Fairy TalesHistory and Interpretation

Vulnerability, Imagination, and the Transition from Childhood to Adulthood

History of Fairy TalesIt began with…Creation Cosmogenies!

Early man had certain priorities when it came to philosophizing about his life which revolved mostly around basic survival needs: what can I eat, where can I be safe, how can I make it to tomorrow, next year.

When they did have time to think about more existential questions, they asked “why am I here? Who made me? Who made the earth?”

As science and religion eventually came to answer many of those questions, humans began to focus their attentions elsewhere.

Myth vs. Fairy Tale

• A myth is a cultural story which is often used to explain something such as the reason we have a moon. As such, myths often have a religous basis.

• “Fairy Tales" (derived from the celtic) originally meant "tales of wonder"

What do you know about fairy tales? (5 min partner talk)

A fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, witches, giants, and talking animals) and enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events.

The term is also used to describe something blessed with unusual happiness, as in "fairy tale ending" (a happy ending) or "fairy tale romance," though not all fairy tales end happily.

Fairy tales with very similar plots, characters, and motifs are found spread across many different cultures.

Fairy tales also tend to take on the color of their location, through the choice of motifs, the style in which they are told, and the depiction of character and local color.

A fairy tale is a story (literary or folk) that the feeling or sensation of the supernatural or the mysterious.

But, and this is crucial: it is a story that happens in the past tense, and a story that is not tied to any specifics.

A story that names a specific "real" person is a legend (even if it contains a magical occurrence). A story that happens in the future is a fantasy. Fairy tales are sometimes spiritual, but never religious."•Marcia. Lane, Picturing a Rose: A Way of Looking at Fairy Tales

History of Fairy TalesA.D. 100-200

The myth, Cupid and Psyche, is written by Apuleius. Some scholars consider this to be the first literary fairy tale, very similar in nature to Beauty and the Beast.

A.D. 200-300A Hindu collection of tales, the Panchatantra, is written. Some of these tales are thought to be forerunners to a few European fairy tales.850-860

The first known literary version of Cinderella in the world is written in China.

Circa 1300Gesta Romanorum, a Latin work, is produced. It is a collection of tales and anecdotes thought to have influenced William Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser, author of The Faerie Queen.

Circa 1500One Thousand and One Arabian Nights first recorded

History of Fairy Tales & Children

In medieval times…After infancy, children were seen as little adults and not shielded from adult activities (hard labor, public executions, etc.).

They recognized that children were smaller and less intelligent but not to the extent that we see them today.

History of Fairy Tales, cont.1690-1710: France

The French Salons are filled with fairy tale writing, primarily by women writers. The most prolific and influential is Marie-Catherine D'Aulnoy.

1696-1698: FranceMarie-Catherine D'Aulnoy, the foremost fairy tale author of the French Salons, publishes four volumes of fairy tales. They are translated into English in 1699.

1697Charles Perrault's Histoires ou Contes du temps passe, also known as Mother Goose Tales, is published in Paris. The tales enjoy instant success. Some of the tales included in this collection are Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, and Puss in Boots

History of Fairy Tales & Children

Then, in the 16th and 17th centuries: People started to see childhood as not only a social status but a psychological, developmental one. It mostly began to affect the upper-class boys first then their sisters.

1815: Germany• Jacob and Wilhelm

Grimm publish volumes one (1812) and two (1815) of Kinder und Hausmarchen (Childhood and Household Tales).

• Popular tales from the collection include The Frog King, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

1889: EnglandAndrew Lang publishes the first of his twelve fairy books, The Blue Fairy Book. Most of the illustrations in the books are drawn by H. J. Ford. The books remain popular for gathering tales from numerous sources, essentially presenting multicultural fairy tale collections long before multicultural becomes a buzz word a hundred years later.

1890: RussiaPeter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty premieres in St. Petersburg, Russia on January 15, 1890. Choreography is by Marius Petipa and the book is by Marius Petipa and Ivan Vsevolojsky. Some of Tchaikovsky's score will later appear in Walt Disney's adaptation of the story.

