X-File L.L.F Reporter Yi Seul Park
The Secret, Hidden World of Fairy Tales
Almost anybody will have a storybook that their parents bought them. Especially world famous stories, including Snow White and Cinderella, have made dreams of princesses part of growing up for young girls. However, if these pretty stories are actually cruel and gaudy stories, would you believe it? You might find it difficult to believe, but it is true.
The original fairy tales were not for children. Because the stories were intended for adults, cruel scenes and sexual scenes appear in the original versions. However, as the 19th Century spirit of illuminism developed, children, who were thought to be appendages of adults, started to be recognized as individuals, and new social norms were necessary for instructing children. To teach social norms to children, existing stories were altered to include morality and instruction.
The fairy tales are creative stories formed by combining the skill of a writer and the customs of stories gathered in folk stories or legends from the country. The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen are the most typical authors. We will learn that in their stories, cruelty and sexuality are glorified.
Chapter 1. The step-sisters of Cinderella become disabled due to the avarice of their mom.
The Brothers Grimm were scholars that studied Germanic languages. They collected stories to reinforce patriotism. It was the Bothers Grimm who introduced 'Cinderella' to the whole world. This is the same as our story;‘콩쥐팥쥐'. Cinderella is ‘Aschenputtel’ in German. ‘Aschenputtel’ expresses cruelty that is a characteristic of Western classical literature. Below is an excerpt from the original story of ‘Aschenputtel’.
The first daughter could not put the shoes on because her toe is too big.
Her mother says, "Cut off the toe! You will become the queen, and won’t have to walk anymore..."
The second daughter’s toe enters into the shoes easily but her heel is too big.
Her mother says, "Cut off the heel! You will become the queen, and won’t have to walk anymore..."
The two daughters could not walk any more because of their mother’s avarice. This is an example of how ‘Aschenputtel ’of The Brothers Grimm includes cruelty.
Chapter 2. The Ugly Ducking = Andersen ?!
'The Ugly Ducking' is the story of an ugly ducking that becomes a swan by overcoming difficulty. In actuality, this story is an autobiographical story and Andersen's life. Because of his writing, Andersen was promoted from the lower classes to the upper classes of society. Truly, Andersen had a complex about his parents and his lowly origins. Although he was successful, he had a timid manner that demonstrated love. From a situation like this, he made 'The Ugly Ducking'.
This story reflected his thoughts to his lovely girl: 'I love you, look at me please'.
Chapter 3. The Truth of The Little Match Girl’s Death? Drug addiction!!
The match was invented around the time this story was written. At that time, matches were very dangerous. Even with just a little rubbing, they would catch fire. The main ingredient was yellow phosphorous, which could induce hallucinations.
The symptoms of drug induced intoxication are the same as the girl experiences when she strikes her matches one by one. The drug reaction results in a rising sense that the temperature is changing, auditory hallucinations and visual hallucinations, and the sense of failing to perceive distances. Try to substitute the features of the girl who strikes the match in here. We can see the symptoms throughout, as the body temperature of the girl rises, and a vision of goose meat roasted with seasonings disappears when the young girl raises her hand towards the big Christmas tree. Lastly, in order to see the features of her grandmother, the girl burns all the matches which remained, resulting in intoxication which feels more like a mystic trance.
What's the reason for this miserable condition changing the beautiful story? Actually, this story was written for his mother. This is the last present for his mother who died of alcohol addiction.
Chapter 4. Snow White Is Really Pure?
When you think about Snow White, what kind of thoughts rise? You probably think about purity, whiteness and a princess who is pure. But the princess of the original story is crueler than the queen, and in early versions, the girl used her beautiful body to attract the king, who was her father.
People who try to read the original story might wonder, 'Is this thing a pornographic novel?' This reaction is not strange because when one tries to read the original work, the snow princess is having sexual relations with her father, the king, and the princess is expelled by the queen who envies the relationship. Also, 'The prince who rides a white horse' is a corpse maniac (necrophiliac) that finds it impossible to lead a normal sexual life. For this reason, the prince takes the princess that died from biting a poisonous apple. Then one day, the prince kisses the princess and she vomits the piece of apple that is in her throat. She wakes up and the princess marries the prince.
I’ve mentioned the original story briefly, and you might be feeling embarrassment. When you try to read an original fairy tale, you will have the burden of a more realistic description. You may prefer to read a glorified fairy tale rather than to think about what the original fairy tales tell us.

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