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| Hansel and Gretel (Rackham, 1909) |
In their current incarnation, these clever siblings are box-office darlings.
Starring in the hit movie Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
has enabled them to bring their good-trumps-evil message to a whole new generation of fans.
The Tommy Wirkola/Dante
Harper script features some new twists to the old tale. Let's just say that if you thought Grimm was grim, you ain't seen nothing yet. Hansel and Gretel are no longer just shoving one wicked witch into an oven; they are now going after the whole darn coven.
These twists seem to offset the allegedly Christian message that was infused into later editions of the Grimm Brothers' story.
Anna Lowery, in the blog Fairy Tales and
Fantasy Literature, tells us that "Hansel and Gretel" is a coming-of-age fable. She draws this conclusion from psychologist Bruno Bettelheim's analysis of "the children's
development." From Hansel and Gretel's saga, Bettelheim had deduced that "children must not regress, but should be
encouraged to fulfill their capacity for a greater psychological and intellectual existence."
Although hunting down witches might fulfill a capacity for violence and revenge, it does not necessarily fulfill
a capacity for merciful love. Nevertheless, Bettelheim believed that the white bird which led Hansel and Gretel to the witch's house is a "Christian symbol" - and that
the Brothers Grimm furthered that symbolism with dialogue such as this:
God will not forsake us… The Lord will protect
us.
Although the white bird had led the children into dangerous circumstances, it also symbolized "the importance of faith and God's guidance in life's most difficult and uncertain times."
Resources
http://fairytalesfantasy.umwblogs.org/2009/09/03/ding-dong-the-wicked-witch-is-mom/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansel_and_Gretel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansel_and_Gretel:_Witch_Hunters
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