<story><title>Tolstoy’s Children’s Stories</title><url>https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/leo-tolstoys-childrens-stories-will-devastate-your-children-and-make-you-want-to-die/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>copperx</author><text>Aren&amp;#x27;t we and our children exposed to much more violence, blood, and plain evilness in media nowadays?&lt;p&gt;I don&amp;#x27;t understand how people in those times would be less sensitive to such themes.</text></item><item><author>ivanhoe</author><text>Those books shouldn&amp;#x27;t be judged by today&amp;#x27;s norms. They were not written for the children (nor parents... especially not parents) of today, but for children back then who lived in a completely different world.&lt;p&gt;For instance, in the version of Cinderella by Charles Perrault - the version that we all know - one of the evil stepsisters was advised by her mother to cut off her toes in order to fit the slipper. She almost fools the prince, but doves warn him about blood dripping from her foot. He then goes back again and tries the slipper on the other sister. She cut off part of her heel in order to get her foot in the slipper, and again the prince is fooled. While riding with her to the king&amp;#x27;s castle, the doves alert him again about the blood on her foot.&lt;p&gt;How about that for a good night story?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>riazrizvi</author><text>In older societies, people see a lot more violence&amp;#x2F;blood toward animals. In old-fashioned societies, when you need a chicken, the butcher grabs a live one, wrestles it&amp;#x27;s wriggling body, wrings its neck, and skins it in front of you. You grab the meat and it&amp;#x27;s still warm. Butchers killing larger livestock is likely a show you can see near the market, you may even have participated in some such act yourself because of customs. It would be a common thing and it&amp;#x27;s so visceral. You smell it. You can see the animal&amp;#x27;s struggle, fear and pain.  After you are habituated to that, a story is not so bad.</text></comment>
<story><title>Tolstoy’s Children’s Stories</title><url>https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/leo-tolstoys-childrens-stories-will-devastate-your-children-and-make-you-want-to-die/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>copperx</author><text>Aren&amp;#x27;t we and our children exposed to much more violence, blood, and plain evilness in media nowadays?&lt;p&gt;I don&amp;#x27;t understand how people in those times would be less sensitive to such themes.</text></item><item><author>ivanhoe</author><text>Those books shouldn&amp;#x27;t be judged by today&amp;#x27;s norms. They were not written for the children (nor parents... especially not parents) of today, but for children back then who lived in a completely different world.&lt;p&gt;For instance, in the version of Cinderella by Charles Perrault - the version that we all know - one of the evil stepsisters was advised by her mother to cut off her toes in order to fit the slipper. She almost fools the prince, but doves warn him about blood dripping from her foot. He then goes back again and tries the slipper on the other sister. She cut off part of her heel in order to get her foot in the slipper, and again the prince is fooled. While riding with her to the king&amp;#x27;s castle, the doves alert him again about the blood on her foot.&lt;p&gt;How about that for a good night story?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>realo</author><text>Hum... Mozart&amp;#x27;s father (Leopold) took his son and daughter to a public hanging  ‘for a jolly treat one free afternoon’.&lt;p&gt;That would not work, nowadays...&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.spectator.co.uk&amp;#x2F;article&amp;#x2F;the-marvel-of-mozart-s-letters&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.spectator.co.uk&amp;#x2F;article&amp;#x2F;the-marvel-of-mozart-s-l...&lt;/a&gt;</text></comment>