I remember the first time I read a traditional fairy tale in its more
original, Brothers Grimm version. Grim indeed –I was shocked at the
lurid nature of the fairly gentle story I’d known as a child.
In
fact, most of the most famous fairy tales stem from oral tradition, and
serve as allegory. Little Red Riding Hood is about sexual awakening,
Cinderella about children’s fears over losing their parents, and
Rapunzel about fertility.
And it’s a very sanitized version of Rapunzel that got writer Joanna Weiss all wound up.
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