The Most Criminally Under-rated Fairy Tale Ever!
As a massive lover of fairy tales, I have read a large number of these tales of wonder and magic. But the one fairy tale that stood out to me right from the first time I read it; and the one I would consider to be my favourite even today, is: The Story Of The Youth Who Went Forth To Learn What Fear Was by the brothers Grimm. In this article, I will be explaining why I think it deserves to be celebrated on par with popular fairy tales like Cinderella, Beauty And The Beast, Snow-White, Sleeping Beauty, etc.
The Story Of The Youth Who Went Forth To Learn What Fear Was follows a young lad who does not understand fear, or know what it means to shudder. He’s however determined to learn to shudder, no matter what! After being kicked out of his house by his father for being foolish and good-for-nothing in general, as well as specifically pushing a sexton known to his father, down a staircase; the youth goes on a journey to discover what it means to shudder. He eventually finds out about the king promising half of his kingdom, and the hand of his daughter, the princess, in marriage; to anyone who can spend three nights in a row in a haunted castle. Many have tried, but failed; which makes the youth think that this is the perfect opportunity for him to learn to shudder. Throughout his three nights stay in the haunted castle, various creepy things keep happening, including bodies of men dropping in halves from the chimney to later join to form into one, a bed that moves all around the castle on its own, a hideous looking old man threatening to kill our protagonist, and a dead body coming back to life and attempting to strangle the youth. In all these situations, the youth remains unphased, and as a result is unable to learn to shudder. Did he learn to shudder in the end? If he did, what finally made him do so? Read this story to find out! Believe me, you won’t be able to predict how this fairy tale ends!
Why I Love This Story:
Both the story, and its protagonist are extremely hilarious. I love how the scarier parts of the story are presented in an extremely humourous light. The protagonist’s reactions to the scary situations he faces, is also tremendously funny; like, when he asks the bed moving on its own accord, to move even faster, rather than being scared out of his mind.
His humour is not the only thing that makes our protagonist stand out. Many people, including his father and brother, view the youth as extremely foolish. But their views don’t appear to be true. The youth does display a smartness of character, like in how he defeated the hideous looking man on the third night, or in him choosing the three right things to take along with him to help him survive in the haunted castle. The youth just seems to have a different way of thinking, compared to the people in his village, and his family. Even him pushing the sexton down the stairs, has logically valid reasons. This is explained by the youth himself to his father; he says how he saw someone standing on the stairs of the church bell-tower during the middle of the night; [it was the sexton pretending to be a ghost in order to scare the youth, thereby ending the youth’s foolishness by teaching him to shudder] he asked the person who they were, three times, and upon receiving no answer, he became suspicious that the person might have evil intentions. But the father doesn’t accept this explanation.
I also think that fear is sociologically and psychologically made up; the youth probably differed from the common ideas of fear held by the society he was living in. His village and family also seem to be rather superstitious. The older brother of the youth, though considered as smart and resourceful by the text itself, is afraid of going on any errands during the night. The father of the youth, at one point of the story tells the youth that the evil one [the devil/Satan] has gotten into his head, thereby corrupting him. With regards to this also, the youth seems different. When he sees the sexton pretending to be a ghost, rather than being superstitious, he reacts logically. It’s unfortunate that this incident had a bit of a disastrous consequence!
The reason he decides to take up the challenge is not the desire to gain half of the kingdom, or the princess; it’s just his desire for knowledge, to experience something he hasn’t before, and the curiosity to learn something which everyone he meets seems to know. Even after he has successfully completed his three nights stay in the castle, and the king congratulates him, the youth still laments that he hasn’t yet learned how to shudder.
I like how this story can be interpreted to have a message of letting go of fear, and bravely facing the unknown. I’d like to also think that this story proves that having a different perspective than others, is exactly what will make you succeed in the end; even though your uniqueness might cause initial rejection. Though the youth was rejected by his family, the other people he met along the journey, like the king, like him very much. The older brother of the youth, though regarded as smart and resourceful by everybody, seems completely ordinary; he just leads an ordinary life. Unlike him, the youth gets to become a ruler of a kingdom, and marry a beautiful princess. He couldn’t have done it if he had been ordinary like his brother.
Not only is this fairy tale hilarious, it’s also inspiring to people who may feel left out, excluded or not accepted, due to their unique beliefs and perspectives. It’s a shame that this story with such a powerful message, and such a unique and amazing protagonist, does not get the recognition and appreciation it rightly deserves. I think so many more people should read this amazing fairy tale! Do check it out. I can guarantee that you’re going to love it!
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