How did the death of Philipp Wilhelm Grimm affect the Grimm family?

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The Brothers Grimm — Brothers Grimm Jacob (right) and Wilhelm Grimm, oil portrait by Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann, 1855; in the National-Galerie, Berlin.

The death of Philipp Wilhelm Grimm in 1796 brought significant social hardships to his family. As a lawyer and town clerk, his passing left the family in a precarious position, which was further compounded by the later death of their mother, Dorothea Grimm, in 1808.1

Following their mother's death, the responsibility of caring for his four brothers and one sister fell upon 23-year-old Jacob Grimm. Despite these early challenges, the brothers pursued their education in law at the University of Marburg, where they were eventually influenced by scholars and writers who steered them toward the literary research and folklore studies for which they are now world-renowned.12