Children often revive their favorite characters from fairy tales in their imagination, and in some cases they even become wonderful friends. In this article we will talk about the prototypes of 10 famous fairy-tale characters.
10. Snow White
In the eighteenth century, Baroness Maria Eva von Bettendorf and Judge Philip von Erthal had a daughter, Maria: she became their fifth child. A few years later, the girl’s mother died giving birth to the tenth baby in the family. The husband of the Baroness quickly recovered from grief and soon found himself a new wife, a rich widow.
Maria was a very beautiful girl, and her stepmother greatly disliked her. The woman was already 36 years old, and her beauty was inexorably withering, and Mary only blossomed over the years. The stepmother decided to kill her stepdaughter, and the girl found out about it. She ran away from the house and took refuge in the miners' house. When the stepmother died, Mary returned home and lived there until her death. She never got married.
9. Alice in Wonderland
Alice Liddell had several sisters. Lewis Carroll was a friend of the Liddell family and loved to play with girls, he often photographed them. Carrol often told the sisters a fairy tale about the girl Alice, who found herself in the thick of various adventures. The girls were delighted with his stories and constantly demanded a continuation. After a while, a whole series of adventures accumulated, and the author decided to record these stories. The book was presented to Alice. When she grew up, the book had to be sold in order to be able to pay bills.
8. Shrek
William Steig, who wrote about the monster Shrek, who has a terrible appearance and a good heart, wrote off his character from wrestler Maurice Tiye. He was born in the Urals, in a French family. After the revolution that took place in 1917, his parents decided to return to France. The future wrestler was then 14 years old.
When Maurice was a teenager, his appearance was called angel-like, but then she began to change dramatically for the worse. At the age of 19, Tiye was found to have acromegaly: due to this disease, his bones were actively thickening and growing (especially in the facial section). A serious illness did not prevent Maurice from achieving great success in sports, but then he still had to stop entering the ring. Like Shrek, Tiye was very good-natured and pleasant in communication.
7. Robin Hood
There are several versions of the origin of the Robin Hood stories, but the most reliable of them can be distinguished. The future robber was born in the village of Loxley, in the XII century. He was a free peasant. Robin gathered a small gang even when he was young. He was engaged in robberies in the Sherwood Forest. However, the real Robin Hood was not at all as noble as the character written off from him: he simply took money from people, and not only from the rich, and did not give them to the poor.
6. Pinocchio
The person who wrote off this character, of course, was not carved from wood at all. He was not even a child. Pinocchio Sanchez was a war hero, this man was notable for his small stature. After the battles, he became crippled: he had no legs and nose. However, the doctor Carlo Bestulgi made dentures and even a nose insert made of wood for him. The “Wooden Man” learned to perform various tricks and began performing at fairs, but one day he fell from a height and died. If it weren’t for Karl Collodi’s tale, today hardly anyone would remember the story of Pinocchio.
5. Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh
Alan Milne had a son, Christopher: the author wrote off one of the main characters in his book from him. The boy was quiet, shy, and the toy teddy bear Edward was his only friend. Alan Milne did not change the name of the boy, but he called the bear cub differently: in honor of Winnipeg, a bear from the zoo in London. She was very calm, even allowing children to stroke and feed themselves with condensed milk.
4. Baron Munchausen
This man lived in the 18th century. He was born in the German city of Bodenwerder. Munghausen moved to Russia when he fell in love with a Russian woman. After moving, he began to serve as an officer in the army. When the nobleman nevertheless returned to Germany, he began to tell his friends about various adventures that supposedly happened to him in Russian lands. Munchausen's fantasy was very stormy, and each time his stories were supplemented with new interesting details.
3. Carlson
Carlson's prototype is not just a real person. Astrid Lindgren wrote off this character from Hermann Goering, a military, state and political leader of Nazi Germany. Astrid was very sympathetic to the Swedish far-right party and was personally acquainted with Goering. He was an ace pilot, as the propeller hints behind Carlson. Outwardly, this character is also very much like Hermann Goering. Many say that this man, who was very influential in Nazi Germany, was very charismatic and had a very good appetite.
2. Duremar
Surely all the people who read the fairy tale "Golden Key" remember the seller of the leeches Duremar. The person who became the prototype of this character is Bulemard, a doctor from Moscow. His origin was French. The services of this specialist were very popular among wealthy people. He successfully treated patients with leeches. The doctor often wore a long and dense hoodie that provided protection against mosquitoes while catching leeches. Next to this unusual specialist, children constantly teased around, who teased Bulemard, distorting his last name: “Duremar”.
1. Peter Pan
Michael Davis, who inspired James Barry to create a book about the boy Peter Pen, who never grew old, was the son of the writer’s friends. This child constantly invented various stories, he was sociable, mischievous and inquisitive. Like Peter, Michael was afraid of old age. In nightmares, this boy often saw evil pirates and the scary captain Hook. James Barry was very attached to this gifted and cheerful child.