H&G

Like Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel has two tale types. The second tale type is My Mother She Slew Me, My Father He Ate Me, which Alissa Nutting re-wrote as The Brother and the Bird. As strange as this tale may seem, dealing with the taboo topic of cannibalism, what real life terrors and problems might this fairy tale also be dealing with?

“Evil stepmothers” are a common trope in fairy tales—from Hansel and Gretel to Cinderella. Fathers, on the other hand, often fade into the background. Do you believe the father in Brother and the Bird and Hansel and Gretel is innocent? Why or why not?

If Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel were to be told from the witches’ perspective, how might the story be different? And, most importantly, how might our interpretation of the story’s meaning change?