WEBVTT - Hansel and Gretel 0:00:08.245 --> 0:00:09.605 School of Humans. 0:00:11.245 --> 0:00:20.045 This episode discusses sensitive topics. Please listen with care. I'm 0:00:20.085 --> 0:00:23.925 your host, Miranda Hawkins. Welcome to the Deep Dark Woods. 0:00:24.685 --> 0:00:28.685 Today's story is three two seven, or Hansel and Gretel. 0:00:36.485 --> 0:00:39.165 Next to a great forest, there lived a poor woodcutter 0:00:39.365 --> 0:00:41.525 who had come upon such hard times that he could 0:00:41.565 --> 0:00:44.845 scarcely provide daily bread for his wife and his two children, 0:00:45.325 --> 0:00:50.765 Hansel and Gretel. Finally, he could no longer even manage this, 0:00:51.165 --> 0:00:53.285 and he did not know where to turn for help. 0:00:54.405 --> 0:00:56.765 One evening, as he was lying in bed worrying about 0:00:56.805 --> 0:01:01.525 his problems, his wife said to him, listen, man, early tomorrow, 0:01:01.645 --> 0:01:03.965 take the two children, give them each a little piece 0:01:04.005 --> 0:01:07.125 of bread, then lead them into the middle of the 0:01:07.125 --> 0:01:09.645 thickest part of the woods. Make a fire for them, 0:01:09.885 --> 0:01:12.765 and leave them there, for we can no longer feed them. 0:01:13.885 --> 0:01:16.885 No woman, said the man. I cannot bring myself to 0:01:16.965 --> 0:01:20.285 abandon my own children to wild animals that would quickly 0:01:20.325 --> 0:01:24.165 tear them to pieces. If you don't do it, said 0:01:24.165 --> 0:01:27.525 the woman, all of us will starve together. And she 0:01:27.605 --> 0:01:31.885 gave him no peace until he said yes. The two 0:01:32.005 --> 0:01:34.565 children were still awake from hunger and heard everything that 0:01:34.605 --> 0:01:35.285 the mother had said. 0:01:35.325 --> 0:01:35.765 To the father. 0:01:36.445 --> 0:01:39.765 Gretel thought that she was doomed and began to cry pitifully, 0:01:40.125 --> 0:01:43.205 but Hansel said, be quiet, Gretel, and don't worry. 0:01:43.525 --> 0:01:45.765 I know what to do with that. 0:01:45.845 --> 0:01:48.645 He got up, pulled on his jacket, opened the lower door, 0:01:48.645 --> 0:01:52.325 and crept outside. The moon was shining brightly, and the 0:01:52.325 --> 0:01:56.205 white pebbles were glistening like silver coins. Hansel bent over 0:01:56.245 --> 0:01:58.725 and filled his jacket pockets with them as many as 0:01:58.725 --> 0:02:02.125 would fit. Then he went back into the house and said, 0:02:02.685 --> 0:02:03.605 don't worry, Gretel. 0:02:03.925 --> 0:02:04.565 Sleep well. 0:02:05.605 --> 0:02:09.485 Then he went back to bed and fell asleep. The 0:02:09.525 --> 0:02:12.405 next morning, the mother came and woke them both before sunrise. 0:02:13.365 --> 0:02:16.285 Get up, you children were going into the woods. Here's 0:02:16.285 --> 0:02:18.885 a little piece of bread. Take care and save it 0:02:19.045 --> 0:02:20.965 until midday. 0:02:21.125 --> 0:02:21.885 Gretel put the. 0:02:21.845 --> 0:02:25.365 Bread under her apron because Hansel's pockets were full of stones, 0:02:25.845 --> 0:02:29.645 and they set forth into the woods. After they had 0:02:29.645 --> 0:02:33.005 walked a little way, Hansel began stopping again and again 0:02:33.045 --> 0:02:36.805 and looking back toward the house. The father said, Hansel, 0:02:37.405 --> 0:02:39.085 why are you stopping and looking back? 0:02:39.405 --> 0:02:40.405 Pay attention now. 0:02:40.285 --> 0:02:43.405 And keep up with us, oh father. I am looking 0:02:43.405 --> 0:02:45.085 at my white cat that is sitting on the roof, 0:02:45.085 --> 0:02:48.165 and wants to say goodbye to me. The mother said, 0:02:48.885 --> 0:02:51.725 you fool, That isn't your cat. That's the morning sun 0:02:51.845 --> 0:02:55.165 shining on the chimney. However, Hansel had not been looking 0:02:55.165 --> 0:02:57.605 at his cat, but instead he had been dropping the 0:02:57.645 --> 0:03:05.285 shiny pebbles from his pockets onto the path. When they 0:03:05.285 --> 0:03:07.325 are in the middle of the woods, the father said, 0:03:08.045 --> 0:03:10.405 you children, gather some wood, and I will make a 0:03:10.445 --> 0:03:14.045 fire so we won't freeze. Hansel and Gretel gathered up 0:03:14.045 --> 0:03:16.525 some twigs a pile as high as a small mountain. 