The thing that is most distressing about Hansel and Grethel is not the witch or even the child shoving her in the oven, but the mother who rather than protecting her children is willing to let them die of hunger or worse in the woods! The father seems a weak character, not standing up and looking after his children. I suppose there is realism in the story in the sense that similar things do happen in life!
SHONNA SLAYTON is the author of the Fairy-tale Inheritance Series of young adult novels, beginning with Cinderella’s Dress. She edited curriculum for an education company before homeschooling her own children using literature-based whole book learning. She’s taught writing using fairy tales in school classrooms and workshops, as well as in public libraries as a writer in residence. Instead of seeing her in person, you can get the Lessons from GrimmSeries which includes a writer’s guide and workbooks for writers to learn fiction techniques through fairy tales.
The thing that is most distressing about Hansel and Grethel is not the witch or even the child shoving her in the oven, but the mother who rather than protecting her children is willing to let them die of hunger or worse in the woods! The father seems a weak character, not standing up and looking after his children. I suppose there is realism in the story in the sense that similar things do happen in life!