. "contamination" -- [ZIPES, P. 31] "When Rölleke uses the term   .
                    'contamination', he does not do so in a 
  pejorative sense. On the contrary, in folklore terms, to 
  contaminate means to mix different variants of a known tale
  to form either a new variant or an ideal tale type based on
  different variants. On the one had, this method of contamination
  makes the oritinal pure substance of the tale impure, but on
  the other, it revives the tale and gives it new life.

 "In fact, it only through such contamination in the 1800c that 
  much folk lore was preserved. So, the Grimms were not merely
  collectors, of "pure" folk tales, they were creative 
  "contaminators" and artists. In fact, their [Jacob & Wilhelm 
  Grimm] major accomplisment in publishing their two volumes 
  of 156 tales all together in 1812 and 1815 was to *create*
  an ideal type for the *literary* fairy tale, one that 
  sought to be as close to the oral tradtion as possible, while
  incorporating stylistic, formal, and substatial thematic 
  changes  to appeal to a growing middle-class audience.
 
 "What concerned them most was to create a fascimile in 
  High German of the folk manner and [P.31] tone of 
  story-telling without losing the substance of the tales. 
  Their historical and synthetic reproductin of the oral 
  tales became a model for the majority of European 
  collectors in the 1800c.
  ...
 "Indeed, they saw the "childhood of humankind" as embedded in
  customs that Germans had cultivated, and the tales, as 
  samples of Naturpoesie (nttural poetry), were to
  serve as reminders of a rich, genuine culture."
  Pp.31-32

. In his essay, Die Frau in den Märchen der Brüder Grimm        .
  [LOCAL NOTE 7] Rölleke has argured that there is a danger
  in generalising about a gender type, for there is no
  single female type consistently depicted in the same
  manner througout the tales. Indeed, there are many
  different types of women at different stages in their
  lives, and they have various occupations and social
  backgrounds. At best, one could select the dominant 
  characteristics of heroines in the most popular tales
  to illustrate readers' preferances in the portrayal
  of acceptable female behaviour. The different types 
  of women and the their various modes of action in the 
  tales have all been leveled in the cutlural reception
  and use of the tales. For instance, among the Grimms'
  tales there are only a few "heroines" who stand out in
  the publics memory today -- such as Cinderella,
  Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood,
  Rapunzel, the miller's daughter in "Rumpelstilkskin",
  and the princiess in "The Frog King".
  
  For the most part these heroines indicate that a woman's
  best place is in the house and a diligent, obedient,
  self-sacrificing wife. [there are no Nora's or Laura 
  Krofts here!] In the majority of these tales and their
  imitations, the male is her reward [that and an 
  under-water bicycle! [5]], and that is 
  apparent that, even though he is an incidental
  character, he arrives on the scene to take over,
  to govern, and control her future. [6] (We tend to
  forget tales in which women are strong, intellegent
  and brave, and outwit men. Such tales as,
 
     Clever Gretel
     The Clever Farmer's Daughter
     The True Bride

  have *not* [emphasis mine] become part of the fairy-
  tale cannon. [yet! Just you wait Henry Higgens, just you wait!]

  But, what about the tales in which the male is the
  protagonist? What about the tales in which the male is
  largely concerned with his own fate? in the 211 tales 
  of the last edeition of 1857 (note the date!) and in
  the 28 tales that had appeared in previous editions but 
  were ommitted for various reaons at a later date, we
  encounter such types as the magician, drummer, thief,
  godlsmith, shoemaker, woodcutter, servant, Jew, shepard,
  blacksmith, fisherman, huntsman, elf, dwarf, journeyman,
  cook, army surgeon, king, prince, hermit, soldier, tailor,
  giant, hegegog, donkey, Thumbling, youngest son, 
  farmer/peasant. 

  Their behaviour varies according to their situation, 
  occupation and class; though magic and miraculous
  events do occur, these types all evince characteristics
  that correspond realistically to representive figures
  of the 1700c and 1800c's. Therefore, it is important to
  gather historical information about social conditions
  during these centureies if we are to grasp both
  differeneces and similarities among the heroines. 

  [LOCAL NOTE 7] (P.281, op.cit) "In Früh and Wehse, eds,
                 Die Frau in den Märchen, 72-88.