CHARACTER STUDY

Writing instruments from the desk of the Brothers Grimm have yielded the world’s most cherished fables. Montblanc’s latest commemorative editions hope to do the same for the literary duo.

- Alvin Wong

 

Whether we allowed it or not, for many of us, our formative years were shaped by the Brothers Grimm. If you grew up believing that true love is worth waiting for after reading Rapunzel, or learnt never to trust strangers after enduring the harrowing tale of escape from Hansel and Gretel, then the Brothers Grimm were there when you were young. Firing your imagination as they entertained and educated you, as they did for billions of children the world over, since the early 19th century.

Siblings Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were not only responsible for the greatest fairy tales of our time, they were cultural revivalists who now occupy the most eminent positions in German literary history. Before fables like Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and Cinderella became ubiquitous bedtime stories, they were German folk tales, passed down orally from generations. The Brothers Grimm, who were trained in law and later became drawn to cultural research and academics, were so consumed by their cultural heritage and desire to preserve it that they took it upon themselves to rigorously gather, write and publish these stories for posterity.

The epic Kinder- und Hausmärchen (