1893: Great BritainMarian Roalfe Cox publishes her book, Cinderella: Three Hundred and Forty-five Variants of Cinderella, Catskin, and Cap O' Rushes. The book discusses many tales which have not yet appeared in English and indirectly nominates Cinderella as the most common fairy tale theme around the world.

Entertainment

• Late 1800s ballets incorporate fairy tales• Swan Lake, Capellia, Sleeping Beauty,

Cinderella

Operas

• Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Mozart’s The Magic Flute

1937: United StatesWalt Disney's first feature length animated film is released, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The film is a commercial success and leads to the creation of several more Disney fairy tale adaptations. The seven dwarfs now have names, thanks to Walt Disney.

1945: RussiaThe premiere of Sergei Prokofiev's ballet, Cinderella, is presented by the Bolshoi Ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on November 15, 1945. The libretto is by Nikolai Volkov and choreography by Rotislav Zakharov.

1946: FranceJean Cocteau's film, La Belle et la bête (Beauty and the Beast) is released.

1950: United StatesWalt Disney's Cinderella is released.

Fairy Tales: Purpose

• Fairy tales are primer to the early education into a specific culture.

• Children learn key social mores*, gender expectations and morality from these stories.

• Like creation myths, they emerged from a largely oral tradition since most children could not read particularly the poor or female ones.

*“mores” = customs, conventions, practices

Fairy Tales: Key Elements and Purpose

1. To pass along information about how the world and society works

 2. To remind people of the need for morals and values 3. To make it easy to pass info around in a world that

was void of a sufficient number of literate people 4. To entertain 5. To give children ways to cope with growing up

a. stories include a childhood fearb. stories include a fantastical element (magic, fairies, supernatural events)c. stories have a moral point or lesson (sometimes spiritual, but never religious)

  d. stories have a happy ending

Changes…

• Censored tales for adults to read to children

• Added a clear sequential structure• Made tales more lively by adding

adjectives, old proverbs, direct dialogue

• Made tales reflect middle class values• Eliminated erotic and sexual content

• Added Christian expressions and references• Emphasized traditional roles of

men and women according to the dominant patriarchal code of that time• Added lessons for children—even

harsh ones

• Their primary method of gathering stories was to invite storytellers to their home and have them tell the tales aloud

• Most were educated young women from the middle class or aristocracy who retold stories of their nursemaids, governesses, or servants

Didactic

• Intended for instruction. • Stories with a didactic tone

aim not only to entertain, but also to inform or instruct the listener or reader

Fairy Tale Conventions-Stock Characters

• Wicked stepmother• Fairy godmother• Clever orphan• Curious children• Slave or servant

girl or boy• Damsel in distress• Prince Charming

Mother Figure• Fairy Godmother (surrogate mother) –

comforts and directs child– Represents powers that can be called on for

help when it is needed. Helps young person to solve own problems (Knapp 71).

• Earth Mother –fulfillment, abundance, and fertility– offers spiritual and emotional nourishment to

those who she contacts; often depicted in earth colors, with large breasts and hips

• http://youtu.be/ppGMNRNgYrg

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Stepmother/parent

StepmotherOften attractive

Usually evilJealous of beauty or power of the protagonistDeceives the biological parent about motiveshttp://youtu.be/_bhopXy8hBw

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Examples• Stepmother in Cinderella Briar Rose, • Mythology: Persephone, Demeter, Hercate,

Gorgon, Medusa• Literature: Gladriel from Lord of the Rings,

Glinda from the Wizard of Oz, Dante’s Beatrice• Movies: Ron’s mom

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Female Soul Materepresents goodness, innocence, purity; may be a princess who is beautiful, sought after and remote.http://youtu.be/zSVNOzXJuIY

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Cinderella ArchetypeWhat kind of characteristics does Cinderella have? What about the stepmother and stepsisters?

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The Great Teacher/MentorWise old men/women – protects or helps main

character when he or she faces challenges.Sometimes they work as role models and often serve

as father or mother figure. They teach by example the skills necessary to survive the journey and quest.

