Hansel and Gretel is a famous fairy tale, first recorded by the Brothers Grimm in the early 19th century. The story follows two siblings, Hansel and Gretel, who are abandoned in the forest by their father and stepmother. As they try to find their way home, they come across a house made of gingerbread, which is inhabited by a wicked witch. Hansel and Gretel manage to outsmart the witch and escape, finding their way back home and reuniting with their family.
In his book "The Uses of Enchantment," psychologist Bruno Bettelheim uses the story of Hansel and Gretel as a way to explore the psychological and emotional significance of fairy tales. Bettelheim argues that fairy tales serve as a way for children to work through their fears and anxieties, as well as to understand and make sense of the world around them.
In the case of Hansel and Gretel, Bettelheim sees the story as a way for children to confront and cope with feelings of abandonment and insecurity. The siblings are abandoned by their parents, and must navigate a dark and dangerous forest on their own. This can be a scary and unsettling experience for children, and Hansel and Gretel's journey serves as a way for them to process these feelings and come to terms with their own vulnerability.
Bettelheim also notes the importance of the wicked witch in the story. The witch represents the external forces that can be menacing and frightening to children, and Hansel and Gretel's victory over her can be seen as a way for children to feel more in control of their own lives.
Overall, Bettelheim's interpretation of Hansel and Gretel highlights the important role that fairy tales play in the psychological development of children. Through their exploration of themes such as abandonment, insecurity, and the unknown, fairy tales provide a way for children to cope with and make sense of the complex and often confusing emotions that come with growing up. So, the story of Hansel and Gretel is not just a simple children's story, but rather a deeply meaningful and powerful tale that can help children navigate the challenges of growing up and finding their place in the world.
Gretel & Hansel (2020)
The mother goes as far as threatening to hack Gretel to bits if they don't leave immediately. Like the Grimms, DickĀ ens hailed the "simplicity," "purity," and "innocent extravagance" of fairy tales, yet also praised the tales as powerful instruments of constructive soĀ cialization: "It would be hard to estimate the amount of gentleness and mercy that has made its way among us through these slight channels. Diane Wood Middlebrook, Anne Sexton Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991 336-37. The witch welcomes the children to eat them. Gretel starts to see a vision of the Enchantress and also hears children's voices guiding her somewhere, but before she finds out what's going on, she wakes up in her bed.
Bruno Bettelheimās Interpretation of Hansel and Gretel
They get frustrated when they find nothing until Gretel spots some mushrooms. At the crossroads she met a wolf, who asked: "Where are you going? Each tale type is preceded by an introducĀ tion, and annotations are provided throughout. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, Karen E. Atwood, "Grimms' Remembered," 291-92. However, the suffering and hardships make the children bold and mature.
Summary of hansel and gretel by bruno bettelheim
CHARLES PERRAULT Little Red Riding Hoodf Once upon a time there was a village girl, the prettiest you can imagine. Margaret Atwood's novels and short stories also enact and critique the plots of fairy tales, showing the degree to which these stories inform our affective life, programming our responses to romance, defining our desires, and constructing our anxieties. Luciano Pavarotti, "Introduction," in Morttresor, Little Red Riding Hood. Yet both brothers must also have recognized that fairy tales were far from culturally innocent, for they extolled the "civilizing" power of the tales and conceived of their collection as a "manual of manners" for children. Making producĀ tive use of fairy tales by reacting to them, resisting them, and rewriting them rather than passively consuming them until they are "lying in the stomach, as real identity," Jane Eyre offers us a splendidly legible and luminous map of reading for our cultural stories.
Hansel and Gretel
When they are welcomed by the witch, they become happy. Facing many difficulties, they reach the house of witch. Employed as an "under-nurserymaid, to tidy the rooms, dust the chairs" 25 , she is subjected on a daily basis to reproaches, persecuted by two unpleasant "stepsisters" and by a "stepĀ mother" who has an "insuperable and rooted aversion" 23 to her, and excluded from the "usual restive cheer" 23 of holiday parties. This is why they eat the gingerbread house instead of using it for shelter. We ingested it as children whole, had its values and consciousness imprinted on our minds as cultural absolutes long before we were in fact men and women.
Hansel and Gretel, Bruno Bettelheim
Bruno Bettelheim Character : All are same Theme: It is written on the psychological point of view. Penzer John Lane: The Bodley Head, 1932 9. For a complete list of Norton Critical Editions, visit us on the World Wide Web at vvww. Jack describes the children and their parents as lower class and witch as upper class. Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson, The Types of the Folktales: A Classification and Bibliography Helsinki: Academia Scientiarum Fennica, 1961. Therefore, the house is the cultural symbol of a mother who feeds her children. In our society also, the stepmothers are generally selfish, cruel and jealous.