0:03:17.605 --> 0:03:20.365 They set it a fire, and when the flames were 0:03:20.365 --> 0:03:23.405 burning well, the mother said, lie down by the fire 0:03:23.445 --> 0:03:25.845 and sleep. We will go into the woods to cut 0:03:25.885 --> 0:03:28.965 down trees. Wait here until we come back and get you. 0:03:30.565 --> 0:03:33.485 Hansel and Gretel sat by the fire until midday and 0:03:33.525 --> 0:03:36.845 then ate their bread. They sat on until evening, but 0:03:36.885 --> 0:03:39.365 the mother and father did not return, and no one 0:03:39.485 --> 0:03:44.165 came to get them. When it became dark, Gretel began 0:03:44.205 --> 0:03:47.725 to cry, and Hansel said, wait a little till the 0:03:47.765 --> 0:03:53.405 moon comes up. After the moon had come up, he 0:03:53.485 --> 0:03:56.565 took Gretel by the hand. The pebbles were lying there 0:03:56.605 --> 0:03:59.965 like newly minted coins, glistening. They showed them the way. 0:04:00.765 --> 0:04:03.645 They walked throughout the entire night, and as morning was breaking, 0:04:03.685 --> 0:04:07.445 they arrived at the father's house. The father was overjoyed 0:04:07.485 --> 0:04:09.485 when he saw his children once more, for he had 0:04:09.525 --> 0:04:12.605 not wanted to leave them alone. The mother pretended that 0:04:12.685 --> 0:04:18.085 she too was happy, but secretly she was angry. Not 0:04:18.205 --> 0:04:20.925 long afterward, there was once again no bread in the house, 0:04:21.285 --> 0:04:24.605 and one evening, Hansel and Gretel heard the mother say 0:04:24.645 --> 0:04:27.565 to the father, the children found their way back once, 0:04:27.605 --> 0:04:29.805 and I let it be. But again we only have 0:04:29.965 --> 0:04:32.525 half a loaf of bread in the house. Tomorrow, you 0:04:32.645 --> 0:04:35.405 must take them deeper into the woods so they cannot 0:04:35.405 --> 0:04:38.005 find their way home. Otherwise there will be no help 0:04:38.045 --> 0:04:39.205 for us. 0:04:39.925 --> 0:04:40.565 The man was. 0:04:40.645 --> 0:04:43.485 Very disheartened, and he thought it would be better to 0:04:43.525 --> 0:04:46.805 share the last bit with the children, but because he 0:04:46.845 --> 0:04:50.485 had done it once, he could not say no. Hansel 0:04:50.485 --> 0:04:54.085 and Gretel heard the parent's conversation. Hansel got up and 0:04:54.125 --> 0:04:56.325 wanted to gather pebbles once again, but when he came 0:04:56.365 --> 0:05:00.005 to the door, he found that the mother had locked it. Still, 0:05:00.045 --> 0:05:03.325 he comforted Gretel and said, just go to sleep, Gretel, 0:05:03.365 --> 0:05:08.445 Dear God will help us. Early the next morning, they 0:05:08.485 --> 0:05:11.725 received their little pieces of bread even less than last time. 0:05:12.365 --> 0:05:15.005 On the way, Hansel crumbled his piece of bread in 0:05:15.085 --> 0:05:18.965 his pocket, then often stood still and threw crumbs on 0:05:19.005 --> 0:05:24.445 to the ground. Why are you always stopping and looking around, 0:05:24.485 --> 0:05:27.765 said his father. Keep walking straight ahead. Oh, I can 0:05:27.805 --> 0:05:30.045 see my pigeon sitting on the roof. It wants to 0:05:30.045 --> 0:05:32.765 say good bye to me, you fool, said his mother. 