Examples: http://youtu.be/71_p8P_PVXo

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The Companion/Sidekick

the companion: Befriends and helps the hero; may be unusualhttp://youtu.be/jJGeeryk0Eo

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The Innocent Child/Youth or inexperienced adult Strength is their trust and optimism. Others

like them and support their quest. May be blind to or deny their obvious

weaknesses.

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Double• Doppelganger• It is the double or mirroring or split personality

or good/evil• It is the duplicate of an individual

or part of a divided individual• Can have many names including

the Other, the alter ego, the second self • Examples– Frankenstein– Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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The Sacrificial Redeemer• “Willing to die for his or her beliefs; the

main character maintains a strong sense of morality” (Herz and Gallo 123).

• Embodiment of divine power and being sent on a mission to save humanity.– Jesus Christ– Erin Brockovich

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The Sacrificial ScapegoatThe sacrificial scapegoat: hero who chooses to dies or allows himself to be sacrificed to restore his people or the land back to fruitfulnesshttp://youtu.be/gdIgy-4o4fsTyson in Percy Jackson

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Enchantress/TemptressWoman to whom the

protagonist is physically attracted Brings about his downfall. May appear as a witch or vampire .

The Sirens in Mythology Mystique from X-Men

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Villain

• Wolf• Antagonist• Bad Guy

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http://youtu.be/okvnUzTRwU0

Trickster• A trickster is a god, goddess, spirit,

man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules– Loki– Coyote

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Evil Figure• The Devil or Serpent• Represents evil incarnate. – offers worldly goods,

fame, or knowledge to the protagonist in exchange for possession of the soul or integrity.

• Opposes hero in his/her quest.

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Evil Figure, cont.

• Wolves: Initially they were savage monsters that attack travelers and devour live stock and while the wolf's image has been getting better in modern times, increasingly being seen as a "spirit of the wild," people can't quite get over The Big Bad Wolf. While the wolf is an animal motif at the same time, the wolf as a threat to young girls/ sexual predator seems to have its roots in the fairy tale.– In Germanic countries, the wolf is (or was historically)

the equivalent of the Devil - they even have an expression about them that's interchangable with "Speak of the Devil".

Other Archetypes?

• In movies, there are stock characters. They can be archetypes as well.–A few of them:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stock_characters

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Check your knowledgeChoose any archetypal character and come up with your own example from an EPIC movie, story, or book. This should be a story that many people know!

Create a “sign” with the character’s name & type of character at the top, and a color picture of the character in the middle.

In the bottom third of the paper, write a 2 chunk paragraph at the bottom in the Ridge Writing colors describing why this person / thing / creature fits the character archetype.TS: ________________ from Title of Movie is a good example of a __________________________.CDs: things that happened in the movie/book/storyCM: explain how this shows that he/she/it fits the archetype

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Fairy Tales: Key Elements and Purpose

Special beginning and/or ending words:~ Once upon a time...and they lived happily ever after. Sometimes, there’s a surprise ending… Good character:~ Do you see a kind, innocent character? Is the good character clever? Is s/he helped by others? Evil character:~ Do you see a witch? A demon? An evil stepmother? A sinister gnome?In the end, the evil character usually loses somehow… 

Fairy Tales: Key Elements and Purpose Magic and Enchantments:~ Do you see magical things happening? Do you see talking animals/objects? You might see fairies, trolls, elves, goblins, etc. Reoccurring Patterns / Numbers:~ Do you see any patterns? Often, you’ll see things, phrases, tasks appear in  "threes," “sixes,” and/or "sevens" Universal Truths:~ the tale probably touches on some universal experiences (i.e., coming of age) or hopes (i.e., to have enough food and love) 

Motif

• A conspicuous recurring element, such as a type of incident, a device, a reference, or verbal formula, which appears frequently in works of literature.

• Motifs using characters, creatures, and settings from classic Fairy Tales represent characters or ideas; for example, a love interest being equated with a Knight in Shining Armor.

• Modern day Cinderella stories commonly mine this fairy tale trope as well.

