Aschenputtel

by Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm

This beautifully imagined adaptation of the Brothers Grimm classic fairy tale is brought to life with Ulrike Haseloffs soft, colorful illustrations. Several pages have been finished with soft sparkles giving the book a magical feel.

Genres: Classics, Childrens, Fairy Tales, German Literature

About the author

German philologist and folklorist Jakob Ludwig Karl Grimm in 1822 formulated Grimm's Law, the basis for much of modern comparative linguistics. With his brother Wilhelm Karl Grimm (1786-1859), he collected Germanic folk tales and published them as Grimm's Fairy Tales (1812-1815).

Indo-European stop consonants, represented in Germanic, underwent the regular changes that Grimm's Law describes; this law essentially states that Indo-European p shifted to Germanic f, t shifted to th, and k shifted to h. Indo-European b shifted to Germanic p, d shifted to t, and g shifted to k. Indo-European bh shifted to Germanic b, dh shifted to d, and gh shifted to g.

This jurist and mythologist also authored the monumental German Dictionary and his Deutsche Mythologie .

Adapted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please note: I think I’m reviewing a different edition of this tale. It’s the same author, but not the same illustrator. I’m proceeding on the assumption that the text is the same, and that the particular edition used is comparable to the one listed here.

I greatly enjoyed this fairy tale. As a child, I liked the way that the dead mother was still a powerful force and very much present in the story. I liked that, in contrast to the cutesy and clean fairy godmother of Perrault, the magic here is earthy and mysterious. I liked that the animals themselves were magic. Grownup me can appreciate the villainy of the stepmother, who gives Aschenputtel permission to attend if she can accomplish a simple (and impossible) task. It’s just reasonable enough on the surface to make her seem fair, and it gives just enough hope to be really cruel. Neither kid-me nor grownup-me was surprised that the stepsisters cut their feet to fit the slipper; I still maintain that this was very much in character for them: they were desperate, and willing to sacrifice. It was also in character for their mother, whose pushiness hurt everyone around her, including her own children. Finally, I really like the active role that Aschenputtel takes in her own life. She knows when and how (and whom!) to ask for help. She takes steps to forge a connection with her dead mother, she commands the birds, and she uses magic to create her own fancy dress.

The only part of the story I don’t like is the very end, (SPOILER ALERT!) when retribution comes for the stepsisters. The birds peck their eyes out. This always seemed to me to miss the point. The stepsisters have already suffered plenty: Physically, their feet get cut apart; Romantically, they lose out on the prince; Financially, they have limited prospects for anyone else; Socially, they’ve missed out on a long-term relationship with Aschenputtel because their mother had prevented them from treating her as family for all those years; and Morally, well, just look at their mother. (She gets off scott-free, by the way.) The blindness addendum didn’t exist in early versions of the story; it was only added by the Grimm brothers to a later edition of their work in order to make the story more appropriate for children. I think that if they were trying to instill a sense of justice by punishing the wicked, they should have left the children alone and gone after the stepmother. This is the only misstep in an otherwise wonderful story. On the whole, a beautiful fairy tale that doesn’t shy away from themes of family, loss, and love.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aschenputtel by the Brothers Grimm is more commonly known as "Cinderella".

I read this with my nearly-seven-year-old and although the Grimms' tale is a little graphic, my son felt the two step-sisters deserved a harsher punishment for their unkind behavior.

*Updated review:

I read this classic fairy tale in the Classics of Children’s Literature (6th Edition) by John W. Griffith and Charles H. Frey. Published by Pearson in Upper Saddle River, NJ in 2005.

Aschenputtel’s mother dies and Aschenputtel is heartbroken but does her best to be pious and good so that her mother and God will always be watching over her. Her father remarries shortly after the death and the stepmother and two stepsisters are relentlessly evil, abusive, and nasty to Aschenputtel…the father fails to notice any of the ill behavior. The father goes to a fair and brings back requested items for his daughters. The stepsisters wanted fine clothes and jewels and Aschenputtel requested the first twig that struck her father’s hat. The hazel twig the father brings for Aschenputtel is planted at her mother’s grave and as she weeps for her mother, the twig grows into a magical tree that produces wish-granting birds. Aschenputtel calls on the birds’ help when her evil stepmother and stepsisters throw lentils into the fire so that Aschenputtel will not have time to go to the ball. However, she does complete the task and has time to go but her stepmother lies and forbids her to go. The birds bring Aschenputtel a beautiful dress of gold and silver and she attends the ball for three nights…each time escaping at midnight and hiding from the Prince to keep her identity hidden. The father cuts down Aschenputtel’s hiding places in an attempt to find the girl the Prince seeks but she always manages to flee and the father cannot believe his dirty daughter would be the one. On the third night, the Prince leaves pitch on the steps and one her golden shoes is left behind. The Prince seeks to marry the lady whose foot fits in the shoe, so the evil stepsisters cut their foot to cram it inside. The birds give away their dishonesty and eventually Ashenputtel tries on the gold shoe and produces the matching shoe and marries the Prince. The evil stepsisters have their eyes pecked out at Aschenputtel’s wedding as a punishment for the ill behavior.

Reaction: While some might say that this version is too harsh or graphic for children, I believe otherwise. Children are very well aware of the injustices and cruel nature of the world and the Brothers Grimm should be admired for not sugar coating life in their tales. The stepsisters were relentlessly cruel and there are consequences for committing evil behavior. I am also appalled that the father did not stick up for his daughter but I do think this is an accurate depiction of how life was lived in the time the tale was written.

[A YOGAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Die guten ins Töpfchen, die schlechten ins Kröpfchen“ ist mehr als ein Spruch über Ordnung und Fleiß – er spiegelt ein uraltes moralisches Schema wider: das Bedürfnis, die Welt in Gut und Böse zu teilen. Doch die scheinbare Klarheit trügt – denn wer entscheidet, was „gut“ und was „schlecht“ ist? In dieser simplen Geste des Sortierens zeigt sich die ganze Ambivalenz menschlicher Urteilskraft: Wir suchen Reinheit und Gerechtigkeit, doch schon im Akt des Trennens verfehlen wir oft die komplexe Wahrheit des Lebens.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classic this not the same story than Cinderella, but this the original that inspired the other one. I recommended everyone to read this one instead of the other one.