"Hansel and Gretel" asks us to believe that two children abandoned by their parents, in the forest, will find a house made of Gingerbread. But these and other tales live on because they are dramatic metaphors of real life. "Hansel and Gretel", for instance, represents the two greatest fears of children - that they will be abandoned and that they will be imprisoned. Many adults, if they think back, will remember one of both of these fears, though usually in a less extreme version. We occasionally felt neglected, disregarded, unsupported - unloved. Or we felt overprotected, overindulged, intruded upon - loved, but in a very possessive, almost scary way.
"Hansel and Gretel" was essentially about a brave and clever girl who saves her brother from danger. For another, it was about a brave and clever boy who figures out how to find his and his sister's way home by marking their path through the woods. Some may view the tale as a warning against a greed for sweets.
No comments:
Post a Comment