0:05:32.845 --> 0:05:35.685 That isn't your pigeon. That's the morning sun shining on 0:05:35.725 --> 0:05:39.565 the chimney. But Hansel crumbled all of his bread and 0:05:39.645 --> 0:05:44.525 dropped the crumbs on to the path. The mother took 0:05:44.565 --> 0:05:46.605 them deeper into the woods than they had ever been 0:05:46.925 --> 0:05:50.805 in their whole lifetime. There they were told to sleep 0:05:50.845 --> 0:05:53.125 by a large fire and that the parents would come 0:05:53.165 --> 0:05:57.125 get them in the evening. At midday, Gretel shared her 0:05:57.165 --> 0:05:59.725 bread with Hansel because he had scattered all of his 0:05:59.885 --> 0:06:03.605 along the path. Midday passed and evening passed, but no 0:06:03.645 --> 0:06:07.685 one came to get the poor children. Hansel comforted Gretel 0:06:07.965 --> 0:06:11.165 and said, wait, when the moon comes up, I will 0:06:11.205 --> 0:06:13.325 be able to see the crumbs of bread that I scattered, 0:06:13.525 --> 0:06:17.085 and they will show us the way back home. The 0:06:17.125 --> 0:06:19.805 moon came up, but when Hansel looked for the crumbs. 0:06:19.805 --> 0:06:20.365 They were gone. 0:06:20.805 --> 0:06:23.085 The many thousands of birds in the woods had found 0:06:23.085 --> 0:06:26.045 them and pecked them up. Hansel thought that he would 0:06:26.045 --> 0:06:27.685 still be able to find the way home, and he 0:06:27.725 --> 0:06:31.445 and Gretel set forth, but they soon became totally lost 0:06:31.525 --> 0:06:35.645 in the great wilderness. They walked through the night and 0:06:35.725 --> 0:06:39.405 the entire next day, and then exhausted, they fell asleep. 0:06:40.325 --> 0:06:42.925 They walked another day, but they could not find their 0:06:42.965 --> 0:06:46.725 way out of the woods. They were terribly hungry, for 0:06:46.805 --> 0:06:48.845 they had eaten only a few small berries that were 0:06:48.845 --> 0:06:51.925 growing on the ground. On the third day, they walked 0:06:51.965 --> 0:06:55.165 until midday, when they came to a little house built 0:06:55.325 --> 0:06:58.205 entirely from bread, with a roof made of cake, and 0:06:58.245 --> 0:07:02.725 the windows were made of clear sugar. Let's sit down 0:07:02.765 --> 0:07:05.485 and eat our fill, said Hansel. I'll eat from the roof, 0:07:05.605 --> 0:07:07.605 and Gretel, you eat from the window. That will be 0:07:07.725 --> 0:07:10.925 nice and sweet for you. Hansel had already eaten a 0:07:10.925 --> 0:07:13.045 piece from the roof, and Gretel had eaten a few 0:07:13.125 --> 0:07:15.925 round window panes, and she had just broken out another 0:07:15.925 --> 0:07:21.645 one when she heard a gentle voice calling from inside. Nibble, nibble, 0:07:21.685 --> 0:07:26.565 little mouse, who is nibbling at my house. Hansel and 0:07:26.565 --> 0:07:29.085 Gretel were so frightened that they dropped what they were 0:07:29.125 --> 0:07:31.925 holding in their hands, and immediately they saw a little 0:07:32.085 --> 0:07:35.365 woman as old as the hills creeping out the door. 0:07:36.485 --> 0:07:39.925 She shook her head and said, oh, you, dear children, 0:07:39.965 --> 0:07:42.765 where did you come from? Come inside with me, and 0:07:42.845 --> 0:07:45.885 you will be just fine. She took them by the 0:07:45.925 --> 0:07:47.925 hand and led them into her house. 0:07:56.045 --> 0:07:59.485 It's funny, I've never thought of Hansel and Gretel as 0:07:59.525 --> 0:08:02.725 a dark fairy tale, or maybe I've heard it so 0:08:02.885 --> 0:08:07.165 many times it's lost some of its pact. But how 0:08:07.205 --> 0:08:09.765 the story of Hansel and Gretel came to be is 0:08:09.845 --> 0:08:18.045 more horrific than the tail itself. From around nine fifty 0:08:18.125 --> 0:08:22.045 to twelve fifty AD, during Europe's medieval period, there was 0:08:22.045 --> 0:08:27.085 a peculiar phenomenon. The temperature began to rise. There's a 0:08:27.125 --> 0:08:30.085 lot of reasons for this to happen, but the result 0:08:30.405 --> 0:08:34.125 was that this unseasonably warm time led to surplus and crops, 0:08:34.685 --> 0:08:40.045 and Europe's population exploded. But then in the early thirteen hundreds, 0:08:40.205 --> 0:08:45.445 temperatures dropped for Europe. This meant torrential rains and cold weather. 0:08:45.925 --> 0:08:50.125 Crops failed, and livestock died. All of a sudden, that 0:08:50.205 --> 0:08:54.725 population boom that seemed so great was in a dire situation. 