Common Motifs· Talking animals / objects

·  Cleverness / trickster / word games

·  Traveler’s tales

·  Origins ~ where do we come from?

·  Triumph of the poor

Common Motifs• Human weakness explored (i.e., curiosity,

gluttony, pride, laziness, etc.)

• Human strengths glorified (i.e., kindness, generosity, patience, etc.)

• Tall story (slight exaggeration – hyperbole)

• Magic words or phrases; repetition of phrases/words (abracadabra!)

Common Motifs

• Struggle between good and evil, light and dark

• Youngest vs. Oldest (sons, daughters, sibling rivalry)

• Sleep (extended sleep, death-like trances)

• Impossible tasks (ridiculously mind-numbing, fantastic effort needed to complete, etc.)

Common Motifs

• Quests

• Gluttony / Starvation (there’s a fine line between eating for survival and succumbing to temptation)

• Keys, passes (opening new doors)

• Donors, Benefactors, Helpers

Temptation Motif

• A motif in which one of the protagonist's primary struggles is the conflict between his or her sense of (1) personal honor and ethics and (2) his or her personal desires, ambitions, or wickedness.

Faustian Bargain

• An example of a Recurring Theme:

The Faustian Bargain, a temptation motif from German folklore in which an individual sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge, wealth, or power.

Archetypes in Literature

World Literature

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Carl Jung- Swiss psychiatrist- Studied dreams, personalities, and religious connections- 1925 "Bugishu Psychological Expedition" to East AfricaWhat he figured out:- People all over the world have the same dreams

and stories- We have a “collective unconscious” from birth- The collective unconscious comes out in the form

of archetypes in our stories

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• Archetypes recur in different times and places in myth, literature, folklore, fairy tales, dreams, artwork, and religious rituals.

• Carl Jung theorized that the archetype originates in the collective unconscious of mankind, i.e., the shared experiences of a race or culture, such as birth, death, love, family life, and struggles to survive and grow up.

Archetype• An original model or pattern from which other

later copies are made, especially a character, an action, or situation that seems to represent common patterns of human life.

• Often, archetypes include a symbol, a theme, a

setting, or a character that some critics think have a common meaning in an entire culture, or even the entire human race.

• These images have particular emotional

resonance and power.

Definition of ArchetypeAn archetype is the first real example or

prototype of something (as the Model T is the prototype of the modern automobile). In this sense an archetype can be considered the ideal model, the supreme type or the perfect image of something (Brunel 111-112, 114).

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What is an Archetype?

A pattern repeated through the ages in folk and literary expressions. An original model on which something is patterned.

Excerpt about Carl Jung & archetypes from Psychology Classics narrated by Tom Butler Bowdon http://youtu.be/dBDGw6AFoSs

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• These would be expressed in the subconscious of an individual who would recreate them in myths, dreams, and literature. Examples of archetypes found cross-culturally include the following:

Archetypal theme #1: The quest

the hero undertakes a long journey towards a goal. Must perform impossible tasks, confront errors, learn the rules, suffer doubts and overcome insurmountable obstacles.

One example: http://youtu.be/3mNEgCn5CmIAnother example: http://youtu.be/pWS8Mg-JWSg

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Archetypal theme #2: IntitaionThe initiation (rite of passage, fall from innocence): The hero undergoes series of ordeals passing from innocence to social/spiritual maturity. Pattern of separation, transformation, and return.

Can you think of a story patterned after this archetypal theme? Write down at least one idea.

One example: http://youtu.be/4sj1MT05lAAAnother example: http://youtu.be/dkX8J-FKndEAnother example: http://youtu.be/ukdRPqtZDEc

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Recurring symbolic situations:

•the orphaned prince or the lost chieftain's son raised ignorant of his heritage until he is rediscovered by his parents

•the damsel in distress rescued from a hideous monster by a handsome young man who later marries the girl.

