Fairy tales refer to traditional stories purposefully written to educate and entertain children. The fairy stories feature mythical structures such as mermaids, magic, dragons, and giants. The stories express dire and dreadful situations, and an important message is passed to the target audience. Examples of fairy tales include:” Hansel and Gretel” and “Little Snow-White” by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. In both stories, the authors show their literature prowess by exploring the themes of child neglect, abuse, and parental abandonment. In Hansel and Gretel, child abandonment and abuse are evident since their parents’ two siblings are abandoned, resulting in mental trauma. Similarly, little Snow-white expresses the theme of child neglect and abuse whereby her stepmother, driven by jealousy, tries to kill her stepdaughter. Therefore, this paper analyses the psychological impacts of child abuse and parental abandonment.
Firstly, it is vital to understand the impacts of parental abandonment in Hansel and Gretel’s. The authors elaborate how a woodcutter and his wife hard passed through challenging times of hardship to the extent that they could not bear raising their children. The wife proposes that the kids be left out in the woods to fend for themselves. The authors describe the fear and anger that the siblings had through lines like “Night fell, but the woodcutter did not return. Gretel began to sob bitterly. Hansel too felt scared, but he tried to hide his feelings and comfort his sister” (Hansel and Gretel, 2). Here, the authors try to convey the important message on how child abandonment causes damage to the child’s mental state. Jennifer McClinton’s template supports the argument by demonstrating how children aged six to nine develop stress when their mothers leave (Clancy, 2). The siblings grew discouraged and anxious as they realized that their parents would not meet their demands. This impacts children’s mental state as they perceive that the parents are selfish and unloving. In a way, the biological father’s role is to protect and provide security for the children, but the dad selflessly abandons them. Similarly, their mother leaves them instead of nurturing the siblings. However, the Grimm brothers try to develop hope for the readers by trusting or making the siblings believe that everything will be expected as they return home (Zipes, 210-211). Also, “Hansel tried to encourage his sister, but he too shivered when he glimpsed frightening shadows and evil eyes around them in the darkness. All the night, the two children huddled together for warmth at the foot of a large tree” (Hansel and Gretel, 3). Consequently, this puts them in a dilemma of not knowing where to go or what to do.
Additionally, when reading the story keenly, Hansel and Gretel have an aspect of abuse and neglect. The authors mention that when the stepmother found other than the siblings had returned home, she treated them with anger and range to the extent of locking the kids in a room. Similarly, the step other gave the kids nothing for supper except water. Here, the authors try to explain how the children suffered at the hands of the insane mother. A reader could find this scene more emotional since children learn from what they see and experience. If they are exposed to harsh treatment, it is more likely for them to reciprocate by developing anger and being ruthless; hence at the end of the story, the siblings do not even mind thinking about their stepmother at any moment. Similarly, the authors show that Gretel is a subject of post-traumatic stress disorder. This is evident in the following quote “This is the world we wanted. All who would have seen us dead are dead. I hear the witch’s cry break in the moonlight through a sheet of sugar: God rewards. Her tongue shrivels into gas” (Gluck 5). From early childhood, Gretel was emotionally or mentally traumatized. Additionally, her family could not realize the challenges she was going through, which made her constantly feel fear of rejection or unresolved anger. On the contrary, the impact of abandonment and child abuse is seen when Gretel forgets what transitioned in the cottage. This makes Gretel wonder how his brother does not even remember what transitioned in the cabin. “But I killed for you. I see armed fires, the spires of that gleaming kiln” (Gluck 6). This traumatizes Gretel more since her brain is filled with guilt expressed as intense suffering. Therefore, the moral lesson of the students’ perseverance gives insight into how parents should treat their children by protecting them and showering them with love. Additionally, the tale teaches children to be very cautious to not fall into traps set up by strangers.
On the contrary, the theme of abandonment, child neglect, and abuse is evident in Little Snow-White. The tale is about a little girl Snow White suffers abandonment at an early age after the death of her biological mother. As stated by the authors, “And as soon as the child was born, the queen died.” The author initiates the mental and emotional instability aspect at the beginning of the tale. According to psychology, mothers are remarkable creatures, and growing up without one induces trauma. Therefore, just after the death of Snow White’s mother, she started being emotionally less stable. Additionally, the Grimm brothers emphasize on vulnerability and innocence of a young girl persecuted by a jealous stepmother. The huntsman abandoned little Snow-White in the middle of the forest. “The huntsman obeyed and took Snow-White into the woods (Jacob and Whillhem, 1-2).” She becomes frightened by wild bests that did not harm her in the woods. Similarly, Snow-White seeks shelter in terrifying places and is not harmed by anything. “The poor child was now all alone in the great forest, and she was so afraid that she just looked at all the leaves on the trees and did not know what to do (Jacob and Whillhem, 2).” In a way, the authors are trying to illustrate the consequences of abandonment which creates emotional starvation resulting in significant psychological effects. Snow White did not get the time to bond with her stepmother, and it is easy to notice the aspects of loneliness when she resided in the dwarf’s cottage. Children feel the psychological state of mind, which emanates in different forms of hate, confusion, and anger. Besides, after several attempts of killing Snow-White, and she finally accomplishes her goal, the author describes the queen’s joy as, “Her envious heart was finally at, as much as an envious heart can be (Jacob and Whillhem, 5).” Presumably, Snow-White was not at peace with her actions and could feel her anger against the queen. Furthermore, abandonment and abuse positively impacted now-white. It provided an opportunity for being independent and conquering fears despite being in a broken emotional state. At the end of the tale, Snow-White lives a happy life. Hence, readers can learn from the story that having a pure heart does not cost anything. Snow-White had a kind heart, she never held a grudge against the queen, and as a token, someone was always there who came to her rescue.
To conclude, abandonment, neglect, and abuse negatively impacts child development. This is because abandonment causes loss of innocence and corrupts children’s moral values. In the tale, Hansel and Gretel’s innocence of the siblings is corrupted when they have abandoned denied food. Furthermore, their morality was tempered with killing, which induced psychological trauma that altered their wellbeing. Similarly, little Snow-White also is subjected to a similar situation of abandonment and abuse. However, she endured all the challenges and later became a respected woman.
Works Cited
“Clancy, Susan. “Reworking Hansel and Gretel: Abandoned or lost children?.” Reading Time 55.4 : 2-6.” 2011.
Gluck, Louise. “Gretel in darkness.” Poem Hunter, www.poemhunter.com/poem/gretel-in-darkness/.
Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm Grimm. Little Snow-White. 1-7th ed., sites.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm053.html.
“Hansel and Gretel.” pp. 1-7, sites.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm015.html.
Zipes, Jack. Why fairy tales stick: The evolution and relevance of a genre. Routledge, 2013, go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA273194293&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=0155218X&p=LitRC&sw=w.
