The Fisherman and His Wife

by Monika Laimgruber (Illustrator), Elizabeth Shub (Translator), Jacob Grimm

Relates the fate of the fisherman's greedy wife who was never satisfied with the wishes granted her by an enchanted fish.

32 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Saffron Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rating is for the edition translated by Elizabeth Shub and illustrated by Monika Laimgruber.

[Divia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story illustrates greed at work. We always start off with something and desire more and then more and then more again until we die or actually lose everything while alive.

The Fisherman's Wife is never satisfied with the granted wishes and always desires more until she eventually ends up where she initially started. As she wishes for more and more nature becomes more destructive almost as if the granting of the wishes was destroying the world.

In the end, the Fisherman's Wife desired power over the sun and moon. It is interesting that the fish was willing to grant all that she asked for within the human world. From Fisherman's Wife she ended up being the Pope. This final wish was control over nature which the fish refused to grant and all of her other wishes were undone. Humans should not have power over nature. Also, it shows the powerlessness we have over nature. It is a limit that I suppose should not be crossed.

[Cws]

J398.2Gri