Is the foe the Witch or is it really the Parents?
Hansel and Gretel — Grimm brothers — Classic Fairy Tale
Image credit: https://storiestogrowby.org/story/hansel-and-gretel-bedtime-stories-for-kids/
Source credit: https://www.mordent.com/folktales/grimms/hng/hng.html
The classic fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, captures an adventure to escape the evil witch between two children named Hansel, the boy, and Gretal, the girl. In the beginning, the family, stepmother, and father included, struggles to feed Hansel and Gretel because of the lack of resources around them. Day by Day, the stepmother continually tells the father that the kids are a liability and need to be let go. As the father and stepmother take Hansel and Gretal to the woods to chop wood, the kids take a nap and once they are awake, there is no sign of the parents. Lost and alone, Hansel and Gretel lost track of the breadcrumbs they left to return home and now are hopelessly walking deeper into the woods. As Hansel and Gretel just lose hope, they see a gingerbread house with candy and walk towards it where an old lady disguised as a witch awaits them. Once they enter the house, a witch is there standing ready to capture these children then throwing Hansel into the cage and Gretel tied up. With a little bravery, Gretel is able to shove the witch into the oven, releasing Hansel, and running away from the witch.
Hansel and Gretel — Contemporary Fairy Tale
Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hansel_and_Gretel_(opera)
Source credit: https://bu.digication.com/whos_that_knocking_on_my_door_KatieCostello/Contemporary_Twist
This story is told from the perspective of Gretel. Similar to the classic fairy tale, the story begins with the mother (normally step-mother) trying to get rid of the siblings. So, the father begins by taking the kids out to the woods and leaving them. Gretel tells the readers how they follow Hansel’s trail until it just ends and they are now traveling aimlessly into the woods. Stumbling upon a house made of candy, Gretel describes the happiness inside her because of how hungry they are. Little did they know that a witch was there waiting to cook the children. After putting Hansel in the hut, Gretel describes the bravery she undertook to shove the witch. After which, she saved Hansel and they ran home, but Gretel describes how much she didn’t want to run home, but run further into the woods. This could pose a whole new idea of a story solely based on the adventures of the siblings, or just Gretel.
Nennillo and Nennella — Giambattista Basile — Similar to Hansel and Gretel
Source credit: https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0327.html#basile
The story of Nennillo and Nennella is actually quite similar to Hansel and Gretel. The story begins with the stepmother threatening the father that she’ll leave him if he doesn’t let go of his children. So, the father leads his children, Nennillo and Nennella, out to the woods where he expects them to take their last breaths. After traveling through the woods, the children stumble upon a prince who takes in the children as his own. Fast forward time, the father realizes his children are alive and the prince spares the father but scolds him for leaving his own children. The stepmother is punished and put in a cage until she dies. There is no use of any normalized magic or abstraction in this story, but the theme and plot are extremely similar to Hansel and Gretel.
Connection:
The three stories actually share a very similar introduction to the adventures that the characters undertake. The contemporary retelling of Hansel and Gretel follows the thoughts of Gretel, which is actually extremely intriguing. Seeing in the original story, I felt that the tale followed Hansel the most rather than Gretel. This is one of the major differences between the original and modern stories. Taking the non-fairy tale into consideration, the idea behind the father leaving his own children for the wife still stands and is the biggest similarity between the 3.Similarly, the stories are based on the adventures of the siblings who are abandoned by their family. Another major difference between the modern and original stories is the endings. The original story has a pretty bland ending whereas the modern version has the feelings and thoughts of Gretel which gives the reader more perspective. The idea of normalized magic is used between the 2 versions as well. The 3 stories relate in the sense that they follow children on an adventure to escape the betrayal of their own parents. Overall, I believe that the 3 stories share more similarities than differences in the sense of overcoming betrayal and a lasting adventure.