0:08:55.525 --> 0:08:59.125 People were sick, people were starving. When it came to 0:08:59.205 --> 0:09:03.925 basic items like grain, wheat, barley, oats, bread, and salt, 0:09:04.325 --> 0:09:09.365 it was either too expensive or just gone. In desperation, 0:09:09.685 --> 0:09:13.765 people resorted to murdering and stealing just to fill their bellies. 0:09:14.445 --> 0:09:18.445 Adults starved themselves so the young could eat, or they 0:09:18.485 --> 0:09:22.445 would abandon their children. And if that wasn't enough, people 0:09:22.525 --> 0:09:27.005 also ate dogs and horses. People would even eat each other. 0:09:27.605 --> 0:09:32.165 It was eat or be eaten. Along with a mass famine, 0:09:32.285 --> 0:09:36.645 regions were destabilized, which led to class warfare and political strife. 0:09:37.045 --> 0:09:43.045 Europe was in chaos. Finally, in thirteen seventeen, the crop stabilized, 0:09:43.565 --> 0:09:46.405 but it wasn't until five years later the food. 0:09:46.125 --> 0:09:47.565 Supply was replenished. 0:09:48.845 --> 0:09:52.925 During this time, Northern Europe alone, which includes Germany, saw 0:09:53.045 --> 0:09:55.885 five to twelve percent of their population die of starvation 0:09:56.125 --> 0:10:00.205 and starvation related illnesses. This is where people believe the 0:10:00.245 --> 0:10:03.285 tale of two starving children abandoned by their mother and 0:10:03.365 --> 0:10:08.445 father began. Centuries later, the brothers Grim heard the story 0:10:08.485 --> 0:10:12.205 of Hansel and Gretel. Some people think the story might 0:10:12.285 --> 0:10:15.085 have come from the German region of Hesse, which is 0:10:15.085 --> 0:10:18.845 where Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were from, but most people 0:10:18.885 --> 0:10:21.445 think the brothers heard the story from a twelve year 0:10:21.445 --> 0:10:26.165 old girl named Henrietta Dorothea Wilde. She was called Dorchen 0:10:26.245 --> 0:10:32.365 for short. Dorten's father forbade her and his six other 0:10:32.525 --> 0:10:35.365 daughters from hanging out with the brothers because they were 0:10:35.405 --> 0:10:39.965 too poor. But fast forward to eighteen twenty five, Dortun 0:10:40.085 --> 0:10:44.405 became Missus Grimm when she and Wilhelm were married. The 0:10:44.445 --> 0:10:47.485 brothers Grim published Handel and Gretel in their first collection 0:10:47.685 --> 0:10:53.445 in eighteen twelve, picking up from where we left off 0:10:53.485 --> 0:10:56.605 of the start of this episode. After the children met 0:10:56.605 --> 0:10:58.685 the old woman in the woods, she led them to 0:10:58.725 --> 0:11:02.365 her house. The witch then knocked handle on the page 0:11:02.405 --> 0:11:06.805 while she made Gretel to the housework to eat both children, 0:11:06.965 --> 0:11:10.405 but started with Hansel. She forced Hansel to eat every 0:11:10.485 --> 0:11:13.205 day to fatten him up. She'd then make him stick 0:11:13.205 --> 0:11:15.325 out his finger to check if he was getting fatter, 0:11:15.725 --> 0:11:19.885 but Hansel would stick out a bone instead. After a month, 0:11:19.925 --> 0:11:22.045 the witch got fed up and decided she was going 0:11:22.085 --> 0:11:25.325 to eat Hansel. When the witch called Gretel over and 0:11:25.365 --> 0:11:28.085 asked her if the oven was hot enough. Gretel tricked 0:11:28.085 --> 0:11:31.045 the witch, saying she didn't know how to tell, so 0:11:31.125 --> 0:11:33.925 the witch leaned over to show Gretel, and then Gretel 0:11:34.005 --> 0:11:35.965 shoved the witch in the oven and locked it up, 0:11:37.165 --> 0:11:41.725 leaving the witch to burn. After Gretel freed her brother, 0:11:41.845 --> 0:11:44.725 the two made it home. Their father was overjoyed to 0:11:44.765 --> 0:11:50.365 see them. Their mother, however, was dead. Of course, the 0:11:50.445 --> 0:11:53.965 Grims Hansel and Gretel wasn't the only version of this story. 0:11:54.725 --> 0:11:58.365 We know that stories travel and adapt across places and time, 0:11:58.805 --> 0:12:02.765 resulting in numerous variations with common themes and ideas. 