Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. The story follows siblings Hansel and Gretel, who are abandoned in a forest by their parents due to poverty. They discover a house made of candy, owned by a wicked witch who intends to consume them. Through cleverness and bravery, the children outsmart the witch, leading to her demise, and ultimately return home with treasures she hoarded. The tale's origins trace back to various European folktales, reflecting themes of poverty, childhood adversity, and the supernatural. Over the years, "Hansel and Gretel" has inspired countless adaptations, including operas, films, and animated series, making it a timeless story that resonates across cultures. The tale has evolved through different retellings, maintaining its core elements while adapting to contemporary audiences. Today, it remains a significant part of literary and cultural history, captivating generations with its blend of adventure and moral lessons.
Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" is a fairy tale first published by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1812. The tale involves young siblings Hansel and Gretel who are abandoned in the forest by their parents. The children discover a house made of bread and cake, but they become captives of its inhabitant, a wicked witch that intends to eat them. Hansel and Gretel outsmart the witch and escape. The roots of this story are traceable to various earlier folktales and beliefs. In the modern world, the tale remains popular and has been retold in many forms, including books, an opera, films, animations, and other media.
Story Summary (1812 Version)
In "Hansel and Gretel," a poor woodcutter lives with his wife and two children, Hansel and Gretel, near a huge forest. The family is poor and starving, so the mother decides the family cannot afford to keep the children. She convinces her reluctant husband to bring the siblings into the woods and abandon them there. Hansel overhears this plan. As the father leads the children into the woods, Hansel cleverly creates a trail using small white pebbles. He and Gretel later follow this trail back home.
Dismayed at the siblings' return, the mother insists that the father try again to get rid of them. Hesitantly, he does so. Hansel attempts to create a path of bread crumbs, but birds eat the crumbs. The starving children become lost in the woods and find a house made of bread, cake, and sugar. Overjoyed, they begin eagerly devouring parts of the house, soon attracting the attention of its owner, an extremely old little woman. The woman appears kindly and adopts the children, but she soon reveals herself to be a witch who plans to cook and eat the children. She places Hansel in a cage and attempts to fatten him in preparation for cannibalizing him. Meanwhile, she forces Gretel to be her domestic servant.
The witch prepares to boil Hansel and plans to lock Gretel in an oven for baking. Gretel senses the trap, however, and tricks the witch into entering the oven. Gretel locks the oven door, and the witch burns to death. The children then escape, pausing only long enough to grab handfuls of the precious jewels and pearls the witch had been hoarding.
The triumphant siblings return to the woods, searching for a way home. At last, they reach their destination and discover that their wicked mother has died. Their sympathetic father, however, is alive and overjoyed to see his son and daughter again. The family then uses the witch's treasure to live happily ever after.
Writing and Origins
The tale of Hansel and Gretel was first popularized in the collection Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales) by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the German folklorists known as the Brothers Grimm. In the first manuscript of the collection, dated 1810, the tale lacked many details, including the names of the protagonists, who were labeled only "Little Brother" and "Little Sister." By the time Kinder- und Hausmärchen was published in 1812, however, the writers had given the characters names and developed the tale significantly.
The collection proved popular and went through seven editions into the 1850s. The authors generally preserved the major story elements of "Hansel and Gretel" but added more imagery, character development, and small plot devices in new editions. For example, in the fourth edition, the children's mother was changed to a stepmother. By the seventh edition, the children cross a lake on the back of a helpful duck.
The Brothers Grimm attributed their strange tale to various stories they had heard around the German state of Hesse (also known as Hesse-Kassel) where they lived. Some scholars believe the brothers were primarily influenced by tales told by Henriette Dorothea (Dortchen) Wild, a woman from the region who married Wilhelm in 1825. Some of the themes in "Hansel and Gretel" reflect the threat of poverty and famine and the belief in malevolent witches that had long existed in many parts of Europe.
Various elements from "Hansel and Gretel" may also be traced back to earlier publications. For instance, the 1697 French fairy tale "Finette Cendron" by Marie-Catherine d'Aulnoy features three abandoned sisters who take up residence with a pair of ogres, which the girls ultimately destroy. Many other folktales dealt with children being forsaken and lost in the woods. Hansel's plan to secretly mark a trail for a return journey may have been inspired by the Greek mythical hero Perseus, who unwound a thread as he walked into a labyrinth so he would be able to find his way out later.
In Popular Culture
"Hansel and Gretel" proved a great success during its original publication run. The tale was translated into English as early as 1823 and began circulating throughout the world. It inspired many other authors and folklorists, including Ludwig Bechstein and August Stöber, to create similar tales. Generations of children in many countries grew up with the famous story of adversity and adventure.
In 1893, the fairy tale left the printed page and appeared on stage in a popular operatic adaptation of the same name written by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck. Since that time, the tale of Hansel and Gretel has never left the public consciousness. Written forms continued to flourish, and with the advent of new forms of media, "Hansel and Gretel" appeared as radio plays, motion pictures, and various television productions both live-action and animated.
These creations range from primitive silent short films of the late 1890s to big-budget action remakes of the early twenty-first century. Some adaptations remain true to the original text, while others recast the story with new elements for varying audiences. More than two hundred years since its first publication, "Hansel and Gretel" remains widespread and instantly recognizable in popular culture.
Bibliography
Ashliman, D.L. "Hansel and Gretel: A Comparison of the Versions of 1812 and 1857." University of Pittsburgh. University of Pittsburgh. 6 Nov. 2002. Web. 20 Jan. 2015. http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm015a.html
"Background to Hansel and Gretel." Online Guide to Implementation, Alberta Education. Government of Alberta. 2007. Web. 20 Jan. 2015. PDF. http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssbi/pdf/backgroundtohanselandgretel‗bi.pdf
Goldberg, Christine. "Hansel and Gretel." The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales & Fairy Tales, Vol. Two. Ed. Donald Haase. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2008. 438–441. Print.
Höfig, Willi. "Silent Films and Fairy Tales." The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales & Fairy Tales. Vol. 3. Ed. Donald Haase. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2008. 862. Print.
"Search Results for Hansel and Gretel." United States Copyright Office. United States Copyright Office. Web. 26 Jan. 2015. http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search‗Arg=hansel+and+gretel&Search‗Code=TALL&PID=BdiTtQZGfElxrCvDrmI3h9YLJM2&SEQ=20150126092036&CNT=25&HIST=1