S4:E3 | Religion and the Grimm Fairy Tales

Le Salon Literary Discussions

In today’s episode we’re looking at the daddy of all patriarchal systems (pun intended!), the church and its teachings and how they are reflected in the Grimm fairy tales. After a quick refresher on Lutheranism, we dive into how Eve’s curiosity in the Garden of Eden becomes problematic, marriage as the only happily-ever-after, and Old Testament justice.

Further reading:

• The Truth About Stories by Thomas King
• The Owl, The Raven, and the Dove: The Religious Meaning of the Grimms' Magic Fairy Tales by G. Ronald Murphy.

[7:45] “So even though we get fairy tales, like The Frog Prince or Beauty and the Beast, that propose marriage between a woman and a creature, the animal is generally gendered to be masculine.”

[11:11] “In fact, early editions of the story point to the wife’s curiosity, her disobedience, and her gaining of knowledge as worse transgressions than Bluebeard’s murderous ways.”

[13:22] “In this story, not only do we see religious figures but the emphasis on the redemption found in confession.”

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