Sharing Joy and Sorrow (Grimm)
Division into chapters is editorial.
The abusive tailors first arrest and punishment
A quarrelsome tailor lived with his wife, who despite her good nature and industrious character, could never satisfy her husband's demands. The tailor constantly found fault with everything she did, expressing his displeasure through verbal abuse and physical violence.
His wife endured this treatment with patience, maintaining her pious and hardworking disposition despite the constant mistreatment.
Eventually, the authorities learned of the tailor's abusive behavior toward his wife. They decided to intervene and summoned him to face consequences for his actions.
Whatever she did, he was not satisfied, but grumbled and scolded, and knocked her about and beat her... they had him summoned, and put in prison in order to make him better.
The promise of peace and brief respite
The tailor was imprisoned and kept on a diet of bread and water as punishment for his violent behavior. After serving his sentence, he was released but only after making a solemn promise to the authorities. The court required him to change his ways completely and treat his wife with respect.
He was forced... to promise not to beat his wife any more, but to live with her in peace, and share joy and sorrow with her, as married people ought to do.
For a period, the tailor appeared to honor his commitment, and the household experienced a temporary peace. His wife likely hoped that her husband had genuinely reformed and that their marriage could finally become harmonious.
Creative cruelty and renewed complaints
However, the tailor's reform proved to be temporary. His quarrelsome and surly nature soon reasserted itself, but now he faced a dilemma. Since he had promised not to beat his wife, he needed to find alternative methods to express his cruelty and maintain control over her.
And because he dared not beat her, he would seize her by the hair and tear it out... he ran after her with his yard-measure and scissors, and chased her about.
The tailor's new methods of abuse proved just as terrifying as his previous violence. When his wife tried to escape his grasp by running into the yard, he pursued her relentlessly, hurling his professional tools and whatever objects he could find at her. His behavior became a twisted game where he derived pleasure from her fear and pain, laughing when his projectiles found their mark and becoming enraged when they missed.
When he hit her he laughed, and when he missed her, he stormed and swore. This went on so long that the neighbors came to the wife's assistance.
The situation became so severe that it could no longer be ignored by the community. The neighbors witnessed the ongoing abuse and decided they could not stand by while the woman suffered.
They intervened to help the wife and reported the tailor's continued abusive behavior to the authorities, leading to his second summons before the magistrates.
Twisted logic and final judgment
When brought before the court again, the tailor was confronted with his violation of the previous agreement. The judge questioned how he could claim to have kept his promise when his wife continued to bring serious complaints against him.
The tailor responded with a cunningly twisted interpretation of his promise, claiming technical compliance with the court's orders.
Dear gentlemen... I have kept my word, I have not beaten her, but have shared joy and sorrow with her.
He elaborated on his perverted logic, explaining that his hair-pulling was merely an attempt to groom his wife, and his throwing of objects was meant as well-intentioned correction. Most disturbingly, he claimed to have fulfilled the requirement to share joy and sorrow by taking pleasure in her pain and feeling sorry when he missed his targets.