| Matilda Grimm | |
|---|---|
| Fairy-tale Detective | |
 | |
| Species: | Human |
| Gender: | Female |
| Age: | 50 at time of death (1928-1978) |
| Family: | Peter Grimm † (Father)
Alison Grimm I † (Mother) Chloe Grimm † (Sister) Edwin Grimm † (Brother) Basil Grimm † (Brother) Relda Grimm † (Sister-in-law) Jacob Grimm II (Nephew) Henry Grimm (Nephew) Veronica Grimm (Niece-in-law)) Sabrina Grimm (Great Niece) Daphne Grimm (Great Niece) Basil Grimm Jr. (Grand Nephew) Puck (Great Nephew-in-law)) Alison Grimm (Great Niece once removed) Emma Grimm (Great Niece once removed) Great-Nieces/Nephews once removed Josef Grimm † (Grandfather) Anna Grimm † (Grandmother) Trixie Grimm † (Great Aunt) Vesta Grimm † (Great Aunt) Spaulding Grimm † (Great Grandfather) Jane Ella Grimm † (-Great Grandmother) Douglas Grimm II † (Great Uncle once removed) Douglas Grimm I † (Great-Great Grandfather) Delores Grimm † (Great-Great Grandmother) Dessie Grimm † (Great Aunt twice removed) Thomas Grimm † (Great Uncle twice removed) Wilhelm Grimm † (Great-Great-Great Grandfather) Henrietta Grimm †(Great-Great-Great Grandmother) Jacob Grimm † (Great Uncle thrice removed) |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Appearances: | The Unusual Suspects (mentioned) The Problem Child (mentioned) |
- “You could say she was one of the few fairy-tale specialists in this family.”
- ~ Granny Relda about Matilda Grimm, from The Unusual Suspects
Matilda Grimm was the sister of Basil Grimm and the great-aunt of Sabrina, Daphne, and Basil the Second. Matilda was an expert in the story of Rumpelstiltskin and documented facts and her own theories about the Everafter in her book Rumpelstiltskin's Secret Nature. This book provided vital information for the plot in The Unusual Suspects when Rumpelstiltskin himself aimed to dig under the barrier.
Matilda was mentioned again in The Problem Child when Relda Grimm explained the story of herself and Basil Grimm. Relda reports that after the death of Basil's brother, Edwin, Matilda wrote to Basil during his nearly two-year-long honeymoon, insisting that he returned to Ferryport Landing. A year later, before the birth of Jacob Grimm, Matilda died of pneumonia.
Rumpelstiltskin's Secret Nature[]
- “It looked as if months of work had gone into the analysis of every single nuance of his Rumpelstiltskin's personality, powers, and actions.”
- ~ description of Matilda Grimm's "Rumpelstiltskin's Secret Nature", from The Unusual Suspects
Matilda wrote a pamphlet of facts and her own theories on Rumpelstiltskin, her fairy-tale specialty. The book was "filled with tiny, neat handwriting," and what Sabrina Grimm, Matilda's descendant, thought of as "a dry read." Matilda recounted "at least two dozen" versions of the famous story in which a woman was ordered to spin wheat into gold and begged Rumpelstiltskin to help her. Rumpelstiltskin obliged, only if the woman agreed to give him her first-born child in the future. After the woman married and gave birth, she demanded that she kept her child. Rumpelstiltskin gave her one last chance, saying that he would end the deal if she guessed his name. Of course, he thought she would never guess it. However, the woman succeeded, making Rumpelstiltskin so angry he ripped himself in half.
However, Matilda reported that there was a different and less popular version of the ending, too. In the alternate ending, Rumpelstiltskin literally blows up like a bomb, killing everyone within a mile.
"The Power of Rumpelstiltskin"[]
Matilda had dozens of theories of the little man, and one of them was the source of his power. In the chapter "The Power of Rumpelstiltskin," Matilda theorized that he was similar to a "walking battery" by storing energy and converting it into destructive power. This theory would explain how Rumpelstiltskin blew up in the alternate ending of the story.
Post Mortem[]
Matilda died of pneumonia, but her memory lived on through many, including her book.
Her belief that Rumpelstiltskin was "a walking battery" was proven true in book 2, and it was revealed that Rumpelstiltskin fed on emotions to fuel his energy.
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