Customer Reviews

Hansel and Gretel

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First off, I really like the story of "Hansel and Gretel." It's one of the few fairy tales I remember reading when I was little. Recently, I wrote a paper on "Hansel and Gretel" and found that there is a lot of negativity surrounding it. Researchers object to the portrayal of women as cold-blooded killers and the father as weak and useless. In the story, the evil stepmother easily dominates her weak husband and forces him to go along with her scheme to abandon the children. It is believed that the Grimms included this in their story as a warning to men to watch out for domineering women. Another point scholars make is the fact that both the evil stepmother and wicked witch are both fatally punished for their treatment of Hansel and Gretel, but the father gets off scott free. In fact, the father is allowed to reap the benefits when his children return home with their arms filled with riches. Now, I don't fully agree with everything scholars have said about "Hansel and Gretel" because I found the story to be based somewhat on actual facts.
When the Grimms wrote this book, there had been many famines that wiped out entire villages. Also, women often died during childbirth, leaving the father to raise the kids on his own or remarry. The harsh conditions drove people to desperate measures and it was not uncommon for families to sacrifice a child or other loved one to ensure their own survival; especially stepmothers who were taking care of children that were not their own. I do agree that the story does not portray a normal, happy family but most fairy tales don't. On the other hand, I don't believe the Grimms' intention was to demean their characters, but to reveal the harsh realities of their time. In any case, "Hansel and Gretel" is still a good book, a classic fairy tale, and definitely worth a read.

Much has been said about "Hansel and Gretel", and this fairy tale has its share of controversy , but my review focuses on the version translated by Anthea Bell and illustrated by Dorothee Duntze. The story itself is very dark - two young siblings, Hansel and Gretel are left abandoned in the forest by their weak father who is under the domineering influence of his second wife, the children's stepmother. The two siblings then find a wonderful house deep in the forest, made of gingerbread and other edible delights. Lured by the promise of shelter and food, the pair are taken in by an old woman who turns out to be a wicked witch fond of gobbling up young children. There is a happy ending as in most fairy tales, but the telling of the story certainly has its dark parts that gave me nightmares as a child [it'll be awhile before I read this particular fairy tale to my young daughter].

The illustrations in this version are by Dorothee Duntze who credibly captures all the fears and loneliness experienced by Hansel and Gretel, as well as the ugliness of the wicked stepmother and the witch [who appears almost demonic]. This particular version is worth adding to one's library if you're a fan and collector of fairy tales in their various editions, but I'd not recommend this to younger children [5 and under] if only because of the dark overtones and the scary illustrations.