The contrasting forms of curiosity in the Brothers Grimm fairy tales One of the main themes prevalent in the Brothers Grimm fairy tales is that of curiosity. It plays a very significant role in determining where the story will go. There are in fact two different results that can arise from an act of curiosity. The first is that of good luck. It could be a marriage, a rich reward, or some other form of success. The other result is that of punishment. This could be the cutting off of a limb, being expelled from your home, or death. The valuation of curiosity and how it is rewarded or punished depends on several variables, of which gender is the most important. Both “The White Serpent” and “Fitcher's Bird” from the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales exemplify the importance of curiosity as a theme in such tales. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay ""The White Serpent"" detailing a wise king who eats a covered dish alone every evening. A servant becomes curious and one evening, after retrieving the plate, he uncovers it and discovers a white snake. The servant takes a bite and then discovers the ability to talk to animals. Shortly thereafter, the servant is accused of stealing the queen's ring and will one day be allowed to prove his innocence. After accepting defeat, the servant hears a goose complaining about a ring stuck in its throat. He asks the chef to open the goose and finds the missing link. The king apologizes and offers the boy riches and lands. However, the boy simply takes a horse and some gold to go on a journey into the countryside (WS 98-99). “The White Snake” represents a fairy tale in which curiosity is rewarded. After eating the king's dish, the boy inherits extraordinary powers that lead to wealth, good fortune, and eventually marriage to a princess (WS 101). Eating the king's food in any other context would be considered an act of treason, punishable by death. However, this is not the case with the Grimm's Fairy Tale. After proving his innocence in the theft of the ring, the king even apologized to the servant, then "allowed him to ask him a favor and promised him the best place at court he could wish for" (WS 99). He suffered no consequences. Instead, he benefited immensely from his new gift. “Fitcher's Bird” offers a different perspective on the role of curiosity. This story begins with a magician who disguised himself as a beggar to kidnap women to become his brides. He does this to the eldest of three sisters, takes her back to his home and assures her that she would be happy with him. In the end the magician has to leave and entrusts the girl with the keys to all the rooms in the house and an egg which she was supposed to take care of at all times. He forbids her to enter a single room, under penalty of death. All goes well until the girl's curiosity leads her to look into the forbidden room. Here he discovers a basin full of blood and dismembered body parts. Mortified, she drops the egg and stains it with blood. When the wizard returns home, he immediately notices the bloody egg. As promised, he tears it into pieces and adds it to the basin in the center of the room. This is repeated with the second sister of that family, who also disobeys and as a result her body is cut into pieces and added to the pelvis (FB 216-217). “Fitcher's Bird” provides an example where curiosity is punished. These tales portray the idea that curiosity is bad and must be punished. In the case of “Fitcher's Bird”, curiosity is carried forward by the sisters who cannot help but enter the forbidden room. The Brothers describe curiosity as an invisible force, saying..