Hello everyone,
This post is related with the class in which we were talking about tales and how they were changing during time depending on the author it belonged to.
The first impressions I had when I discovered the three versions of the Cinderella story were astonishment and surprising. I supposed that Walt Disney had to create Cinderella by taking the story from other different origin but I never imagined how much cruelty there could be in this kindly and romantic tale as in the Grimm’s version.
Because of that, my curiosity made me looking for other well known instances and their mysterious origins and finally, as a result, I found the name of Karlheinz Bartel and his research about the real case of Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina von Erthal.
Karlheinz Bartel was a german historian of the last century who had in mind to find out where Walt Diney’s stories come from. Because of that, he took a look in Brothers Grimm’s tales because both artists shared some of the stories.
Finally, he moved around the german history, in where he found the noble name of Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina von Erthal.
Does she rings you a bell?
Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina von Erthal
Snow White (Disney’s character)
To begin with, this woman was born on 15th of June of 1729 in a german city called Lohr. She was the unique daughter of one noble couple in Germany. When she was 12 her father married again with Claudia Elisabeth Maria von Venningen, two years after of the death of Maria Sophia’s mother.
Maria Sophia really didn’t get on well with her stepmother but that relationship was not so horrible. It was believed that the stepmother felt jealous of Maria Sophia because of her behaviour who was known in the town due to her goodness with people and her charity to the needy.
Appart from that, the stepmother had in her power a “magic mirror” that was given to her by her husband in her wedding. That kind of mirror was fashioned in that time because was able to repeat what you said. That’s because of its reverberation skill. One curiosity is that on the mirror left side you can read: “Amour propre” (self- love).
The “magic” mirror
A present gifted to Maria Sophia’s stepmother.
The mirror that appears in Snow White movie.
Besides, Lohr, the city is located in a mining zone, in where there were children working at mines to find some silver and copper. It was said that Maria Sophia used to join them to feed them and play.
And now… Is this familiar for you? Of course!. Brothers Grimm, who lived a few time after inspired by her to create the original tale of Snow white and also Walt Disney fall in love with her story. That’s why today we can watch her beauty on an amazing film, but also the chaterbox mirror and the 7 great friendly dwarfs.
If you are interested on reading the Grimm’s version of Snow White I let you to take a look on the link below and if some time you travel to Germany you can visit the Spessart museum, in the old castle of Lohr. In there you can inmerse into the most lovely tale ever.
- http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm053.html (Grimm’s version of Snow White)
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Hi Carmen!
I really loved your new post. I think it is very interesting to know that Disney gives us a version more light than the original versions of these stories, and many original versions differ from each other.
I also find it very interesting to know that there was a Snow White so close and real from the one that appears in the story. I did not know that!
I read the version of Grimms’ Brothers that you have left in the link and I can tell you is much like the story that more commonly know and have many similarities in common, such as the “Magic Mirror” (I want one!) for as you have well said, surprised by the real, appears in three stories; the death of the mother is also one of the common elements, but between a year or two of difference between death and remarriage to every story, and of course our protagonist’s relationship with the small miners!
I leave the link to the Grimms’ version for one of my favorite princesses: “Sleeping Beauty” http://www.grimmstories.com/en/grimm_fairy-tales/sleeping_beauty
Also at the same address, http: //www.grimmstories .com / en / grimm_fairy-such / list you can find many versions of other fairytales if you’re interested.
Hi Maria, thank you for commenting on my post.
On one hand, of course!, Grimm Brothers and Disney took those special details and became that story in a “lovely” version, although in the Grimm’s one there is a bit of cruelty.
That means that we can get the most of everything (a real story, an ancient version, something that happened to us…) to create a didactic tool for our future pupils. But, as we are thinking about its possible influence on them we have to take into account all the details of the story. What Raquel said the other day in class: Do we think that these kind of stories are appropriate for children to take as a model?
I’m really sure that we should analyse Grimm and Disney’s versions step by step because there are a lot of things that could be dangerous for children to learn, such as the woman model in most of the stories, in which she always seems to depend on the handsome prince to be totally happy; the beauty in these kind of stories is always overestimating, much more than the wisdom or how kind you were…; the villain is also characterised by a woman, so all women have to be bad or beautiful… these kind of things can be harmful for children if we don’t know how to teach them to take them into account.
On the other hand, I really loved the story of Sleeping beauty as well and the Grimm’s version is also surprising, but, have you watched the movie Malefica? This shows a completely different version of what we thought about the villain. (I’m really sorry because I am a Disney’s enthusiast :P) In this one the story changes a lot and Malefica is shown as the real victim and as a “mother” who fights to get the love of the Sleeping beauty. If you have not watched that and you like these kind of versions I recommend you to do it. It’s really great!
Finally, I think that, as future teachers, we can offer our pupils these kind of versions too, to make them compare and reflect on different points of view. We can also create new versions from other stories to see what would happen with “villains” and the “good ones”.
I completely agree with you Carmen, we should analyze the older fairytales when they are read to our students, for the story and what happens in it reflects on children, a reality which, as you say, is far from reality (in Disney) and to gore (in Grimms’ version).
I have to say that I grew up with these stories (Disney) and I have not based my life on being a “damsel in distress” who needs her prince, but I know people who have idealized that kind of love at first sight, so I like more the present Disney stories, I think it was time to show more independent princesses and fighters, in addition to other kinds of love that exist as between parents and children (in my movies parents most often were distant beings, not unless it was a wicked stepmother), between sisters and even between enemies.
We will see if tthey continue changing and renovating the fairytales stories!