Wish Fulfillment• In psychoanalytic criticism, wish

fulfillment refers to something in literature that satisfies the conscious or subconscious desires of either the creator or the reader of a work

Misogyny

• Hatred of women.• The Grimm Brothers’ versions of

the German folktales are sometimes viewed as being misogynistic.

Bel-Inconnu• "The Fair Unknown", a motif common to fairy

tales, folklore and medieval Romance in which the protagonist's identity remains unknown until some suitably dramatic moment.

• This may be the result of a child being raised as an orphan commoner, until the revelation of an heirloom proves the child is born of noble blood, or it may be the result of a hero's intentional disguise in order to penetrate certain social circles.

Bel inconnu

Settings

• Garden– Cultivated and carefully planned. Restricted to

certain vegetation

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Forest Habitat of the Great

Mother (Mother Nature), the lunar force. Fertility. The vegetation and animals flourish in this “green world” because of the sustaining power of the Great Mother. Symbolically the primitive levels of the feminine psyche, protective and sheltering.

Those who enter often lose their direction or rational outlook and thus tap into their collective unconscious. This unregulated space is opposite of the cultivated gardens, which are carefully planned and are restricted to certain vegetation.

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Tree

• Represents life and knowledge

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Caves and Tunnels

• Deep down where character delves into self• Place that character goes when “invisible” or

inactive• At the extreme may signify death

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Mountains and Peaks

• Highest peak is place to “see” far• Place to gain great insight

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The River• Crossing river may

symbolize new territory• Rivers can be boundaries or

borders and on the other side is something new or different

• May represent human life or time passing as we follow the river from its sourt to its mouth

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The Sea

• Vast, alien, dangerous, chaos

• Waves may symbolize measures of time and represent eternity or infinity

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Fountain

• Stands for purification; the sprinkling of water (baptism) washes away sin. Water of fountain gives new life (Knapp 32).

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Islands

• Microcosms or small worlds unto themselves• Represent isolation or get-a-ways

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Actions/Events Journey – “The protagonist takes a journey, usually physical

but sometimes emotional, during which he or she learns something about himself or herself or finds meaning in his or her life as well as acceptance in a community” (Herz and Gallo 112). Linear Circular Quests

Quest for material wealthQuest for security, as a secure place to liveQuest for kinQuest for global good, such as when a kingdom is threatenedQuest for self, for self-identity or self-assurance

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Sleep

• Crucial for physical and/or psychological healing. During dreams, person can grow. Person can fantasize freely in sleep. A transitional and beneficial period. In dream sphere can descend to the sphere of the Great Mother. Person awakens with a greater understanding of human nature (Knapp 88).

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The Test or Trial

• “In the transition from one stage of life to another, the main character experiences a rite of ppassage through growth and change; he or she experiences a transformation” (Herz and Gallo 115).

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Birth/Death and Rebirth

• “Through pain and suffering the character overcomes feelings of despair, and through a process of self-realization is reborn” (Herz and Gallo 110).

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The Fall: Expulsion from Eden

• “the main character is expelled because of an unacceptable action on his or her part” (Herz and Gallo 111).

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Annihilation/Absurdity/Total Oblivion

• “In order to exist in an intolerable world, the main character accepts that life is absurd, ridiculous, and ironic” (Herz and Gallo 116).

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The Collectors

• Charles Perault mid elate 1600s early 1700s• French• Follects Western European • stories. • Most famous for his version • of Cinderella • (the French version)

Charles Perrault

• French author/adapter of fairy tales

• Perrault was a wealthy member of the court of King Louis XIV

Best-Known Tales:

• Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), La Belle au bois dormant (Sleeping Beauty), Le Chat botté (Puss in Boots), Cendrillon (Cinderella), Barbe Bleue (Bluebeard),

Brothers Grimm• Looking for a sweet, soothing tale to waft you toward

dreamland? Look somewhere else.

• The stories collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early 1800s serve up life as generations of central Europeans knew it—capricious and often cruel.

• The two brothers, patriots determined to preserve Germanic folktales, were only accidental entertainers.

• Once they saw how the tales bewitched young readers, the Grimms, and editors aplenty after them, started "fixing" things. Tales gradually got softer, sweeter, and primly moral.

