From Abandonment to Rebirth: the initiatory path of Hansel and Gretel

From Abandonment to Rebirth: the initiatory path of Hansel and Gretel

by Hasan Andrea Abou Saida

Hansel and Gretel is a fairy tale from the German folk tradition, collected and published by brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in 1812 in their famous anthology Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales). However, like many other fairy tales, Hansel and Gretel has much older origins, deeply rooted in European folklore.

The oral stories circulating among Germanic peoples and other European groups provided the foundation for what would become the Grimms’ canonical version. The fairy tale appears to draw from an ancient tradition of narratives dealing with themes such as famine, the abandonment of children, and the struggle for survival in a hostile natural environment. The theme of abandonment is particularly recurrent in European fairy tales and likely reflects the harsh reality of peasant life in the Middle Ages and the centuries that followed, when poverty and scarcity of resources often drove families to desperate choices.

In the original edition of the tale, the woodcutter’s wife is the children’s biological mother, but from the fourth edition (1840) onward she was also referred to as the “stepmother.” The Brothers Grimm did indeed introduce the word “stepmother,” yet they retained “mother” in certain passages. Even in their final version, published in the seventh edition (1857), her role remains ambiguous, as the woodcutter’s wife is referred to twice as “the mother” and once as “the stepmother.”

The scene in which the duck helps them cross the river is also a later addition. In some subsequent versions, the mother either died of unknown causes, abandoned the family, or remained with her husband at the end of the story. In the pre-publication manuscript of 1810, the children were called “Little Brother” and “Little Sister,” before being renamed Hänsel and Gretel in the first edition (1812). Wilhelm Grimm also embellished the text with Alsatian dialects, “reappropriated” from August Stöber’s Alsatian version (1842), in order to give the tale a more “folk-like” tone.

The fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel has inspired numerous psychological interpretations, particularly within the psychoanalytic tradition inaugurated by Sigmund Freud and further developed by scholars such as Bruno Bettelheim. From this perspective, the tale can be seen as a symbolic representation of the stages of a child’s psychic development.

“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
— C.G. Jung, Alchemical Studies

In his renowned book The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, Bettelheim argues that Hansel and Gretel reflect the separation–individuation process that every child must undergo to become an autonomous adult. The dark forest represents the unconscious—the hidden and dangerous part of the psyche—while the witch’s house symbolizes the unconscious desires and temptations that can derail healthy development.

The struggle against the witch, culminating in her being burned, is seen by Bettelheim as a metaphor for the elimination of the destructive aspects of the psyche, allowing children to emerge stronger and more independent. This act of liberation enables Hansel and Gretel to overcome their fears and return home, symbolically reclaiming their identity and their place in the world.

According to Freud, however, the fairy tale could be interpreted as a representation of Oedipal desires. The witch, who wants to devour the children, can be seen as a manifestation of the child’s unconscious fear of a mother perceived as threatening or oppressive. The forest represents the realm of the unconscious, a place where repressed desires and the deepest fears come to life.

Another central theme in the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel is that of hunger. The famine that drives the parents to abandon their children reflects the very real concerns about survival in pre-industrial societies. Hunger is not only a physical condition but also a powerful symbol of deprivation and desire. The gingerbread house, with its illusory abundance, represents the dream of satiety that, however, conceals a deadly danger.

The theme of hunger intertwines with that of greed and deception. The witch uses food as a trap to capture the children, exploiting their desire for nourishment. This highlights another symbolic aspect of the tale: the idea that desires, if left unchecked, can lead to ruin. The children’s ability to recognize and overcome this temptation is what ultimately allows them to save themselves.

The fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, like the tales of Tom Thumb, Ninnillo and Nennella, and many others, can also be interpreted through an initiatory and ritualistic lens, in which the protagonists’ journey represents a process of transformation and spiritual growth.

“Initiation is a fundamental change of being; the novice emerges from it endowed with a new mode of existence.”
— Mircea Eliade, Rites and Symbols of Initiation

The beginning of the fairy tale, in which Hansel and Gretel are abandoned in the forest by their parents, represents the first phase of a rite of initiation: separation. This moment marks the departure from the familiar and safe world of childhood, symbolized by the home, to enter an unfamiliar and dangerous territory. The forest, a wild and shadowy place, represents the unconscious—the realm of the unknown where the hero must confront their own fears and uncover hidden truths about themselves.

In the initiatory tradition, the forest is a recurring symbol of a place of transformation. Entering the forest means confronting primordial chaos—an experience necessary for personal growth. For Hansel and Gretel, the forest is full of dangers, but it is also the place where they must prove their cunning and courage. The trials they face in the forest, such as hunger and fear, are stages in a process of purification, in which the children must abandon their infantile dependence and develop the qualities necessary for survival.

The gingerbread house, with its sweet and alluring appearance, represents temptation and deception—a central theme in many initiatory rituals. In the fairy tale, this house is an illusion of safety and abundance, concealing a mortal danger. Symbolically, it represents the false promises of the material world, which can distract the individual from their true spiritual path. The witch who lives in the house is a symbol of the destructive and devouring aspect of materialism, a shadow archetype of the Great Mother, which must be overcome in order to progress on the initiatory journey. The forest, much like the caves of ancient traditions, represents a place of isolation and confrontation with chaos and the unknown.

Just as in ancient times, when children undergoing initiation would enter the cave—the womb of the Great Mother—so too do Hansel and Gretel encounter their Shadow, confronting their inner demons represented by the witch, who embodies the dark side of femininity, associated with witchcraft and cannibalism. The witch seeks to devour the children, an act that can be interpreted as an attempt to annihilate their innocence and purity. Overcoming this threat is an act of purification, symbolizing the symbolic death necessary for spiritual rebirth.

The climactic scene in which Gretel pushes the witch into the oven represents a moment of death and rebirth, a central theme in initiation rites. The oven, a symbol of the alchemical fire, is a place of transformation, purification, and regeneration. The witch’s death in the flames signifies the defeat of the destructive forces of the Shadow, and the oven becomes a symbol of rebirth for Hansel and Gretel. They emerge from the forest as new individuals—stronger and more self-aware—ready to return to the world with a renewed identity.

After defeating the witch, Hansel and Gretel return home, bringing with them the witch’s treasures. This return represents reintegration into the community, the final stage of the initiation rite. The treasures they carry are not only symbols of material wealth, but also embody the wisdom and experience gained during their initiatory journey into their inner world. By returning home, the children are symbolically reintegrated into the adult world, but they are now transformed: no longer the naive children they once were, they have become mature individuals who have overcome difficult trials and gained a new understanding of themselves and the world.

Bibliography

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Grimm, J., & Grimm, W. (2005). Household tales. Milan: Mondadori.

Jung, C. G. (1968). Alchemical studies (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1944)

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