Representation of Jews in Romantic Fairy Tales

Fairy tales are not only one of the most popular literary genres worldwide, they also enjoy the reputation of being innocent and harmless. Nevertheless, among all the talking animals, fairies, kings and princesses in the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales, for example, one also finds figures about whom it is said: "'Ah,' said the peasant, 'what a Jew says is always a lie, not a true word comes out of his mouth'". This paper examines the Jewish characters in three fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm and and in two fairy tales by Clemens Brentano. In doing so, the implicit characterization via physiognomy, language, name, and the actions of the Jewish characters are taken into account.