grimms’ fairy tales have actually been pleasantly surprising in many many ways
like i was expecting one of two things to happen: 1). everything to be dark and terrible and depressing or 2). everything to be really tame and happy compared to how everyone keeps telling each other that the “original” stories were so dark and terrible and depressing
guess what it is actually both of those things!!! it is like. the coolest thing. because all the grimm brothers did was collect stories from everyone everywhere and it shows; they have happy endings or sad endings or bittersweet endings or endings with horrible bloodthirsty revenge or endings with unconditional forgiveness
some are very religious, some are openly spiteful of religion, some are sanctimonious as all fuck, some make you root for the conniving bastard who sides with and then tricks the devil
some stick to predictable gender roles while others involve the princess getting fed up with this shit and saving everyone
some of them apparently were told by someone who forgot the ending? because it just kind of trails off into this rambling explanation of “I think they got married next? And there was something about. enchanted swans. I think. Anyway I’m sure everyone was very happy eventually”
also, a trope i wish we had kept around: glass mountains. trying to save your lover from inside a glass mountain. getting lost inside a glass mountain. escaping from captivity in a glass mountain. futilely trying to climb a glass mountain and sliding back down again until you trick some dudes out of their magic teleportation saddle.
(via timefortigers)
