The Significance of Forest in the Grimms' Stories as Explained by Jack Zipes in The Enchanted Forest of the Brothers Grimm Essay

A Grimm Forest The German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are two of the biggestnames in fairy tales. From a little girl deceived by the ruse of a cunningwolf to a prince turned into a frog by magic, their stories portray a widearray of characters in various predicaments. Despite all this diversity,there is a common thread woven through many of the tales the forest. Itis the place where justice may be served and the characters' fates decided. In The Enchanted Forest of the Brothers Grimm New Modes of Approachingthe Grimms' Fairy Tales, the author, Jack Zipes, shows the significance ofthe forest in the Grimms' stories. First, the author begins with background on the brothers. Contraryto popular belief, the idea to collect the folk stories did not originatewith the Grimms. In the process of gathering the stories for a man namedBrentano, the Grimms were inspired to investigate German heritage and builda greater sense of unity among the German people. They agreed that theywould change the stories only to make them more cohesive and appeal to thecommon people. The brothers also wrote some tales of their own. Throughthe stories, they encourage patriarchal sex roles and Christian values. In1796, when the Grimms were young, their father died, lowering their socialstanding significantly. Facing this difficulty at a young age allowed themto relate to the common people they were trying to reach as adults. TheGrimms' stories display a number of different types of characters that theyhoped to use to unite their people. One of these groups of characters who often traverse into the forestis the soldiers. During the Napoleonic Wars, German soldiers...

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