The Fisherman and His Wife
I thought it was cool that the prince was a fish, but had magical powers. If he had magical powers, why couldn't he change himself back into a human? Or was he cursed to stay a fish for the rest of his life by a witch? I like the character of the fisherman. He has good morals, but he did not make good decisions when it came to his wife. He was either completely devoted to her (to the point where he kept going to the fish even though he was scared to) or scared of her. The underlying message of this story is clear as well: unquenched greediness will ultimately lead to nothing in the end.
Aschenputtel
I never knew that Cinderella's name was originally Aschenputtel. I watched many Disney movies growing up, so I can see now that Disney changed some aspects of the original story. For example, the two daughters of the widow were beautiful, but in the movies, they were ugly. Also, Cinderella's father died in the movie, but Aschenputtel's father seems to be alive. I like that there were no fairy godmothers in this story; the birds just happened to have a gold and silver dress to drape on her at the right moment. Grimm's version of the story is definitely a little more morbid since both of the stepsisters cut off her toe or heel just so her foot could fit into the shoe. The stepsisters' eyes were also blinded by pigeons. The underlying message is to be kind and have courage and you will be met with good fortune, whereas if you are nasty and contemptuous, you will be ruined in the end.
Photo of a glass slipper.
"Cinderella Glass Slipper" by TSTS Sheng, March 2015. Source: Flickr.
The Robber Bridegroom
This story is full of graphic imagery with fingers being chopped off, cannibalism, and people being chopped up in pieces. I don't really like this story, but I like that in the end, there was justice. I was relieved when the girl was able to escape.
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