Fairy Tales as Literature of Literature

In this study, the Brothers Grimm' s fairy tales are consistently examined as literature out of literature. Through the history of their creation and transformation, it becomes apparent how literary models were re-declared and transformed into the well-known fairy tale narratives, in the course of the editing process by the Brothers Grimm, essentially by Wilhelm Grimm. By means of a series of model studies including
Rapunzel
,
Jorinde und Joringel
and
Der Jude im Dorn
it is shown that the Brothers Grimm' s fairy tales, contrary to their traditional assessment as ' folk tales' , are of literary origin and have a literary character themselves.