The Brothers Grimm

• The Grimm brothers, Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859), were born near Kassel, Germany. They were from a family of nine children, six of whom survived infancy.

Their early childhood was spent in the countryside in what has been described as an "idyllic" state. When the eldest brother Jacob was eleven years old, however, their father, Philipp Wilhelm, died, and the family moved into a cramped urban residence. Two years later, the children's grandfather also died, leaving them and their mother to struggle in reduced circumstances. (Modern psychologists have argued that this harsh family background influenced the ways the Brothers Grimm would interpret and present their tales. The Brothers tended to idealize and excuse fathers, leaving a predominance of female villains in the tales—the infamous wicked stepmothers.

Nationalism

• The Grimms became interested in the study of ancient Germanic literature and folklore.

• They lived during the Napoleonic Wars and French rule of Germany—the brothers supported German unification

• They gathered these tales in part out of a desire to increase German Nationalism by giving Germans a shared literary and oral heritage.

• Children’s and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen)—the first volume was published in 1812.

• The first volumes were much criticized because, although they were called "Children's Tales", they were not regarded as suitable for children, both for the scholarly information included and the subject matter

• The Grimms’ principal goal was to uncover the etymological and linguistic truths that bound the German people together

• The Grimms believed that historical knowledge of customs, mores, and laws would increase self-understanding and social enlightenment.

Fun Grimm Facts • Between 1990 and the 2002 introduction of the euro currency

in Germany, the Grimms were depicted on the 1000 Deutsch Mark note—the largest available denomination.

• The 1962 film The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm shows a fictionalized account of the conflict in the brothers' lives between their tale collecting and their philological work, as well as dramatizing three tales.

• 2005 found the brothers portrayed in the Terry Gilliam movie The Brothers Grimm starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger.

• In their roles in the collection of fairy tales, the Brothers Grimm are sometimes referenced in modern adaptations of fairy tales, such as The 10th Kingdom where they are said to have visited the magical realms before returning to Earth or Ella Enchanted where the revisionist magical beings repeatedly complain about "those Grimm Brothers" making stereotypes about them.

• One issue of particular concern to women of the period was the common practice of arranged marriages, particularly among the upper classes.

• Women had no legal say in these arrangements, often conducted as business transactions between one aristocratic family and another.

• Daughters were used to cement alliances, to curry favor, and to settle debts.

• There was no possibility of divorce.

• Young girls could find themselves married off to men many years their senior or of vile temper and habits; disobedient daughters could be shut away in convents or locked up in mad–houses.

• Little wonder, then, that fairy tales are filled with girls handed over to various wicked creatures by cruel or feckless parents, or locked up in enchanted towers where only true love can save them.

Hans Christian Andersen• Hans Christian Andersen

was born in the slums of Odense, Denmark. His father, Hans Andersen, was a poor but literate shoemaker who believed he was of aristocratic origin.

• Andersen's mother worked as washerwoman. She was uneducated and superstitious, and introduced her son to the world of folklore.

• Andersen's Fairy Tales and Stories, written between 1835 and 1872. Tales, Told for Children, appeared in a small, cheap booklet in 1835.

• In this and following early collections, Andersen returned to the stories which he had heard as a child, but gradually he started to create his own tales.

• The third volume, published in 1837, contained 'The Little Mermaid' and 'The Emperor's New Clothes.' Among Andersen's other best known tales are 'Little Ugly Duckling,' 'Princess and the Pea,' 'The Snow Queen,' The Nightingale.’

• With these collections, Andersen became known as the father of the modern fairytale.

• Andersen's works were original. Only 12 of his 156 know fairy stories drew on folktales.

• Andersen broke new ground in both style and content. Fairy tales at his time were didactic, he brought into them ambiguity.

• Children and misfits often speak truth; they serve as Andersen's mouthpiece in moral questions

• Ugliness of the hero or heroine often conceals great beauty, which is revealed after misfortunes.

4 Approaches to Reading FT

1. Children’s reader response (moral of the story)– What is the child supposed to learn from

reading the story?

