THE FADING ORIGINALITY OF ART [Pt - 2]

THE FADING ORIGINALITY OF ART

THE FADING ORIGINALITY OF ART - The reason for the editions

 Hey dear all, Hope you’ve read the previous post—if not, please go through that before reading this one.

Every text, regardless of genre, goes through extensive editing and is often republished multiple times. These edits are usually influenced by the prevailing socio-political context, religious beliefs, and cultural values of the time.

In the early stages, the Brothers Grimm didn’t have a specific target audience in mind. However, as their tales gained popularity, they were increasingly read and told to children, as well as adults. Because of their growing appeal among children, the Grimms revised many stories that originally contained explicit content and brutal violence. Later editions became more child-friendly. They removed certain stories and added new ones to better suit their evolving audience.

One of the primary purposes of publishing these folk tales was to preserve German tradition and heritage. The tales reflected various aspects of German culture, as they originated from people of different social classes. This gave readers a chance to view German society and values from diverse perspectives.

For example, in the first edition of Rapunzel, the young girl becomes pregnant—that detail was removed in later editions to avoid setting a bad influence for children. Similarly, in earlier versions of Hansel and Gretel, it was the children’s biological mother, not a stepmother, who abandoned them. However, because the Grimms came to view motherhood as sacred, they revised the story to feature a stepmother instead.

There were many reasons for the changes they made. Beyond protecting young readers, the Grimms may also have wanted to modernize or refine how German culture was presented to the world through their tales.

Even today, adaptations continue to be made based on the original Brothers Grimm stories—demonstrating just how timeless and influential their work remains.