Grimms' Bad Girls and Bold Boys

Following recent emphasis on the Grimms' editorial interventions in successive editions of the Tales, Bottigheimer argues convincingly that one consequence of a shaping hand was to convey, covertly and cumulatively, a fundamental and profound gender bias. The Grimms' (chiefly Wilhelm's) editing tended to inhibit women's speech, to punish them disproportionately for transgressions, to isolate them, and to reduce their autonomy. Through close reading and linguistic and sociohistorical analyses, the author also investigates anti-Semitism, economics, Christian values, and eroticism in the Tales. Her study effectively corrects such influential interpretations as Bettelheim's by insisting on the Tales' cultural specificity. Extensive primary and secondary bibliographies. Patricia Dooley, formerly with English Dept., Drexel Univ., PhiladelphiaCopyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.