Hansel and Gretel Archetype Analysis

 The Grimm Brothers first documented this tale in the early 1800s.Originally from German origins, parts of the story resemble those from French and Swedish folklore as well.  Since then it has become adapted and more disney-fied. In the original story, both the wood cutter and the wife are the biological parents of the children. Therefore, they share the blame of abandoning the children. Now, some of the adaptations include the mother being the step-mother of the children, and the father opposing the step-mother to leave the children in the woods. It has been adapted to opera and there is also many television renditions of this story including a Looney Tunes short named Bewitched Bunny.

Our story begins with a little house surrounded by the forest. The forest is a symbol of evil, the feeling of being lost, and the feeling of fear. Already this beginning foreshadows evil and helplessness. But like all Fairy Tales this one has the happily ever after as well. Although there are no kings, queens, princes, or princesses we can relate the characters to the traits royalty in Fairy Tales possess. The father is old, and noble struggling to provide for his family and can be considered as the King in this story. The step-mother, like in all the other fairy tales, is evil and manipulative. She resents the children because they are not hers.

"No, wife," said the man, "I will not do that. How can i bear to leave my children alone in the forest?" The husband answers when his wife tells him to take the children into the woods and leave them there. After much pestering the wife convinces him to take the children into the forest.

Hansel, also the prince of the story, is smart. He is calm an collected as he overhears his parents planning to leave them in the forest. Gretel, on the other hand, is a little more than worried acting the part of the damsel in distress.

We are brought back into the forest that leaves us with the feeling of evil, fear, and being lost. This is the initiation for the two children as they cross the threshold into a more dangerous world. The siblings wake up in the forest after being left by their parents. Hansel comforts Gretel reassuring her that as soon as the moon comes up, they will be able to see the pebbles that lead back to their home. And as expected, the step-mother is not happy that the children are back and convinces the woodcutter to leave them in the woods again. This can be considered as the road of trials where the children find their way home only to be sent back to the forest. Hansel can not gather pebbles as he did the first time because the door is locked so he uses his piece of bread to make a trail. When the time comes, there is no bread trail because the birds have eaten the crumbs forcing Hansel and Gretel to wander the woods in search of their home. Instead of their house they find a house made of gingerbread, sugar, and candy( the house serves as the temptress, luring the children to their demise). They feast on the house unaware of the cannibalistic witch waiting for them. This is the innermost cave because the children are in the house of their greatest trial in the quest to get back home to their father.

She embodies the typical witch or troll in the stories. She is evil, ugly, and a cannibal. She locks up Hansel in a cage and commands that Gretel do the chores and feel Hansel so that he will be plump when she cooks him. Hansel, displaying his wit, holds out a bone to the witch when she wants to see how fat he's become. When the witch, out of frustration declares that she will eat Hansel tonight, Gretel, shedding her damsel in distress skin, pushes the witch into the oven. Together Hansel and Gretel take jewels to support their family, and leave in search of their house. They cross a body of water( a feat most related with the characteristics of the hero's journey) on the back of a white swan. The color white represents pureness and goodness. They are welcomed back to their house with the news that their step-mother had died. This is the reintegration and return to society. Many people believe that the death of the step-mother and the death the witch are linked. In some versions of the story, the witch and the step-mother are one in the same.

And so they lived happily ever after.