There is much to think about in "Hansel and Gretel." On one level it is
all about eating and being eaten. Eating is a terribly important part
of a child's life, and fears of being eaten loom large in their
nightmare fantasies. The story has an eating theme from beginning to
end:
The family is going hungry because it is poor, and so the children must be sent into the forest.
They are given bread, and they leave a trail of breadcrumbs.
Birds eat the breadcrumbs.
The children find a gingerbread house and break off a piece to eat.
The witch catches them and decides to eat Hansel.
First she must fatten him up, so she feeds him.
Gretel kills the witch by pushing her into the oven.
Many other fears of children are embodied in this tale, from fear of
abandonment to a caution about the kindly person who means them harm. It
engages the young mind at a very subconscious level and teaches the
child that very bad things can and do happen but that they can be
survived and overcome.
