Puss in Boots

I very much enjoyed reading the different versions of this fairytale, and as some of my classmates I was surprised at the vast changes made to each version. Out of all the ones we read I prefer the Grimm brothers' version about the apprentice in search of the horse. It seemed to parallel the journey of life to me. As young people we go out in search of something we are not quite sure of and why we are doing it but that is what is expected. Then we find something that distracts us and we settle into a routine much as the apprentice did for seven years waiting on his reward of a fine horse. I think the story relates that sometimes we receive our reward or what we really want only when we have been through struggles and learned what is important.
Tartar's essay on "Sex and Violence" the explanation of the use of adult themes in fairy tales is on point. She helps us understand in daily struggles that many of the people who were reading and sharing the Grimm brothers' stories, and how these people could relate to the stories. It makes sense that some versions of fairy tales were more bawdy and violent due to the audience to which they were presented. I would imagine the fairy tales related to the king's court and in taverns were much more violent and contained characters that closely related in appearance and manner to the listeners. These tales are best told around a campfire or in the salons of Europe. It is no wonder the Grimm brothers modified their stories repeatedly in order to maintain book sales and please their vastly different audiences. Isn't that what writers do today? Why would we have so many versions of the same stories if not to appeal to all types and cultures of people. It also helped support the families of the writers just as a farmer who grows more than one crop.
Bettelheim, on the other hand, was more of a purist. He believed in presenting tales as graphically and accurately as possible. I do not agree with this philosophy, but I understand his desire not to shelter children from the realities of the world. In today's society everyone has to be a winner and receives a trophy. Real life in much more difficult and at the time the Grimm brothers and other writers of the period were developing these tales life was no fairy tale.
I also believe Carter wishes to stay true to the original version of the fairy tales. This is admirable but not a format in which I prefer to read often. Sorry, I am a Disney gal at heart!