The idea that the Brothers Grimm attempted to make their fairy tales ultimately religious in character is by far not the only belief on the subject. There are oppositions to this belief, as well as beliefs that can stack on top of it. One of the main arguments it that fairy tales reflect the social and political views of the time they were written and reworked, meaning that viewing them today as lessons would be meaningless because they don't reflect our own values and frameworks of society. “Fairy tales...reflect utopia, a place we envision in our dreams. It constantly shifts its shape and meaning, depending on the real conditions of our society” (Hutchens). Below I will outline some of the other widely held beliefs about the Brothers Grimm fairy tales.
Too much Violence
Even when the Grimm brother's first released their compendiums, many people believed that the stories were too violent. They were never meant for children from the beginning, so that argument comes later on, but some of the events that occur within the stories were quite graphic. The witch dancing herself to death in red hot shoes for instance or the prince jumping from the tower and blinding himself. The stories were considered "uncivilized" because of their rawness. In the later editions, the stories were reedited once again to be more suitable for children's ears. (O'Neill) Today Disney has taken the tales and made them into something completely devoid of violence (or so it would seem), a very different image than their original forms. Some people think that despite attempts, the Grimm fairy tales are simply just too twisted to be turned into something to be viewed by children. (Ishwar)
Freudian Outlook
The people who see the fairy tales in this light see sex everywhere. The branch Cinderella's father gives her is a phallic symbol, the wolf isn't trying to eat Little Red Riding Hood, but rape her, and Rapunzel and the prince were sleeping together right after they met (okay, this part might be true). (O'Neill)
Propagandists
This group of people look to use the fairy tales for their own purposes, in order to further their claim on something or a propagandist ideal. Nazis in the Second World War actually used Little Red Riding Hood as a symbol of the German people, saved from the Jewish wolf. At the end of the war the publication of Grimm fairy tales was banned because the Allies felt that they contributed to the war itself. (O'Neill)
Sexist
Feminists generally believe this, claiming that the princesses were ruled by authority and placed in stereotypical gender roles. Alternate stories arose to cope with this belief, for example: "A revision of "Cinderella, 'for example, has the heroine organizing a union of local maids, prompting the king to arrest her, after which she emigrates to the U.S. to escape the tyranny of kings and queens.'" (O'Neill) The Cinderella tale in particular was looked down upon, as it suggests that a woman needs a prince in order to improve her situation. (Clarke 703)
Not religious at all
This argument states that the Grimm's tales are not solely religious, but actually to the contrary, only religious because Wilhelm made them so. Christianity therefore to them, is just an add-on in the tales. They also feel that the violence of them takes away from their spirituality - they can't be religious because they don't inspire religious feelings. (Murphy 17)