Fairy Tales: Hansel and Gretel

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Alex Gebben
Professor Ayres
Intro to Research Writing
30 September 2013
Hansel and Gretel How would you feel if you knew that the story you have been told as a kid over and over again means something completely irrelevant to what you thought the story was about; because you 're about to find out. The story, “Hansel and Gretel”, has been a classic fairy tale for a very long time, and has been told over and over again. There are many different versions of this story, and it has been altered through many years of retelling it. There has been debate whether fairy tales have underlying meanings between the lines, or are just stories to entertain and pass along through generations. It is also wondered if the original tellers of the tales intentionally created meanings in the stories, or if that is just how they are interpreted after the centuries that fairy tales have been around. Either way, the interpretations that have been made about the meanings of fairy tales can be very applicable for a child 's development. Because of the modifications to the mother and the stream happened to “Hansel and Gretel”, the meanings and lessons behind the modern story have changed, and as a result, have become less effective. In Disney 's version of the tale, some significant events are left out that have strong meanings behind them. In Grimm 's tale, the children were abandoned in the woods by their father. But the children were able to hear their parents plan the night before. This allowed Hansel and Gretel to develop a plan to try and survive in the woods. “It is the child 's anxiety and deep disappointment when Mother is no longer willing to meet all his oral demands which leads him to believe that suddenly Mother has become unloving, selfish, and rejecting” (Bettelheim 159). Even with the knowledge of their parents trying to starve them, and the disappointment of an unloving mother, they realize they
Gebben 2 have to return home or else they would starve to death. The meaning in the children getting deserted is that it helped them build their problem solving skills, and to think independently, which comes in handy later in the story as well. Most children would not be productive and figure out a way to get home. They would be more worried about how their parents abandoned them and if that means that they do not love them anymore. This hits children very hard because at that stage in life they have a very strong attachment to their parents, typically the mother. The loss of a loving mother to a child is devastating for them. Hansel and Gretel realized that for their survival, they had to be mentally strong and independent while the thought of their unloving and rejecting parents remained in the back of their minds. According to ABC Television, back when “Hansel and Gretel” was written, the abandonment rate of children was about 20%. The scenario described above is an accurate representation of what could have actually happened hundreds of years ago. In Disney 's version of the tale, the children got lost in the woods on their own. It was never their mother 's intention for them to get lost. She was just punishing them for dancing and laughing while they were supposed to be doing their chores. This takes away from the meaning because on top of not having to cope with the stress of unloving parents, they were unable to find their way home. Not only does it fail to portray this meaning, but it actually makes the children look less independent and worse at solving problems. It only mentions their failed attempt at getting home by making a bread crumb path, and leaves out the successful pebble path. Therefore, it does not include the child 's independent growth, which is a big part of the meaning in the beginning of the story when it comes to child development. Disney changed this part of the story to make it more kid friendly. No child wants to hear about how someone their age was abandoned by their parents to get eaten alive by wild animals. Although they made the film child friendly, they take away from the original version 's life lessons. More life lessons are also left out towards the end of the tale. Another main part of the story that is missing from Disney 's version occurs towards the end.
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Instead of having to find their way back home after defeating the old witch, their parents come and find them. The reason that this is important is because on their way home in Grimm 's version, their child development is also portrayed. Throughout the whole story, Hansel and Gretel are never apart from each other. They get lost together, they go to the witch 's house together, and they escape the house together. But Disney 's version ends short and cuts out the children 's journey back home. On their way home in Grimm 's version, they are faced with an obstacle. There is a large stream that they cannot get across on their own. Gretel takes charge and comes up with the idea of riding a duck across to the other side. They were going to ride on it together to get to the other side, but Gretel thinks critically and realizes that the duck might not be able to hold both of them. So she decides that it would be better to ride to the other side one at a time. This is important because it shows the children are becoming capable of doing things on their own. The whole story they have done everything together until it came to this point. The meaning behind this is that they are using their reasoning to make informed decisions more and more. The river can be looked at as a gap between the old, immature kids and more experienced, mature children. Once they have crossed it, they became wiser, more independent, and rich. The river is very symbolic in this tale when it comes to showing the difference between the children in the beginning and what they have become throughout their journey. All the events that Hansel and Gretel went through that led up to the river made them stronger, more mature people than in the beginning. After everything they 've gone through, they learn to be independent and do things themselves. The meaning of the river is their gateway to adulthood, and the result of the dangers they have faced together. Because Disney 's version skipped this part completely, it doesn 't show the meaning of what facing challenges and overcoming them can do to a person. Disney 's version makes it sound like after they are found by their parents, they have not had any personal growth, and end up just as they had started. They show this by leaving out the child 's trial and error episode with both the
Gebben 4 breadcrumbs and pebbles; and also leaving out how they learned to leave each other in the end when taking the duck across the pond by themselves. This takes away from what children can learn from this story. They can learn that overcoming obstacles and hardships in their life can form who they are, and make them stronger, more mature people. On the other hand, not everyone believes that these meanings are legitimate. There will always be opposing viewpoints to almost any topic someone can think of. Some people believe that there are no intellectual meanings in between the lines of fairy tales. They do not think that someone could make up a story like this and incorporate the underlying meanings. These fairy tales were first told in the 1800 's. The information about child growth and development available and confirmed back then is miniscule compared to what we know now. So how could someone be able to incorporate meanings about child growth and development into a fairy tale? And how could they accomplish this before it was even written down? The debate whether fairy tales have meanings behind them or not will always be present. Interpretations can be so broad, that it is hard to tell whether that was the purpose of the story or not. Anybody could have interpreted the tales in any way they wanted to, but that does not mean that it is the correct interpretation. So how would we ever know if an interpretation of a fairy tale is correct or completely wrong? When it comes to fairy tales, meanings are definitely present and are up for interpretation. Disney did a great job of taking away some of these meanings and making the tale into merely a story of entertainment while Grimm 's version had several unlike meanings that are up for interpretation. Different people will interpret them in separate ways, and there already are tons of different interpretations of the many versions of the tale. Because of the changes made to the fairy tale, the meanings will be less significant and effective. Why Disney took out these key events in the tale is a very good question that may always be unanswered. But either way, children around the world will still continue to enjoy these fairy tales.
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Works Cited
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Vintage . A Division of Random House, 1989. Print.
ABC. "Re-enchantment."ABC Television | Re-enchantment. American Broadcasting Company, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. .

Cited: Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Vintage . A Division of Random House, 1989. Print. ABC. "Re-enchantment."ABC Television | Re-enchantment. American Broadcasting Company, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2013. .