tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post844603510835625963..comments2024-03-27T06:42:26.250-07:00Comments on Seven Miles of Steel Thistles: "Hansel and Gretel"Katherine Langrishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-84704678926751780572012-01-06T12:51:34.723-08:002012-01-06T12:51:34.723-08:00Wonderful post. It is quite a horrific image; I im...Wonderful post. It is quite a horrific image; I imagine that it must originally have been told in winter: firstly the delicious imagining of cakes and sweet foods that may not have been available, juxtaposed with the taboo of rejected children and cannibalism. It also reminds me of the "Hart of the Wood" story in Riddley Walker, where parents are convinced to eat their own baby by a devil-type character.Alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02536038271600515021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-76290440355026398562012-01-06T09:44:33.151-08:002012-01-06T09:44:33.151-08:00I must have loved the gingerbread house as a child...I must have loved the gingerbread house as a child, because I had a very sweet tooth and spent all my pocket money on sweets. But I'm the opposite as an adult and repelled by most sweet things except for the occasional chocolate.<br /><br />I positively dislike cake, especially highly iced, sugary cupcakey sorts of things that all women, especially women writers are expected to be addicted to.<br /><br />So for me the witch is probably an embodiment of dentists and fillings - the hidden horror within the plethora of sweet things that I became aware of around age eleven.<br /><br />As an adult, I'd like the house to be made of olives and avocadoes and salted cashews.....<br /><br />Thanks for reminding us, Adèle!<br /><br />And Harriet, I think the stepmother is a late variant, splitting the Bad Mother from the Good one, because we can't bear to think a biological mother could do such a thing.Mary Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-78798358251310271472012-01-06T07:57:14.174-08:002012-01-06T07:57:14.174-08:00I love this story too, although with four sisters,...I love this story too, although with four sisters, I can't say I wanted more siblings for any reason. Your post really highlights the magic of the story. Thank you.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00847506228476632673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-51485075224550006782012-01-06T02:55:19.536-08:002012-01-06T02:55:19.536-08:00I love Hansel and Gretel - it was my favourite sto...I love Hansel and Gretel - it was my favourite story at the time my parents were divorcing. I felt if me and my brother could stick together - like Hansel & Gretel, we'd be OK. It also helped me feel that my parents were the broken ones - not us.Alisonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-14948057292482016642012-01-06T02:26:35.096-08:002012-01-06T02:26:35.096-08:00I love this post too! I am fascinated by fairy tal...I love this post too! I am fascinated by fairy tales & their psychological resonances... It's interesting that the children are rejected by their father and step-mother (as in Snow White, and Cinderella, too). The implication being that the natural mother would never do this-?? But what about the fathers... they always seem to be persuaded by the step-mothers... implying that the step-mother is the more wicked one and the father is what - weak? Or that a father's love is never as strong as a mother's? (Are there any fairy tales that put a father's devotion to his children centre-stage?)<br /><br />Incidentally, one of my grandmothers used to say 'I could eat you' when I was a little girl. I found it rather baffling at the time, but never connected it with sinister fairy tales (a good job, really!).H.M. Castorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08716936870601385683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-18736701805224362052012-01-06T01:05:44.361-08:002012-01-06T01:05:44.361-08:00Great stuff. I agree about H&G and have been r...Great stuff. I agree about H&G and have been rewriting it in a modern setting to try to make sense of it. I love this post - thank you both!Stroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.com