In "Hansel and Gretel" and "Snow White" there are many comparisons that arise
within the two stories. In "Hansel and Gretel" the children's presence creates hardships
for the parents, and because of this, life turns problematic for the children. In "Snow
White" it is not any external difficulty such as poverty, but the relations between her and
her parents which create the problematic situation. In "Hansel and Gretel" and "Snow
White" the mother insists that the children must be gotten rid of. The children are brought
into the forest and abandoned from their parents.
The story "Hansel and Gretel" begins realistically. The parents are poor, and they
worry about how they will be able to take care of their children. Together at night they
discuss their predicament, and how they can deal with it. Even taken on this surface level,
the folk fairy tale conveys an important, although unpleasant, truth.
Cutlery for children. Detail showing fairy-tale sc...
Arthur Rackham, illustration to Hansel and Gretel
Illustration by Theodor HosemannPoverty and
deprivation do not 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. Therefore,
in Hansel and Gretel the children's presence creates hardships for the parents, and
because of this, life turns problematic for the children. In "Snow White" it is not any
external difficulty such as poverty, but the relations between her and her parents which
create the problematic situation. Snow White's stepmother begins to feel threatened by
Snow White's beauty and becomes jealous.
The ready acceptance of the hunter figure as a suitable image of a strong and
protective father figure, as opposed to the many ineffectual fathers such as the one in
"Hansel and Gretel", must relate to associations which attach themselves to this figure.