"Hansel and Gretel" (a tale of the Brothers Grimm): a summary

In the treasury of the world's author's tale for two centuries now includes the works of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. The brothers collected and processed more than two hundred folklore works of European peoples, among which are quite popular "Cinderella", "Rapunzel", "Hansel and Gretel", "Bremen musicians", "Little Red Riding Hood" and many others. Despite the fact that the authors are often accused of describing excessive cruelty, they remain loved for many generations of children, as they teach life-sustaining stamina and the ability to resist adversity, good and mutual support, striving for justice.

Features of artistic processing

The contribution of the Grimm brothers to the development of the world, and in particular of the German literary tale, is truly invaluable. The main advantage of their works is that the authors, borrowing a story in folklore, almost completely preserved the content, ideological design, composition, features of the character and speech of the characters. This is confirmed, for example, "Hansel and Gretel" - a fairy tale in German, which differs maximum closeness to the original source. The authors only slightly changed the language form, making the work more interesting and accessible for reading. This approach was fundamental in the processing of folk tales, as it allowed the transfer of features of the life of Europeans mainly during the Middle Ages.

The basis of the story about the gingerbread house

According to the surviving information, a tale of two children with the names Hansel and Gretel Grimm brothers heard from Dorothea Wilt - subsequently she became the wife of Wilhelm. The folklore work differs from the author's version known to us in that the little heroes were sent to the forest, condemning them to inevitable death, their mother and father. The Grimm brothers somewhat softened the plot of the first principle, introducing the image of a stepmother who put pressure on her weak-willed husband. By the way, a work with a similar plot can be found in the collection of another German storyteller, L. Bechstein, as well as in folk verses and songs, which testifies to the great popularity of the story of the gingerbread house among the people.

As for the brutal act of parents, then, most likely, it has under itself quite real circumstances. In 1315-17 in Europe, including in Germany, a terrible famine broke out, the consequences of which were felt for another five years. Historians note that at this time cases of cannibalism, mentioned by the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel", are quite possible-referring to the episode with the witch. In addition, similar stories can be found in some European stories about children, at the behest of the case in the hands of terrible cannibals and who managed to overcome them because of their fearlessness and ingenuity.

The work on the gingerbread house was included in the first collection of tales of the Brothers Grimm, published in 1812, and translated into many languages. The best Russian translation was the text processed by P. Polevoy.

Acquaintance with the heroes

Hansel and Gretel, brother and sister, were the children of a poor woodcutter. They lived on the edge of the forest with a father and an uncomfortable stepmother. But here came the hard times, when there was nothing to buy bread. And one night they heard the conversation of their parents. In response to the complaint of his father that there was no food left at all, the stepmother suggested taking his brother and sister to the forest and leaving them alone. The woodcutter was at first indignant: the heart is not stone - we are doomed to bring our own children to an imminent death. Then everyone will have to die - this was the woman's answer. She was persuaded, after all, by her husband's wicked stepmother, that it's impossible to do anything differently.

The sister burst into tears, learning about the fate that awaited them, and her brother began to reassure her and promised to always think of something. Thus begins the well-known tale of the Brothers Grimm "Hansel and Gretel."

The first trip to the forest

The boy waited until his father and stepmother were asleep, dressed and went out into the street, where he collected stones, glistening in the moonlight.

Early in the morning parents gathered in the woods for firewood, woke up the children and took them with them. On the way Hansel quietly threw on a pebble - he typed them full pocket. So we reached the thicket. The woodcutter made a fire, and my stepmother ordered the children to rest and promised to return for them in the evening. Hansel and Gretel - a fairy tale here repeats the motif of the stepmother's cruelty popular in European folklore - they were left alone by the fire. They all day heard the deaf blows in the woods, and hoped that this father was chopping wood. In fact, a bitch knocked by parents to a tree was knocking.

At lunch, the children ate a piece of bread they had given them in the morning and soon, tired, fell asleep. When they opened their eyes, it was already a dark night. The sister burst into tears again, and her brother began to reassure her: "The month will rise and we will find our way home." Indeed, in the moonlight the pebbles glistened, and by the morning Hansel and Gretel were already at their own door.

Meeting with parents

The stepmother, who admitted the children, scolded them for walking too long in the forest. Father was happy that they came back alive.

But soon the situation became even worse. And again, the brother and sister heard the parents' already familiar argument. The lumberjack for a long time resisted, but, once yielding, gave in to persuasion and this time. Hansel and Gretel thought about their future again. The tale of the Brothers Grimm, thus, like any other of the magical group, is based on the repetition of the same event. But it was not possible to collect the stones this time - a precautionary stepmother closed the door for the night, and he could not go out into the street. Even more frightened of his sister, but the boy promised to always think of something. And in the morning, when the stepmother again gave them a piece of bread and ordered to go with her and her father to the forest, he broke his portion in his pocket and began to sprinkle the crumbs with the road.

Lost

For a long time the woodcutter and stepmother went through the woods until they got into a wilderness where they had never been before. And again the parents left their children alone by the fire, and they went home. But at night, when the moon rose, Hansel and Gretel could not find the way, as the birds glued all the bread crumbs. The morning came, and then the evening, and they all wandered through the forest. Only for dinner the next day, tired and hungry, the children saw a white bird on the tree. She sang so well that the children heard, and then followed her. Suddenly, the hut appeared before the hungry Hansel and Gretel could not pass by.

The fairy tale, the brief content of which you read, is built according to all the laws of the genre. The walls of the wonderful house, which arose unexpectedly before the eyes of the children, were made of bread, the roof - from a delicious gingerbread, and the windows - from sugar. Thus, here is mentioned a sweet house from a fabulous country of abundance called Kokany. It was often mentioned in folk legends and attracted by the fact that it did not need to do anything on its own, as all the food grew right on the trees.

