Symbolism in Hansel and Gretel
The story about Hansel and Gretel is full of symbols and they offer numerous explanations. We'll try to briefly explain only few of them to give you a clue about the impressive depth in this famous fairy tale.
Bread - its representation of life is clear. The scarcity of bread is direct threat of death. Bread crumbles in Hansel and Gretel show how fragile and insecure is our position.
But looking at the connection of bread with wheat and its life cycle bread can also be understood as a symbol of resurrection.
White stones - they represent innocence. Ancient Greeks used the white stone at anonymous voting and the meaning was: not guilty. Analytical psychologists interpret them as children's denial to be changed. They went into the woods to be transformed but white pebbles help them to come back.When they lost the access to them (step-mother locks the door), there is no way back anymore.
Oven - it is a representation of a womb. It offers a possibility of birth (or in this case rebirth), but also death if an already born person gets back in (refuses to grow up).
Birds - there are numerous mentions of the birds in the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel.
Boy lies he is looking at the pigeon (can represent home) when they are leaving home, birds eat the crumbs to prevent kids returning home for the second time and a bird leads them to the witch's hut.
Finally a bird (it is a duck in some and a swan in other versions) helped Gretel and Hansel to get home. Birds can symbolize freedom, prophecy, joy, immortality and human spirit. This story has all of these.
Needless to add birds have white colour (if the colour is mentioned) to emphasize their spiritual mission.
Water - after the transformation (Hansel and Gretel actually grow up in the witch's house) kids must pass the water if they want to get home. This alludes death (think about Hades in Greek mythology) but also rebirth (think about baptism in Christianity).
The forest- most people in medieval or pre-medieval times lived near forests. People's existence was closely related with wood from practically forever, but forest also represented unknown, although very serious danger.
In psychoanalysis forest symbolizes unconsciousness, Leonard Lutwack goes even further and he labels it as untamed feminine sexuality. Why? Forest is a very fertile place, but it is also wild, uncultivated and unpredictable.
It is not a coincidence so many popular heroes and heroines (Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Goldilocks) must get lost in the woods just to get back as more responsible (domesticated) persons. Transformation role of the forest is obvious.
Even if the main character doesn't enter the woods, something important can happen there (the name of Rumpelstiltskin is hidden in the woods, the Goose Girl lost her identity in forest, for instance) and in some cases forest represents the enemy itself (remember Sleeping Beauty and her rescuers?).
Really useful web sites:
- also links to other fairy tales and discusses use of symbolism