Murder, mutilation, cannibalism, infanticide, and incest: the darker
side of classic fairy tales is the subject of this groundbreaking and
intriguing study of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's Nursery and Household
Tales. This expanded edition includes a new preface and an appendix
featuring translations of six tales with commentary by Maria Tatar.
Throughout the book, Tatar draws on the disciplinary tools of
psychoanalysis and folklore while also providing historical context to
explore the harsher aspects of these stories, presenting new
interpretations of tales that engage in a kind of cultural repetition
compulsion. No other book so thoroughly challenges us to rethink the
happily-ever-after of these classic stories.