Who is the author of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"?

We all read in childhood a wonderful fairy tale about a beautiful woman with snow-white skin and black hair, like a resin, telling how she was sheltered in the forest by small magical little men. We worried about the fate of the princess and were angry with the intrigues of the terrible stepmother, when we saw the embodiment of the plot of the mentioned fairy tale in numerous adaptations (the Disney cartoon is particularly magnificent). But how many people know who is the author of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"? Let's try to clarify this question. The authors in this case are definitely more than one. These are the Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm. And yet - albeit indirectly - all the people of the German land of Westphalia.

Life and work of Grimm

The brothers-pogodki were born in the town of Hanau. Jacob - in January 1785, and Wilhelm - in February 1786. Besides them, there was a smaller brother and three little sisters in the family. His father, Philip Wilhelm, worked first as a lawyer, and from 1792 as a judge in Steinau. It was he who instilled in his sons a love of reading and drawing. But in 1796 his father died, and Jakob, in his 11 years, became the head of the family. Soon the older sons went to Kassel to graduate from the Lyceum, go to university and become lawyers. There also appeared this creative tandem - the author of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Because at the university the brothers met new people, from whom they learned about the folk songs and legends of the people of Westphalia.

The fabulous nav and political reality

To understand the fate and creativity of the Brothers Grimm, it is necessary at least briefly, but to describe the political situation that prevailed at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries in Germany. Then the country was split into many principalities - each with its own language, ruler, chased coin and so on. Little Westphalia easily captured in 1806 the army of Napoleon. The kingdom was led by the brother of Bonaparte Jerome. He suggested that Jakob become a librarian, to which he agreed. The author of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" actively collects legends, songs and legends of the region.

After the French were expelled from Westphalia, the brothers serve as librarians in Kassel, and then, in 1840, they accept the invitation of Friedrich-Wilhelm of Prussia to move to Berlin. Even then, Grimm became known to the general public as the author of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", as well as 82 more fairy tales. In Berlin, they continued to create: to collect, as valuable pearls, samples of folk poetry, to rework folklore and to explore German linguistics. They died - Wilhelm in 1859, and Jacob in 1863 - for work on the first dictionary of the German language.

Oh these storytellers ...

Now about the period when "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" appeared. The author, or rather, the creative tandem, published his first collection, when they were still green youngsters, in 1812. He was released in a modest soft cover and included only eighty-three tales. Later the authors repeatedly renewed the circulation, constantly replenishing the book with new stories. Now the collection of "Children's and family fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm" consists of 200 works.

What is significant is "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

In this fantastic tale, many of the motifs that are present in the other stories of the Brothers Grimm are intertwined. This is an evil stepmother, who wants to get rid of a stepdaughter with the light (compare with Hans and Gretel). The motif of a lethargic dream is also present in the fairy tale "The Sleeping Beauty". Very interesting idea is about the treacherous "gifts" of the stepmother - belt, crest and apple, in which the reader, familiar with Greek myths, easily recognizes the attributes of Venus. In the multidimensional work of the authors there is a much deeper meaning than it may seem at first glance. On the lands of the former Roman Empire, the ancient myth was defeated by the German legends about the dwarves.