And He Shall Smite the Wicked

If there is one message that most fairy tales have, it is that good will always triumph over evil. That is also prevalent in the dark tale from the Brothers Grimm, “The Juniper Tree”. A story full of cannibalism and homicide still manages to lead up to an iconic happy ending. Interwoven through every ironic sentence are symbols. Connections with tales from Greek Mythology to Biblical times hide the true macabre nature of the story of (as it is also called) “My Mother Slew Me, My Father Ate Me”.

The very first line of the fable, “Long, long ago, some two thousand years or so”, is an allusion itself dating back to the era of Jesus Christ. The boy’s untimely and undeserved death by the hands of another references the unjust crucifixion of Jesus. He is sacrificed for the good of the others around him. The son’s reincarnation as a bird and as a feeling of happiness for those who loved him represent the Holy Spirit, commonly symbolized as a bird (dove) as well. This, combined with his later resurrection surrounded by “mist and flames and fire rising from the spot” where the stepmother (symbolic of sin) was killed adds more proof that the boy is a Christ figure. Other Biblical allusions throughout the story, the “evil thought [possessing]” the stepmother, the “evil spirit [entering] her” practically adds horns and a forked tail to the traditionally wicked stepmother, showing her as Satan himself (Grimm).

Not only do the allusions add a point of reference for the people reading the story (with the majority being Christian at the time), but the age old battle of the Original Sin, the battle of the angelic driven by naiveté and of the hellish driven by desire written ingeniously into a children’s tale reiterate that no matter the circum...

... middle of paper ...

... in every fairy tale, add layers of pixie dust over the brutal murder and eating of the son. And yet, they get away with pushing this theme in morbid tales. The Brother’s Grimm uses the lure of the fairy tale to send a message to their audience that good will always triumph over evil.

Works Cited

1. Grimm, Jacob, Wilhelm Grimm, and Maria Tatar. The Annotated Brothers Grimm. New York: W.W. Norton, 2004. Print.

2. Ashliman, D. L. "Grimm Brothers' Home Page." Grimm Brothers' Home Page. D. L. Ashliman, 2003. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.

3. Lenssen, Philipp. "Fairy Tales By the Grimm Brothers." Fairy Tales. Authorama, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.

4. Dick, Dr. "Dr. Dick's "Mendelssohn's World"" : Being German in the Early 1800s. N.p., 2009. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.

5. Acocella, Joan. "Once Upon a Time." The New Yorker. Conde Nast, 23 July 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.

6. 19 fairy tales ppt