The French-language Reception of Grimms’ ‘Rotkappchen’ 1868-1948

In 1697 Charles Perrault’s Contes immortalised ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ (‘Le Petit Chaperon rouge’), a fairy tale which was later recounted by the Grimm Brothers as ‘Rotkäppchen’ in their collection of 1812/1815. Scholarly research has already shown the extent to which Perrault’s earlier collection influenced the Grimms’ Kinder- und Hausmärchen. But how might the French reaction to the Grimm ‘version’ be reflected in subsequent French translations, and especially during periods of Franco-German conflict? This is the pivotal question addressed in the four chapters of this thesis. The first chapter focuses on the theoretical. It situates the Grimm Brothers and their influences within the context of German Romanticism and a complex form of nationalism which lies at the root of this literary movement. The development of the field of folklore studies from the Grimms to the present day is also outlined, with particular emphasis on Jack Zipes’ socio-political reading of the versions and adaptations of this tale from Europe and America; a reading which is adapted and developed for this analysis. The second chapter introduces the textual analysis of the selected adaptations and translations and focuses on the years between 1868 and 1933; when the first Grimm-inspired adaptation and translation were published. The third chapter focuses on the fortunes of ‘Rotkäppchen’ during 1942, the height of the Occupation. The fourth and final chapter concentrates on the years between 1944 and 1948, in an attempt to establish how the French versions of the Grimm tale were affected by liberation from German Nazi oppression and the subsequent ending of the Second World War. Such a detailed comparative study proves revealing not only for the French reception of a fairy tale common to the French and German literary traditions for a given period, but also for Franco-German relations and translation theory in general.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

National University of Ireland Maynooth

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Curran, Edel

• German

Language dc:language

en