0:12:03.365 --> 0:12:04.925 Besides, Germany was not. 0:12:04.965 --> 0:12:09.885 The only place where children were abandoned in the woods. 0:12:11.005 --> 0:12:15.565 One was written by Italian author John Battista Bazille, who 0:12:15.645 --> 0:12:19.165 was born in fifteen sixty six and died in sixteen 0:12:19.245 --> 0:12:26.205 thirty two. His version, Nanillo and Nanilla was published after 0:12:26.205 --> 0:12:28.125 his death, although. 0:12:27.645 --> 0:12:29.165 The published day is unknown. 0:12:29.605 --> 0:12:32.285 But in this one, it's a stepmother, not the mother, 0:12:32.405 --> 0:12:36.165 who forces the father to abandon the children. The two 0:12:36.245 --> 0:12:39.325 kids are separated by the howling of a prince's hounds. 0:12:40.485 --> 0:12:42.685 The young boy is taken in by the prince. The 0:12:42.765 --> 0:12:48.245 sister by pirates. When the pirates are attacked and shipwrecked, 0:12:48.565 --> 0:12:54.005 a large magical fish swallows her whole, and she grows 0:12:54.085 --> 0:12:57.805 up in a mansion inside the fish's belly. Years later, 0:12:57.965 --> 0:13:00.725 the sister catches sight of her brother on shore, and 0:13:00.765 --> 0:13:03.645 they are reunited when the fish delivers her to him. 0:13:04.205 --> 0:13:06.605 The prince in puts out a to find their father, 0:13:07.045 --> 0:13:09.805 who eventually shows up at the castle, glad to see 0:13:09.845 --> 0:13:13.965 his children are safe and alive. As for the cruel stepmother, 0:13:14.445 --> 0:13:16.925 she is put in a cask and rolled down a mountain. 0:13:24.565 --> 0:13:27.765 Remember Charles Perraut, He's a French author who wrote the 0:13:27.805 --> 0:13:31.685 magical version of Cinderella that Disney pulled from. He also 0:13:31.685 --> 0:13:35.085 wrote a story like Hansel and Gretel. His came more 0:13:35.125 --> 0:13:38.045 than a century before the Grims, in sixteen ninety seven, 0:13:38.405 --> 0:13:44.885 titled The Little Thumb. In Pierrot's story, a father and 0:13:45.005 --> 0:13:48.925 mother have seven children. The mother never has less than 0:13:48.925 --> 0:13:52.325 two at a time. There's nothing magical about it. She 0:13:52.565 --> 0:13:56.365 just happens to love kids. Her youngest is named Little 0:13:56.405 --> 0:13:59.605 Thumb because he's born as small as a person's thumb. 0:14:00.525 --> 0:14:02.685 The father is a one who says the children. 0:14:02.405 --> 0:14:03.365 Must be abandoned. 0:14:03.685 --> 0:14:07.085 It's a mother who is absolutely against the idea, but 0:14:07.165 --> 0:14:10.765 eventually the father wears her down. The next day, the 0:14:10.845 --> 0:14:15.445 brothers are led into the woods the first time. The 0:14:15.525 --> 0:14:18.205 boys find their way back using pebbles little Thumb had 0:14:18.205 --> 0:14:19.645 tossed to the ground to leave a trail. 0:14:20.405 --> 0:14:21.245 When they return. 0:14:21.685 --> 0:14:24.485 Initially, everyone is happy because the parents had run into 0:14:24.525 --> 0:14:27.125 some money so there was food for all. But when 0:14:27.165 --> 0:14:30.045 the money runs out and their bellies are hungry, the 0:14:30.165 --> 0:14:34.925 parents take their kids to the woods a second time. Again, 0:14:35.045 --> 0:14:37.925 the mother is against it, but the father pushes. 0:14:37.605 --> 0:14:39.045 Her into making this decision. 0:14:40.125 --> 0:14:42.485 The second time, the seven brothers get lost in the 0:14:42.565 --> 0:14:46.365 woods and end up at an ogre's house. The ogre's 0:14:46.365 --> 0:14:49.325 wife wants to protect the boys from her husband, who 0:14:49.365 --> 0:14:53.405 wants to kill and eat them. The ogre and Ogris 0:14:53.445 --> 0:14:56.245 have seven daughters who have already bitten and drink the 0:14:56.285 --> 0:15:00.205 blood of human kids. To save himself and his brothers, 0:15:00.525 --> 0:15:03.405 Thumb tricks the Ogre into slitting the throats of his daughters. 