien, one of my favorite authors and a staunch defender of the fairy story genre. (Although Tolkien's definition of a fairy story and the BG's differed greatly) Turns out Andrew Lang, also of fairy-tale fame (the Blue Fairy Book, Red Fairy Book, etc) was also a philologist. (And so was one of my favorite characters from C.S. Lewis' writings, but he was modeled after Tolkien himself, so I don't think that counts)

So, what is it about philology and fairy tales? Probably something to do with the evolution of oral stories along with the evolution of a language. I've actually heard someone suggest that myths originally developed because of the limitations of language, and fairy and folktales followed from there. I don't personally agree with the theory, but it shows how closely language and storytelling are connected. I tend to agree with both Tolkien and the BG, that fairy tales, myths, and similar stories are tool in mankind's search for truth, and often an expression of that truth.

One concept from this book that I really liked was the Brother's distinction between naturpoesie (nature stories, or 'natural' stories) and kunstpoesie (art stories). To quote: "As Wilhelm saw it, naturpoesie derived its powerful vision and "eternal quality" from its quest for truth. In that sense, it was not a mere form of entertainment but a significant expression of the humanity of man". This struck me as a beautiful designation, and still appropriate for literature today. Many of the stories I dearly love are not remarkable for their contribution to bright and shiny truth, but merely fun. I love a good mystery series, Star Wars novel or fantasy tale, but no amount of lightsabers or sparkly magic can rival the 'beauty and truth' of books like Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Ender's Game, or Frankenstein. (Maybe I'll eventually give my reasons for these particular titles, but now is not the time :-p) Even if you disagree with my specific choices, there is definitely a distinction between mere fun reading, and a book that leaves you stunned. I'd never found quite the right words for this distinction, and I was thrilled to find it in this book.