If you are reading this blog, then you are probably familiar with the story of Hansel and Gretel. Do you remember how it ends?
While putting together my presentation, I asked many of the people in my life to tell me the story of Hansel and Gretel exactly as they remembered it. Most people remembered that it was the wicked step-mother's idea to abandon the children in the forest. They recalled that the father had a hand in the abandonment as well. No one left out the trail of bread crumbs. Everyone recalled the gingerbread house, the cannibalistic witch and her ultimate demise in the oven. But the part that almost everyone seemed to trip up on was the ending. No one could remember Hansel and Gretel, floating on the back of a duck, and returning home to the arms of their (now loving?) Father. My girlfriend's recollection stopped short at the burning of the witch. In her mind, Hansel and Gretel lived happily ever after in the gingerbread house, feasting on sweets forever and ever. My Mother remembers the reunion with the father, but has twisted it slightly (though significantly). In her mind, the father, after leaving the step-mother for good, searched for his children and found them finally in the gingerbread house where all three lived happily ever after. A good friend of mine remembered that the children returned home, but was sure that both the father and step-mother had died of starvation by the time they arrived.
In the Grimm's tale, not only do the children return home to their Father (the step-mother has in fact died for reasons unknown), they bring with them a treasure trove of jewels and pearls. The lesson here being that it pays to abandon your children (provided you know of a wealthy wicked witch who lives nearby). I think the reason there is so much trouble in remembering the ending to this tale is because it's simply not fair! It doesn't make any justifiable sense to us that a man so weak and capable of cruelty should receive such a happy ending. Why would the children return to this horrible man? Why should we believe this guy has learned his lesson? What happens when they run out of money or he decides he doesn't want to share it after all? More murder attempts?
It seems to me that, while the Grimms had no trouble killing off all the women in this story, they showed a lot of extra sympathy for the Father. When I told my girlfriend and my mother and my good friend that their endings were incorrect, they each asked, "How does it actually end?" To which I replied, "Don't worry about it… Your ending is better."
Leave a Reply