The history of gingerbread houses

Although the plot of the delicious hut at the beginning of the XIX century could not be considered unusual, it was after the publication of the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" in Germany and in a number of other European countries, a new tradition. For the past two hundred years the mistress has baked gingerbread houses for Christmas and decorated them with a multicolored glaze, candied fruits, berries, etc. Sweets are put on a festive table, sent to all kinds of exhibitions and competitions and, of course, distributed to children. The main thing is that such a carrot you can first admire, and then enjoy a great taste.

Meeting with the witch

But we return to the tale, which the brothers Grimm recorded. Hansel and Gretel - a brief summary gives an overall picture of what was happening at that moment - after seeing such abundance, they decided to regale. My brother broke off a piece from the roof, and my sister decided to try the window. They gladly ate sweets, when suddenly they heard a rather pleasant voice from the hut. A little later, a very old woman appeared on the threshold. The children were frightened at first, but she immediately calmed them, then brought them into the house, generously treated them and laid them on a soft bed under a snow-white blanket. Tired and exhausted children thought that they were in a real paradise. Hansel and Gretel did not yet know that they had come to visit the wicked witch. A child was her dream and favorite treat. And although this old woman with red eyes saw very badly, she could feel the human smell perfectly. A bread house, decorated with sweets, became a bait for children like Hansel and Gretel. The fairy tale thus, in many ways, repeats the subjects of the well-known cycle "Children and the Ogre", which is included in the international index of folklore works of this genre.

"There will be a tidbit"

In the morning the witch examined the sleeping children and decided that the boy with ruddy and plump cheeks would be very good for dinner. You just need to feed it a little more. She locked the awakened Hansel into the crib behind the latticed door, and Gretel ordered her to fatten her brother so that he would become fatter. This lasted four weeks, during which the sister cooked for the brother the most delicious dishes, and she ate scraps. The resourceful Hansel was able to deceive the poorly-seen witch all this time. When she came to check how much her "future dinner" had recovered, he slipped a bone in her hand for her finger, and she still could not understand why the boy was still as thin. But one day the patience of the old woman was over, and she decided to certainly eat Hansel, the way is not even fat enough, the next day. And the girl had to put water in which her own brother would then be cooked. "It would have been better if we had torn the wild animals in the forest, we would have died together," she sobbed.

The witch managed to deceive

The next morning the old woman decided to get rid of Gretel, and then to start her brother. She melted the stove and ordered the girl to climb into it to find out if the heat is ready for baking bread. Gretel began to fulfill the witch's demand, when she suddenly realized what the old woman really wanted from her. And I was not mistaken: she really was just preparing to close the flap and fry the girl. "I do not know how to get there," the sister said. An angry witch cursed her and began to show how to get into the oven correctly. At that moment Gretel pushed her forward, and then immediately closed the flap. So she saved herself and her brother from imminent death. And the old woman, who was in the stove, howled and howled to the ground. Thus, Hansel and Gretel become winners in this confrontation with the witch-ogre.

The tale of a brother and sister, apparently, also has a connection with the ancient traditions of European peoples and some tribes. Thus, many linguists often associate the episode of burning witches with a rather widespread initiation rite, the essence of which was the transition of a teenager into adulthood, the entry of a person into any secret society or his initiation into the number of shamans, leaders. This is also not a new motive for the Brothers Grimm, as it occurs in many other folk and author's tales, including, for example, "The Boy with a finger" by S. Perrault.

The liberated children inspected the hut and found in it many precious stones and pearls. They took them with them and set out to seek a way out of this witch forest.

So thanks to ingenuity and ingenuity, they were able to get rid of the hated witch-ogre Hansel and Gretel. The fairy tale ends with a description of their way home.

Happy return

A couple of hours later, the children went out to the unknown lake, but they did not see a bridge or boats beside them. Only the duck swam. A girl came to her with a request to transport them to the other shore, and very soon her brother and sister found themselves in a familiar forest. And so here it was easy for them to find their way to the house of the woodcutter. They rushed, happy, to his father and rushed to his neck. The woodcutter was very happy when he saw that his children were alive and unharmed, since he did not know a moment of peace and joy after parting with them.

It turned out that his wife suddenly died - this fact makes it possible for many linguists to identify the images of the evil stepmother and witch who decided to take revenge on the hated children. And since then the lumberjack and his children have been healed happily and well. And from the need to save a family of pearls and precious stones, which brought from the hut Hansel and Gretel.

The author of the fairy tale on this ends the narrative of mutual support and brotherly love, which enabled the heroes to cope with all adversity and safely return to their father's house.

The story of the adventures of brother and sister in art

Today Hansel and Gretel are known all over the world. The fairy tale about them is included in the collection of works by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and translated into many languages. In addition, her characters have repeatedly become heroes of works of other art forms. So, in 1893 the opera E. Humperdinck appeared, written especially for Christmas. Theater plays of the fairy tale were prepared many times. Many well-known artists did not remain indifferent to the work .

With the advent of cinema to a well-known plot turned and script writers. The number of films popular enough today includes the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" in English, filmed in 1988. The authors somewhat changed the original version: the children at the request of my mother went to the forest for berries and lost their way, after which they got into the gingerbread house of the sorceress Griselda. Another option is the American film of 2012, based on the fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel", in which the father, tormented by remorse, himself goes in search of children.

In 2013, an insurgent appeared, telling about what happened to the heroes after they returned home. And although the plot of the film has little in common with the tale of the Brothers Grimm, he emphasizes that interest in the plot remains in our time.