Part Two: Chapters 1-4 Summary and Analysis

Part Two: In Fairyland begins with an overview and analysis of "Hansel and Gretel." As with many fairy tales, "Hansel and Gretel" has a realistic beginning. The parents of Hansel and Gretel are poor and are faced with the predicament of how to feed their children. The children overhear their parents talking about the lack of food and imagine that the parents intend to starve them to death. As the mother is representative of the source of food for the children, it would seem that she is planning to abandon her role as caregiver and protector. Therefore, the children begin to see their mother as selfish, rejecting, and unloving. The children are taken into the woods and abandoned. Hansel manages to find his way back home, followed by Gretel. The parents continue to find ways...