0:15:03.965 --> 0:15:06.285 Thumb and his brothers then make run for it. 0:15:07.045 --> 0:15:08.565 When the Ogre realizes what. 0:15:08.605 --> 0:15:11.605 He's done, he puts on his magical seven League boots 0:15:11.645 --> 0:15:15.125 to hunt the boys down. Seven League boots allow the 0:15:15.125 --> 0:15:18.125 wearer to travel seven leagues per step, which of course 0:15:18.365 --> 0:15:21.445 enables a person to cover great distances in a short time. 0:15:22.445 --> 0:15:25.205 The boys see the ogre coming and hide behind a rock. 0:15:25.765 --> 0:15:29.205 The ogre, who's very tired from wearing the boots, lays 0:15:29.245 --> 0:15:31.645 down for a nap, which happens to be by the 0:15:31.685 --> 0:15:33.285 same rock where the boys are hiding. 0:15:34.685 --> 0:15:37.045 Thumb tells his brothers to head home, and they do. 0:15:37.725 --> 0:15:40.725 Meanwhile, them puts on the boots and heads back to 0:15:40.765 --> 0:15:41.525 the ogre's wife. 0:15:42.245 --> 0:15:43.365 He tells her that her. 0:15:43.285 --> 0:15:45.845 Husband has been captured by a gang of thieves and 0:15:45.885 --> 0:15:48.845 he needs all the gold and silver to save him. 0:15:49.165 --> 0:15:52.645 She of course gives him the gold and silver. Her 0:15:52.725 --> 0:15:58.685 husband might eat children, but he is a good husband. Now, 0:15:58.725 --> 0:16:02.245 there are two endings to this story. Perrot wrote both 0:16:02.405 --> 0:16:07.045 within the same story, although it's uncle clear why. The 0:16:07.085 --> 0:16:09.885 first is that Thumb heads home with all the Ogre's 0:16:09.925 --> 0:16:13.205 money and is received with great joy. But in Perou's 0:16:13.205 --> 0:16:16.485 alternate version, the little Thumb doesn't get any money from 0:16:16.485 --> 0:16:20.325 the ogre's wife. Instead, he takes the seven league boots 0:16:20.325 --> 0:16:22.485 and heads to court, where he speaks with the king 0:16:22.805 --> 0:16:26.125 and helps with the war. After serving for a while 0:16:26.245 --> 0:16:29.805 and getting rich. It's only then them returns home and 0:16:29.965 --> 0:16:35.005 is received with great joy. While Basili's story involves child abandonment, 0:16:35.205 --> 0:16:36.405 it lacks cannibalism. 0:16:36.965 --> 0:16:38.725 It's also more in line with. 0:16:38.725 --> 0:16:41.885 A traditional fairy tale and that it has a clear 0:16:41.965 --> 0:16:46.525 and decisive, happy ending. Pero's is different in that the 0:16:46.605 --> 0:16:50.045 roles of the mother and father are reversed, and while 0:16:50.045 --> 0:16:55.445 it still involves child abandonment, cannibalism still plays a factor. However, 0:16:55.605 --> 0:16:58.645 there is something to be said about the ogress wanting 0:16:58.685 --> 0:17:03.725 to protect the seven brothers, So what about Hansel and Gretel. 0:17:04.285 --> 0:17:04.685 Well. 0:17:04.845 --> 0:17:08.205 As time win on, Hansel and Gretel's roots became too 0:17:08.325 --> 0:17:23.165 dark even for the Brother's Graham. My first memories of 0:17:23.205 --> 0:17:26.605 Hansel and Gretel always include the stepmother. It was a 0:17:26.645 --> 0:17:29.365 stepmother who came up with the idea to abandon the kids. 0:17:29.845 --> 0:17:32.045 It was a stepmother who convinced a father to go 0:17:32.085 --> 0:17:34.925 along with the plan. It was a stepmother who felt 0:17:34.925 --> 0:17:37.725 no remorse about leaving two children alone in the woods. 0:17:39.045 --> 0:17:41.445 But as you heard at the beginning of this episode, 0:17:41.605 --> 0:17:45.445 the original Brother's Graham story didn't have a stepmother. It 0:17:45.485 --> 0:17:48.925 was a children's biological mother who did all of those things. 0:17:49.965 --> 0:17:52.885 Even for Jacob and Wilhelm. This soon became too dark 0:17:52.925 --> 0:17:53.685 for them. 0:17:54.045 --> 0:17:55.805 How could a mother abandon. 0:17:55.445 --> 0:17:59.725 Her own children? It was too dark a mark on motherhood. 