Hansel and Gretel Flashcards
by The Brothers Grimm — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: Hansel and Gretel
Why do the parents decide to abandon Hansel and Gretel?
A famine has struck the land and the family cannot afford to feed everyone. The stepmother persuades the reluctant father to leave the children in the forest.
How does Hansel plan to find the way home on the first trip into the forest?
He fills his pockets with white pebbles that shine in the moonlight, dropping them along the path to create a trail back home.
Why does Hansel's second plan with breadcrumbs fail?
Birds eat all the breadcrumbs, leaving no trail for the children to follow home.
What is the witch's house made of?
It is built of bread, covered with cakes, and has windows made of clear sugar.
What does the witch plan to do with Hansel?
She locks him in a stable and feeds him rich food to fatten him up so she can cook and eat him.
How does Hansel trick the witch into thinking he is still thin?
When the witch asks him to stick out his finger so she can feel if he is fat, he holds out a small bone instead. Her dim eyesight prevents her from seeing the difference.
How does Gretel defeat the witch?
She pretends not to know how to climb into the oven. When the witch demonstrates by putting her head inside, Gretel pushes her in, slams the iron door, and fastens the bolt.
What happens to the stepmother by the end of the story?
She has died while the children were away. The story does not explain how, but her death parallels the witch's destruction.
How do Hansel and Gretel cross the large body of water on their way home?
A white duck carries them across one at a time on its back, after Gretel wisely decides they should cross separately so as not to overburden it.
How do Hansel and Gretel differ in their roles throughout the story?
Hansel is the resourceful leader in the first half (pebbles, breadcrumbs, bone trick), while Gretel becomes the decisive hero in the second half by killing the witch and leading them home.
How does the father feel about abandoning his children?
He is deeply reluctant and feels terrible about it. He only agrees because his wife pressures him relentlessly, and when the children return the first time, he rejoices.
What does the gingerbread house symbolize?
Temptation and deception — it appears to offer salvation to the starving children but is actually a trap set by the witch to lure victims.
What is the central moral of the story?
Courage, cleverness, and sibling loyalty can overcome even the most dangerous situations. Selfishness and greed are punished, while those who care for others are rewarded.
What theme does the stepmother-witch parallel suggest?
Both are cruel female figures who endanger the children, and both die by story's end. This suggests they represent two faces of the same threat — betrayal from those who should provide care.
What do the white pebbles symbolize versus the breadcrumbs?
The pebbles represent reliable foresight and resourcefulness. The breadcrumbs represent the fragility of human plans — the same strategy doesn't always work twice.
What narrative structure does "Hansel and Gretel" use?
A repetition-with-variation pattern: the children are abandoned twice, with the second attempt raising the stakes (breadcrumbs fail where pebbles succeeded).
How does the story use the number three?
The children walk for three mornings before finding the witch's house, following the fairy tale convention of events happening in threes.
What is ironic about the witch's death?
She dies in the very oven she planned to use to cook the children. The instrument of her intended cruelty becomes the instrument of her own destruction.
What is the significance of the white bird that leads the children to the gingerbread house?
It appears to be a helpful guide but leads them to danger, reinforcing the story's theme that appearances can be deceiving.
When was "Hansel and Gretel" first published?
In 1812, as tale number 15 in the Brothers Grimm's first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales).
How did the Brothers Grimm change the mother figure across editions?
In the 1812 original, the biological mother abandons the children. By the 1857 final edition, she was changed to a stepmother to make the story less disturbing.
What historical conditions does the story reflect?
The Great Famine of 1315-1317 in Europe, when widespread starvation led to documented cases of child abandonment. The story preserves collective memories of such hardships.