2. Literary Analysis– Narrative devices (plot, character, themes,

conflict, rising action, etc.)– Figurative devices (puns, rhymes, symbols,

personification, imagery, connotations)

3. Psychoanalytic Approach – Bettelheim: unconscious, coping with growing

up, adolescence

4 Approaches to Reading FT

4. Feminist Approach– Feminist criticism is concerned with "...the

ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women" (Tyson). This school of theory looks at how aspects of our culture are inherently patriarchal (male dominated) and "...this critique strives to expose the explicit and implicit misogyny in male writing about women" (Richter 1346). (quoted from Purdue’s OWL website, <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/11/>)

“Hansel and Gretel” Reader Response Question

1. What is the child reader supposed to learn? In other words, what is the moral or overarching lesson of the story? (There may be multiple morals and lessons.)

“Hansel and Gretel” Literary Response Questions

1. Who is the protagonist of the story? Why is she or he the protagonist?

2. What external conflict leads to the parents’ decision to leave the children in the woods?

3. What two major events constitute the rising action to the climax of the story?

4. What are two examples of foreshadowing to the climax of the witch’s death?

5. Identify 3 different symbols and how they tie into the story.

Psychoanalytic Criticism:Freudian & Jungian questions

• How do the operations of repression structure or inform the work?• Are there any oedipal dynamics - or any other family dynamics - are work here?• How can characters' behavior, narrative events, and/or images be explained in terms of

psychoanalytic concepts of any kind (for example...fear or fascination with death, sexuality - which includes love and romance as well as sexual behavior - as a primary indicator of psychological identity or the operations of ego-id-superego)?

• What does the work suggest about the psychological being of its author?• What might a given interpretation of a literary work suggest about the psychological

motives of the reader?• Are there prominent words in the piece that could have different or hidden meanings?

Could there be a subconscious reason for the author using these "problem words"?• What connections can we make between elements of the text and the archetypes? (Mask,

Shadow, Anima, Animus)• How do the characters in the text mirror the archetypal figures? (Great Mother or

nurturing Mother, Whore, destroying Crone, Lover, Destroying Angel)• How does the text mirror the archetypal narrative patterns? (Quest, Night-Sea-Journey)• How symbolic is the imagery in the work?• How does the protagonist reflect the hero of myth?• Does the “hero” embark on a journey in either a physical or spiritual sense?• Is there a journey to an underworld or land of the dead?• What trials or ordeals does the protagonist face? What is the reward for overcoming

them?

“Hansel and Gretel”Psychoanalytic Questions

1. What “growing up” stage are Hansel and Gretel in? In other words, what kind of transition(s) are they preparing to experience?

2. What family dynamics are at work in the story?3. Are there prominent words in the piece that could have

different or hidden meanings? Could there be a subconscious reason for the author using these "problem words"?

4. What symbols can you find in the story? What are they symbols of?

5. How does the protagonist reflect the hero of mythology?6. Does the “hero” embark on a journey in either a physical or

spiritual sense?7. What trials or ordeals does the protagonist face? What is the

reward for overcoming them?

Feminist Questions• How is the relationship between men and women portrayed?• What are the power relationships between men and women (or characters

assuming male/female roles)?• How are male and female roles defined?• What constitutes masculinity and femininity?• How do characters embody these traits?• Do characters take on traits from opposite genders? How so? How does this

change others’ reactions to them?• What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically,

socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy?• What does the work imply about the possibilities of sisterhood as a mode of

resisting patriarchy?• What does the work say about women's creativity?• What does the history of the work's reception by the public and by the

critics tell us about the operation of patriarchy?• What role the work play in terms of women's literary history and literary

tradition?

“Hansel and Gretel”Feminist Questions

1. How is the relationship between males and females portrayed in the story? – Discuss the relationship between the

woodcutter and his wife. – Discuss the relationship between Hansel

and Gretel. – Discuss the relationship between Hansel

and the stepmother. – Discuss the relationship between Gretel

and the witch.