0:18:00.325 --> 0:18:03.125 So by the time their fourth collection was published, the 0:18:03.205 --> 0:18:07.405 mother had become the stepmother. Also, after the mother became 0:18:07.405 --> 0:18:11.285 a stepmother, she went from being portrayed as practical to mean, 0:18:11.645 --> 0:18:15.445 even abusive. She called both a husband and children names 0:18:15.525 --> 0:18:18.365 like fool and lazy bones, and was more apt to 0:18:18.405 --> 0:18:23.165 criticize and scold. The father evolved into a more sympathetic character. 0:18:23.845 --> 0:18:27.125 This is shown through changes made in his dialogue. There's 0:18:27.205 --> 0:18:29.565 one line that is added in the later version where 0:18:29.565 --> 0:18:32.405 the father says, but I do feel sorry for the 0:18:32.445 --> 0:18:36.885 poor children. By the time the final edition was published 0:18:36.885 --> 0:18:40.005 in eighteen fifty seven, the Brother's Grim had made even 0:18:40.045 --> 0:18:43.805 more changes. Not only had the family dynamics changed, but 0:18:43.845 --> 0:18:47.205 it had become more of a fairy tale. For example, 0:18:47.805 --> 0:18:50.365 at the end of the final story, the children come 0:18:50.445 --> 0:18:53.485 to a large body of water they can't cross, so 0:18:53.565 --> 0:18:56.205 they call out and a duckling carries him across, one 0:18:56.205 --> 0:18:58.565 at a time before finally making a home. 0:18:58.405 --> 0:18:58.925 To their father. 0:19:00.005 --> 0:19:02.885 And as the years passed, Hansel and Gretel drifted even 0:19:03.005 --> 0:19:13.285 further from its dark, twisted roots. In eighteen ninety three, 0:19:13.605 --> 0:19:17.725 composer Engelbert Humperdink wrote an opera that is still performed 0:19:17.725 --> 0:19:22.485 widely today. In his story, Hansel and Gretel's father is 0:19:22.525 --> 0:19:27.525 a broommaker. The children are home when Hansel complains he's hungry, 0:19:28.005 --> 0:19:31.205 so Gretel shows him milk the neighbors have given them. 0:19:31.725 --> 0:19:34.085 The kids are happy and danced and end up knocking 0:19:34.085 --> 0:19:38.165 the milk over. Their mother, who is their biological mother, 0:19:38.645 --> 0:19:40.885 is furious with the children, so she sends them to 0:19:40.925 --> 0:19:45.525 pick strawberries. Notice this isn't based on malice or coldness. 0:19:46.045 --> 0:19:48.885 This is just one of those hey, you spilled the milk, 0:19:49.005 --> 0:19:51.725 now clean it up kind of things. But when the 0:19:51.805 --> 0:19:54.165 dad returns home and the wife tells him where the 0:19:54.245 --> 0:19:56.605 kids are, he tells her about the witch that lives 0:19:56.605 --> 0:20:00.125 in the woods. Both parents are worried and immediately set 0:20:00.165 --> 0:20:05.245 out searching for their kids. This all happens in Act one. 0:20:05.485 --> 0:20:09.605 From there things become even more fantastical. An act two, 0:20:09.925 --> 0:20:13.045 Hansel admits he's lost the way, and then a magical 0:20:13.085 --> 0:20:15.925 bang called the Sandman comes and puts kids to sleep. 0:20:16.965 --> 0:20:20.245 Then an act three, Hansel and Gretel are woken by 0:20:20.405 --> 0:20:23.485 the dew fairy and see the gingerbread house where the 0:20:23.525 --> 0:20:24.485 witch lives. 0:20:24.485 --> 0:20:26.045 But they don't see the witch. 0:20:26.805 --> 0:20:30.045 Things are per usual here, with the witch getting shoved 0:20:30.085 --> 0:20:33.165 and burned in the oven and Hansel and Gretel escaping, 0:20:33.725 --> 0:20:38.365 except with a lot more spell casting. Also, after the 0:20:38.405 --> 0:20:41.605 witch is shoved into the oven, it explodes, and then 0:20:41.765 --> 0:20:44.565 all the children that had been captured and turned into 0:20:44.645 --> 0:20:48.645 gingerbread before Hansel and Gretel are turned back into children. 0:20:49.285 --> 0:20:51.605 It's not clear if the other kids may get home 0:20:51.645 --> 0:20:54.565 to their parents, but overall it's portrayed as a happy 0:20:54.645 --> 0:20:58.405 ending for everyone. It's a far cry from the original 0:20:58.445 --> 0:21:02.485 grim tale of food insecurity, starvation, and child abandonment. And 0:21:02.565 --> 0:21:05.365 while Graham had a witch and at some point a duck, 0:21:05.645 --> 0:21:08.085 it did not have a magic wand or spells or 0:21:08.125 --> 0:21:16.685 a sandman. Ray harry Hausen dropped to stop motion animation 0:21:16.925 --> 0:21:21.485 in nineteen fifty one. The story once again has changed completely. 