I certainly remember the children eating part of the house from my childhood version of the tale. It implied a sense of greed, and the witch's attempted devouring of them was a sort of repercussion.
In this modern version, the children's suspicions could be verified (if not exacerbated) by the aunt's reaction to their eating parts of the house. In this version it is the actions of the children that set into action the negative results (i.e. their wandering through the woods). Their criticism of her eccentricity could spur just that in this edition.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
More on Hansel and Gretel...
The aunt could scare Hansel and Gretel without intending to do so because it had been so long since she had been around children. When she joked about fattening up the children they did not understand that she meant them no harm. However after a while, the aunt started to get offended by Hansel and Gretel's persistent unfriendliness and whining and complaining. Afterall she really did have their best interests in mind. So finally when they once again threatened to run away back to their parent's house she told them to do just that. The aunt wished Hansel and Gretel good luck finding their way back through the vast forest that many wild animals called home. Hansel and Gretel were so frightened of their aunt and longed to see their parents so much that they took their aunt up on the offer. The children set off from their aunt's house with nothing but one slice of bread each, and were determined to make it back to their parent's home one way or another. Hansel had one trick up his sleeve though - he had thought to drop stones along the way from his parent's house to his aunt's. Though some time had passed since then, Hansel and Gretel still managed to follow the stone markers all the way back to their parent's house. In this way they learned independence and were able to live with their parents once again, with some help from their aunt's treasure too, of course.
Hansel/Gretel version with more details!
Here are my added details to this starting story:
During a time of famine and extreme poverty, a mother and father sent their two children, Hansel and Gretel, to a relative's house who could care for them. This relative was Hansel and Gretel's aunt - a single, older sister of the father. She was independently weathly having inherited money from her deceased husband, and childless so taking care of the children proved to be quite a task for her. Her house however was beautiful, ornate and odd with its gingerbread trimming and gables. Because of the house, the children thought their stay could be pretty cool. They were taken care of very well and given good food - since the aunt's first reaction to how thing they were, was to say that she had to "fatten them up!" Of course the children were frightened of this distant relative whom they had only met once and had vague, slightly scary recollections of her. The house, although fairly-edible in decoration on the outside, was spooky to the children and caused them to have bad dreams. They missed their parents very much and did not understand why they had been sent away to live with their aunt. Because of their nightmares and confusion about their parents sending them away, the children begin to believe that their aunt is truly a witch. She's strange and eccentric from living by herself for so long. So, the children leave the gingerbread house and their witchy aunt and find their way back to their parents somehow. Because of their experiences at the house and their adventures trying to find their way home, they come up with this frightening story that they tell to their parents. The aunt however is obviously concerned about them and ends up sending some of her jewels, being a weathly woman, to the family to reassure the children of her goodnaturedness.
During a time of famine and extreme poverty, a mother and father sent their two children, Hansel and Gretel, to a relative's house who could care for them. This relative was Hansel and Gretel's aunt - a single, older sister of the father. She was independently weathly having inherited money from her deceased husband, and childless so taking care of the children proved to be quite a task for her. Her house however was beautiful, ornate and odd with its gingerbread trimming and gables. Because of the house, the children thought their stay could be pretty cool. They were taken care of very well and given good food - since the aunt's first reaction to how thing they were, was to say that she had to "fatten them up!" Of course the children were frightened of this distant relative whom they had only met once and had vague, slightly scary recollections of her. The house, although fairly-edible in decoration on the outside, was spooky to the children and caused them to have bad dreams. They missed their parents very much and did not understand why they had been sent away to live with their aunt. Because of their nightmares and confusion about their parents sending them away, the children begin to believe that their aunt is truly a witch. She's strange and eccentric from living by herself for so long. So, the children leave the gingerbread house and their witchy aunt and find their way back to their parents somehow. Because of their experiences at the house and their adventures trying to find their way home, they come up with this frightening story that they tell to their parents. The aunt however is obviously concerned about them and ends up sending some of her jewels, being a weathly woman, to the family to reassure the children of her goodnaturedness.
I think the story of hansel and gretel originates from a time of hunger and famine, as the story says, but children weren't sent away to die. The parents may have sent them to a relative who could care for them for a while, until the family had food again, but while at this relative's house, a single older woman, the children became scared or missed home, so they fled the house and made up a threatening and frightening story about the old woman so they wouldn't have to go back. The reward of the jewels in the end may be rewarding the family for staying together.
Assignment 1- 13.Jan 2009
Hi Brian, Caitlin, Lydia, Briana and Amy-Lee,
Below is a copy of the Assignment that was discussed in class today.
The first thing about this assignment that differentiates it from last week's, is the fact that it is going to be TEAMWORK!
Given that you have watched ,,The Juniper Tree'' and attended today's discussion of what this movie portrays, try to, as a group, come up with what Keene's version of ,,Hansel and Gretel", would be. In what sort of a world could this story have been written?
We could assume that the kids are 11 and 13 and the witch is ,,a lone woman'' who lives in a hut in the forest.
Looking forward to all your version of ,,Hansel and Gretel"!
Ann
Below is a copy of the Assignment that was discussed in class today.
The first thing about this assignment that differentiates it from last week's, is the fact that it is going to be TEAMWORK!
Given that you have watched ,,The Juniper Tree'' and attended today's discussion of what this movie portrays, try to, as a group, come up with what Keene's version of ,,Hansel and Gretel", would be. In what sort of a world could this story have been written?
We could assume that the kids are 11 and 13 and the witch is ,,a lone woman'' who lives in a hut in the forest.
Looking forward to all your version of ,,Hansel and Gretel"!
Ann
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