Hansel and Gretel: A Discussion - Essay Example

Grade 19 November, Hansel and Gretel: A discussion The fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, was compiled and written by the Grimm brothers. It was published in the year 1812. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were Germans and had a comfortable life until their father died while they were still young. Due to the unfortunate incident, they, along with their mother, had to move to a smaller house. In spite of the destitution, both brothers went on to study law at the University of Marlburg. During their years at the University of Marlburg, the Grimm brothers thought of making folk stories as their career and embarked on the journey that led them to fame. The story is based on poverty and revolves around two siblings; Hansel (brother) and Gretel (sister). Like most of the fairy tales, Hansel and Gretel also have some key issues and these issues are hunger, intelligence, fear, bravery, and greed. Their father is very poor and can hardly earn livelihood for his family. On the insistence of his wife, the woodcutter half-heartedly leaves both his children in the woods. But since Hansel is clever and had overheard his parents’ conversation, he collects some white shiny pebbles and the day when their father leads them to the forest, he drops the pebbles at intervals so that they may be able to retrace their way back home. So the woman (their mother) again persuades her husband (the woodcutter) to once again leave them in the forest. This time Hansel is unable to collect the pebbles and uses bread crumbs. But unfortunately, the bread crumbs are eaten by the birds and they are lost in the jungle. During their search for the way to their home, they happen to reach a house made of bread, cakes, and sugar. Actually they are led to the house by a magical bird of a witch. The witch wants to make Hansel fatter so that she could have a nice meal out of him. But Gretel acts smart and throws the witch into the fire and frees her brother Hansel from the clutches of the witch. Both children gather the precious stones kept in the house of the witch and again start searching for their way back home. We find a mention of a swan in the story that helps the children in crossing a river. Ultimately the children reach home only to find that the woman is no more. So they live happily ever after with their father. The story of Hansel and Gretel acts as a motivating agent for children. It provides examples of what children should do in situations that seem to be uncontrollable and risky. It encourages children to keep calm, be patient, and use their intelligence in situations like this. Hansel and Gretel went beyond their oral fixations and did what was best for them. Bruno Bettelheim endorses this view and states that, “When the children give in to untamed impulses, as symbolized by their uncontrolled voraciousness, they risk being destroyed” (Bettelheim 162). Since the woodcutter cannot earn livelihood for the whole family, the children are left in the jungle and as the children gulp down the cake and sugar from the magic house, they provoke the witch’s fury upon them. But in a way this can be considered to be a good thing for Hansel and Gretel because after their encounter with the witch, both of them are better prepared to face the world. In Bruno Bettelheim’s words, “To survive, they must develop initiative and realize that their only recourse lies in intelligent planning and acting” (Bettelheim 162). The Grimm brothers have used some interesting examples to show the intelligence of Hansel and Gretel. There are at least four such instances in the story; when Hansel gathers white shiny pebbles to use as path trackers, when Hansel uses a bone instead of his finger to the witch to feel (his finger), when Gretel pushes the witch into the oven by tricking her, and when Gretel insists to cross the river one by one on the duck’s back. Another educative message that the story gives is that greed leads to destruction. The wicked witch was very greedy and wanted to eat Hansel and later Gretel as well. But fate had something else in store for her. On the contrary, Hansel and Gretel showed perseverance in their actions and were able to gather wealth to lead a happy life thereafter. The story also teaches the student that ‘what you sow so shall you reap’. This refers to the witch who had cannibalistic plans of eating them and in turn has to burn herself (Stromer). The story starts with the father abandoning his children because he cannot feed them. This replicates the situation in the medieval Europe when parents abandoned their children due to hunger and poverty (Hamilton). In this story, the woodcutter is depicted as a henpecked husband and the woman, his wife, is depicted as a cruel woman who doesn’t care for her children. This prompts us to believe that the woman is not the real mother of Hansel and Gretel. There have been many fairy tales based on the abandonment of children. One other fairy tale that compares to this one is named ‘Juan and Maria’. The story was written by Dean S. Fansler. Like Hansel and Gretel, this story is also based on hunger and poverty. But unlike Hansel and Gretel, the father is shown as the bad character. Due to his insistence, the mother has to send her children into the jungle. Another difference between the two stories is that in Hansel and Gretel, the children meet a wicked witch who wants to eat them but in Juan and Maria, the children are taken care of by an old kind lady. In Hansel and Gretel, the children return home with lots of wealth, whereas in Juan and Maria the children return home as prince and princess. In Hansel and Gretel, the woman is dead and has no chance to repent but in Juan and Maria, the father repents on seeing his son and daughter being so lucky in life. Both stories have the message of bravery for the children. If children are brave, nothing is impossible for them. Another similar story is ‘Pitong’ in which a woodcutter has seven sons. This again is based on hunger and poverty. The difference in this story is that both father and mother agree on abandoning their children. The youngest one is the smarter one and helps his elder brothers throughout the story until in the end when they all return home with magical powers. In this story the children are also left twice in the jungle because after the first time, they return home using the white pebbles that they had left while going. There is also another version of Hansel and Gretel which is claimed to be a true story. Michael Fishman claims that in the true version, the story is of the World War II period. A Jewish family is running from here to there to save themselves from the Nazis. When they are fed up of running, the wife (stepmother of the children) convinces the man (father of the children) to abandon the children in order to save their lives. The father helplessly agrees and the children are advised to take up new names; Hansel and Gretel. They are also advised not to divulge their true identity. From here the story goes on as discussed earlier in this paper. The children meet the witch and so on. In this version, the witch is named Magda (Fishman). Works Cited Bettelheim, Bruno. The uses of enchantment: The meaning and importance of fairy tales. New York: Knopf, 1976. Print. Fishman, Michael. Book Review: The true story of Hansel and Gretel, Mar. 2011. 19 Nov. 2012. Hamilton, Alex. Hansel and Gretel. William Randolph Hearst Foundation, 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. Stromer, Marie-Luise. Fairy tale analysis: Hansel and Gretel, Sep. 2010. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. Read More