Tests, Tasks, and Trials in the Grimms' Fairy Tales

Abstract

Tests, Tasks, and Trials in the Grimms' Fairy Tales Maria Tatar (bio) In Shakespeare's As You Like It, Le Beau launches a speech with the words, "There comes an old man and his three sons—" only to be cut short by Celia's repartee, "I could match this beginning with an old tale."1 Both Le Beau and Celia were no doubt aware that many old tales—most notably fairy tales—feature a man with his three sons. Shakespeare himself based the play in which these two characters match wits on the classical fairy tale plot in which a naive young man triumphs over his two older brothers.2 In these tales, as in tales of an old woman and her daughters, there is essentially only one figure who stands at the center of events and who commands both our sympathy and attention: the youngest and the humblest in a trio of siblings.3 As numerous critics have pointed out, two radically different types of heroes grace the pages of the Grimms' collection of tales. The first is especially prominent: the dim-witted numbskull, the fatuous simpleton who despite all the odds succeeds in winning a kingdom and a bride. Generally the youngest of three sons, he does not seem seriously handicapped by his boundless naiveté. The second class of male protagonists comprises far more sophisticated fellows: these are the tricksters, knaves, and swindlers who triumph over their adversaries by outwitting them.4 In theory the opposition of simple/clever or naive/cunning seems to serve as a useful guide for classifying fairy tale heroes. Yet in practice it is not always easy to determine whether a figure exhibits a low or high level of intelligence. What at first blush appears to be a perfectly straightforward choice is in the end fraught with complexities. The happy-go-lucky simpleton who appears to succeed without trying is not always as doltish as the first sentence of his tale would lead us to believe, even as the roguish trickster does not always live up to his reputation for shrewd reasoning. Despite their jaunty artlessness and unadorned narrative style, fairy tales are not without ironic touches that subvert surface meanings. In particular, the epithets and predicates reserved for their [End Page 31] protagonists often highlight utterly uncharacteristic traits. The eponymous heroine of "Clever Else" ranks high on the list of dull-witted characters; the tale "Hans in Luck" charts a steady decline in its hero's fortunes; and the courageous tailor in the tale of that title displays more bravado than bravery.5 In the world of fairy tales, a simpleton can easily slip into the role of the cunning trickster; a humble miller's son can become a king; and a cowardly fool can emerge as a stout-hearted hero. Character traits display an astonishing lack of stability, shifting almost imperceptibly into their opposites as the tale unfolds. Bearing this in mind, let us take the measure of male protagonists in the Grimms' collection to determine what character traits they share and to assess the extent to which the plots of their adventures possess a degree of predictability.6 Identifying fairy tale heroes by name is in itself no mean feat. It is hardly a secret that the most celebrated characters in fairy tales are female. Cinderella, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and Sleeping Beauty—these are the names that have left so vivid an imprint on childhood memories. With the exception of Hansel, who shares star billing with his sister, male protagonists are exceptionally unmemorable in name and deed.7 Lacking the colorful descriptive sobriquets that accord their female counterparts a distinctive identity, these figures are presented as types and defined by their parent-age (the miller's son), by their station in life (the prince), by their relation to siblings (the youngest brother), or by their intelligence (the simpleton). If the female protagonists of fairy tales are inevitably as good as they are beautiful, their male counterparts generally appear to be as young and naive as they are stupid. Snow White's stepmother may be enraged by her stepdaughter's superior beauty, but the fathers of male heroes...