Cool article! I teach a college course of fairy tale analysis and have a blog devoted to the art, history, analysis, etc., of fairy tales. Current scholarship suggests that the Grimms got most of their stories from middle class young women who were friends or friends of friends with young women with whom they were already acquainted. The Grimms felt keenly the humiliation that Napoleon had laid upon the group of small and large entities that now make up Germany. They wanted to promote a sense of German unity through these tales. It's absolutely true that no one "owns" the "truth" about fairy tales. However, they do get unfairly blamed for giving girls passive role models and rescue fantasies. With the exception of "Sleeping Beauty." a lot of fairy tale heroines are rather plucky, at least in the original versions. But if you want to avoid being bummed out, do not read Andersen's original of "The Little Mermaid," which certainly was his story, his creation.
Current scholarship suggests that the Grimms got most of their stories from middle class young women who were friends or friends of friends with young women with whom they were already acquainted. The Grimms felt keenly the humiliation that Napoleon had laid upon the group of small and large entities that now make up Germany. They wanted to promote a sense of German unity through these tales.
It's absolutely true that no one "owns" the "truth" about fairy tales. However, they do get unfairly blamed for giving girls passive role models and rescue fantasies. With the exception of "Sleeping Beauty." a lot of fairy tale heroines are rather plucky, at least in the original versions.
But if you want to avoid being bummed out, do not read Andersen's original of "The Little Mermaid," which certainly was his story, his creation.