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Study 072 - Hansel and Gretel

🕑 Added 2023-12-28 14:00:04 +0000 UTC

Comments

Chad's perspective on the mouse-fur hat as a story-ending element seems correct to me. When I was a kid, my Czech grandmother used to always end her bedtime stories with a few whimsical, rhyming couplets in Czech that conveyed a similar message along the same nonsensical lines. These couplets, as she told me when I was older, were passed down from her childhood nanny. I believe they served as a subtle way to indicate to the listeners that the bedtime story was coming to an end and they had to go to sleep as it was time for the storyteller to leave. The only couplet I remember translates to something like, "You've now heard your story, and I must go get my little bunch of bagels/buns." This practice would have originated from the traditions of the wealthy families, like the Wild sisters, who likely had nannies. I'd go so far as to suggest that the original version of the mouse-hat lines (before transcription and translation) would have implied that it was the storyteller who needed to leave to catch mice for a mouse-fur hat, thus excusing their departure. And with that, I've officially entered the 'No Evidence, Just Vibes' zone of speculation.

Have to agree with Ryan Thomas, we all get behind bugs catfishing Elmer Fudd as a sexy giant rabbit lady...as the hero of the story. Have enjoyed this month of Grimm Tales, would love a Charles Perrault month; older versions of these stories compiled in the 18th century that make the Grimm versions comparatively the clean Disney versions of some of these stories