The owl, the raven, & the dove : the religious meaning of the Grimms' magic fairy tales / G. Ronald Murphy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Murphy, G. Ronald, 1938-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kinder- und Hausmärchen.

Fairy tales--Germany--Religious aspects.

Fairy tales.

Grimm, Wilhelm, 1786-1859--Religion.

Grimm, Wilhelm.

Grimm, Wilhelm, 1786-1859.

Religion.

Grimm, Jacob, 1785-1863--Religion.

Grimm, Jacob.

Grimm, Jacob, 1785-1863.

Germany.

Physical Description:

xi, 189 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Owl, the raven, and the dove

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, [2000]

Summary:

The fairy tales collected by the brothers Grimm are among the best-known and most widely-read stories in western literature. In recent years commentators such as Bruno Bettetheim have, usually from a psychological perspective, pondered the underlying meaning of the stories, why children are so enthralled by them, and what effect they have on the developing child. In this book, Ronald Murphy takes five of the best-known tales ("Hansel and Gretel, " "Little Red Riding Hood, " "Cinderella, " "Snow White, " and "Sleeping Beauty") and shows that the Grimms saw them as Christian fables. Murphy examines the arguments of previous interpreters of the tales, and demonstrates how they missed the Grimms' intention. His own readings of the five so-called "magical" tales reveal them as the beautiful and inspiring "documents of faith" that the Grimms meant them to be.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-183) and index.

ISBN:

0195136071

OCLC:

59419669