Hansel and Gretel Pairs Discussion

1) Hansel and Gretel deals with themes of gluttony and privation (starvation or lack). These themes are rooted in a peasant culture where starvation was a real threat to human survival, and sometimes there was not enough for mom, dad, brother, and sister to eat. What are some other types of “hungers” or “cravings” the story might represent? 

2) Like Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel has two tale types. The second tale type is My Mother She Slew Me, My Father He Ate Me, which Alissa Nutting re-wrote as The Brother and the Bird. As strange as this tale may seem, dealing with the taboo topic of cannibalism, what real life terrors and problems might this fairy tale also be dealing with as a hyperbole (exaggeration or grotesque)?  

3) “Evil stepmothers” are a common trope in fairy tales—from Hansel and Gretel to Cinderella. Fathers, on the other hand, often fade into the background. Do you believe the father in Brother and the Bird and/or Hansel and Gretel is innocent? Why or why not? 

4) If Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel were to be told from the witches’ perspective, how might the story change? And, most importantly, how might our interpretation of the story’s meaning change?

*Make sure to use examples/evidence from the reading to support your answers.