“The Maiden without Hands.” Grimm’s Household Fairy Tales, translated by Ella Boldey, with illustrations by R. André, New York: McLoughlin Bros., 1890, pp. 150-154.
Item
Title
“The Maiden without Hands.” Grimm’s Household Fairy Tales, translated by Ella Boldey, with illustrations by R. André, New York: McLoughlin Bros., 1890, pp. 150-154.
Description
This tale is a translation from the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale that is about nameless characters including a maiden whose hands get cut off by her own father, a miller, in order to follow through with a promise he had made to an old man who promised him riches. This version has a heavy emphasis on prayer and religion, highlighted in a black and white illustration of an angel that assists and ultimately leads the maiden to a happy ending of being reunited with the king (her husband). There is also a strong emphasis on an old man deceiving the main characters and driving forward the plot.
Alternative Title
Grimm’s Household Fairy Tales
Creator
Translated by Ella Boldey
Translated by Ella Boldey
Contributor
R. André
Spatial Coverage
New York
Coverage
US
Publisher
McLoughlin Bros
Date
1890
Temporal Coverage
1890-1899
Identifier
Persecuted Maidens
Abstract
The tale begins with an old man, the antagonist, who approaches a poor miller about an exchange for wealth for what is standing behind the mill (the miller was unaware that his daughter was standing behind the mill). Three years later the old man came to claim his reward three different times but could not take the maiden because she had water on her. Threats from the old man caused the miller to chop off his daughters’ hands since there were tears on them. Ultimately, the old man gave up on his prize, leading to the handless maiden leaving her home and accidentally reaching the kings’ garden. Because she prayed to God, an angel was sent to help the maiden retrieve food from the garden, and she was later discovered by the king. The king and maiden eventually marry and she was given silver hands. Years later when the king left for war, the maiden had a baby and a messenger was sent with a letter that delivered the news. On the way the messenger stopped at the old man's house, and the old man replaced the letters with terrible orders including to murder the maiden and their child. The king’s mother couldn’t follow through with this, so she sent the maiden and child into the woods. Again, the maiden prayed which allowed the two of them to be taken care of in an angels’ house for seven years until the king finally discovered what the old man had done and found his wife and son. The tale concludes with a second happy ending of festivities and rejoicing in the kingdom.
Source
Translation of Brothers Grimm
Relation
https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00078883/00001/7j
Site pages
This item was submitted on April 16, 2020 by Bri Doerfler using the form “Submit a Fairy Tale” on the site “Fairy Tales Repository”: https://fairytales.suzannemagnanini.buffscreate.net/s/ft
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