When we think of the fairy tale, Rapunzel, we visualize a young, beautiful maiden with long golden locks, held captive in a tower by an evil witch. What we don't think about is the idea that Rapunzel was having daily romps in the tower with the prince. In the first edition of the Grimms' Nursery and Household Tales, Rapunzel alludes to this fact when she asks, "Tell me, Godmother, why my clothes are so tight, and why they don't fit me any longer?" In future editions of Nursery and Household Tales, the brothers did their best to eliminate through editing what they called "certain conditions and relationships." In the second edition of Nursery and Household Tales, Rapunzel asks, "Tell me, Godmother, why are you so much harder to pull up than the young prince?" The conditions of pregnancy and premarital sex made the Grimms uncomfortable; however, they tolerated graphic violence and abuse.
The same underlying sexual themes and editorial changes take place in The Frog King. In the original version of the fairy tale, the princess violently throws the frog against her bedroom wall where he falls down into her bed in the form of a handsome young prince, and the princess lies down next to him. In the current version of the story the transformation of frog to prince occurs immediately when he hits the wall. He is then referred to as a "dear companion" of the princess. In this sweetened version, the couple does not retire to the bed until they exchange wedding vows, and only with the approval of the princess's father.
To control "certain conditions and relationships" and to make both these stories more children friendly, the Grimm brothers transformed tales full of sexual innuendos into proper stories where a blind prince searches for his wife in the forest, and a princess is prim and proper.
The same underlying sexual themes and editorial changes take place in The Frog King. In the original version of the fairy tale, the princess violently throws the frog against her bedroom wall where he falls down into her bed in the form of a handsome young prince, and the princess lies down next to him. In the current version of the story the transformation of frog to prince occurs immediately when he hits the wall. He is then referred to as a "dear companion" of the princess. In this sweetened version, the couple does not retire to the bed until they exchange wedding vows, and only with the approval of the princess's father.To control "certain conditions and relationships" and to make both these stories more children friendly, the Grimm brothers transformed tales full of sexual innuendos into proper stories where a blind prince searches for his wife in the forest, and a princess is prim and proper.
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