The Harrowing Journey of the Female
The humilation, distress, and unthinkable torture that fairy tale women endured is shocking, especially considering the fact that families read these stories to their children. Princesses and female villains alike experienced a great deal of pain. In many cases, the villain received the ending they deserved, and the Grimm brothers and Hans Christian Andersen had no problem articulating all the gruesome details.
This “girl”, who was never given a name, may have one of the most harrowing stories of them all. After her father accidentally sold his soul to the devil, he chopped off his daughter’s hands at the devil’s request to save his own life. After eventually finding what seems to be her happy ending, she is banished from her newfound kingdom by the workings of the devil. She spent years in the forest after giving birth to a child. Her faith in God ultimately reunited her with her king, and her hands grew back.
Notice how Little Red Cap is portrayed as an innocent young girl, but with great oblivion, as she stands next to a threatening wolf. The Grimm’s depict a rather traumatic and disturbing trial for the young girl, as the wolf eats her and her grandmother, before a huntsman ultimately saves them.
This mother begs for her child back after death devastatingly sweeps him away. After giving up her hair and eyes for a chance to steal her son from death, she realized that she would change the course of another child’s life for the worst if she follows through. This is what it unfortunately took for the mother to finally understand that she could not change the will of God.
This scene portrays one of the most gruesome of the Grimm’s tales. As a woman, victim to an arranged marriage, hides behind a barrel, she witnesses her future husband and his band of cannibal robbers brutally murdering another woman by chopping her up. The bride-to-be becomes another Grimm heroine, as she was able to salvage the victim’s finger, and brought it to their wedding as proof to imprison the fraud and his group.
A mother had to dreadfully face the day of the funeral of her 4-year old son. The devastation caused her to go into a deep depression, leading her to completely ignore and neglect her surviving two daughters and husband. Here, she begs death to allow her to see her son one last time. She discovers that her son is happy and free in the Kingdom of God, and realizes that she must restore the relationships with her family back home.