Hansel and Gretel in the First Paragraph, Essay

Hansel and Gretel

In the first paragraph, Bruno Bettleheim discusses the very real predicament of a man and woman without money who have little children to care for and little mouths to feed. He states, "Even on this surface level, the folk fairy tale conveys an important, although unpleasant, truth: poverty and deprivation do improve man's character, but rather make him more selfish, less sensitive to the sufferings of others, and thus prone to embark on evil deeds" (273). When one is need, the instinct is to feel concern more for oneself than others, even if those others include your children or other relatives. Though parents are supposed to have a protective instinct towards their children, this instinct can be limited when the extermination of the self is imminent.

Children are complex psychological creatures. In "Hansel and Gretel," the children begin the story in a crisis.They are cognizant that their parents are plotting ways to be rid of them. Until this time of trauma, the parents had been fully able to provide for their children. It is only in recent times that things have become dire. With this turmoil in the household, the children pick up on the tension and assume the worst scenario possible, in this case that the parents will starve the children (273). Bettleheim says the mother is more culpable in the child's feelings of abandonment. The child is aggravated "when Mother is no longer willing to meet all his oral demands which leads him to believe that suddenly Mother has become unloving, selfish, rejecting" (273). It is then incumbent on the child to determine their destiny and assume the identity that parent has shirked.

In taking on this role or responsibility, Hansel and Gretel effectively assume.....