0:21:22.205 --> 0:21:25.405 In this story, Handel and Gretel head into the woods 0:21:25.405 --> 0:21:28.085 to forts for food to help their dad, who is 0:21:28.125 --> 0:21:30.685 stressed trying to keep in a food on the table. 0:21:31.405 --> 0:21:34.365 What's important to note here is they choose to go 0:21:34.445 --> 0:21:38.205 into the woods entirely of their own free will. After 0:21:38.285 --> 0:21:42.165 their mini ordeals, they are of course rewarded with gold, silver, 0:21:42.285 --> 0:21:45.885 and precious jewels. Each version of Handel and Gretel has 0:21:45.925 --> 0:21:50.565 its own moral, but this one was specifically about familial bonds. 0:21:51.245 --> 0:21:55.965 During the nineteen fifties, nuclear families were important, meaning a mother, father, 0:21:56.125 --> 0:22:00.565 and children. Divorce was majorly looked down upon, so value 0:22:00.605 --> 0:22:03.885 was placed on keeping the family together. This is shown 0:22:03.925 --> 0:22:06.365 through Harry Hausen's stop motion and that it was about 0:22:06.365 --> 0:22:09.285 the children wanting to help their father rather than the 0:22:09.325 --> 0:22:11.485 father or parents betraying the children. 0:22:12.085 --> 0:22:13.485 The entire ordeal. 0:22:13.365 --> 0:22:17.165 Strengthened the family's relationship, and then in nineteen eighty three, 0:22:17.325 --> 0:22:20.205 the story was stripped down even further with Shelley Devall's 0:22:20.245 --> 0:22:24.925 Fairytale Theater, which was created for television. The big takeaway 0:22:24.965 --> 0:22:27.845 from the Fairytale Theater is that it's a cautionary tale 0:22:27.885 --> 0:22:34.885 for kids to not take candy from strangers. In the 0:22:34.925 --> 0:22:38.405 early two thousands, there were a couple more remakes. Hansel 0:22:38.445 --> 0:22:41.405 and Gretel Get Baked was a weird, trippy movie released 0:22:41.405 --> 0:22:44.645 in twenty thirteen that involved a witch, grawing Weed, and 0:22:44.765 --> 0:22:51.485 two kids who liked to get high. There's a witch who, 0:22:51.525 --> 0:22:55.245 in order to stay young, kills and eats teenagers, and 0:22:55.365 --> 0:22:58.485 instead of a gingerbread house, she uses a special brand 0:22:58.525 --> 0:23:02.205 of weed to lure them to her place. In the movie, 0:23:02.365 --> 0:23:05.405 Gretel's boyfriend introduces her to a strain of weed called 0:23:05.645 --> 0:23:09.765 black Forest. Gretel makes him go get more, and he 0:23:09.805 --> 0:23:12.605 gets taken and eaten by the witch, whose name is Agnes. 0:23:13.325 --> 0:23:16.125 Gretel convinces Hansel to come with her to search for 0:23:16.205 --> 0:23:18.925 her boyfriend, where they inevitably battle the witch. 0:23:19.325 --> 0:23:21.765 The two escape, but so does Agnes. 0:23:25.005 --> 0:23:29.445 Also in twenty thirteen, Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters was released. 0:23:30.165 --> 0:23:33.845 The movie picks up fifteen years after Hansel and Gretel 0:23:33.965 --> 0:23:36.565 burn the witch in the oven. The two have become 0:23:36.685 --> 0:23:39.885 hell bent on revenge by hunting down and killing witches. 0:23:40.685 --> 0:23:42.925 What they don't know is not every. 0:23:42.685 --> 0:23:46.605 Witch's bad, and as a movie unfolds, you learn Hansel 0:23:46.645 --> 0:23:50.405 and Gretel's mother was the original white Witch. Now the 0:23:50.445 --> 0:23:53.325 head of the coven of the Bad Witches needs Gretel's 0:23:53.325 --> 0:23:59.765 heart to complete a ceremony. What I found interesting here 0:24:00.325 --> 0:24:03.685 was how they transformed the character of the witch. I 0:24:03.725 --> 0:24:06.205 would argue the presence of the good, good, and bad 0:24:06.245 --> 0:24:08.965